10 Careers That Use Adobe Illustrator

Adobe Illustrator is often considered the gold standard of software programs in a variety of creative professions. It enables users to create detailed and scalable graphics that serve all kinds of purposes. The program comes loaded with plenty of professional-grade tools that help create logos, icons, and other illustrations. 

There are plenty of careers that require proficiency in Adobe Illustrator, and some of them may surprise you. Read on to find out which careers you might be able to pursue with this exciting new skill!

1. Graphic Designer

These professionals use a combination of creative and technical skills to design images that efficiently communicate a message to their audience. Graphic designers can generally choose to work freelance or to be employed at a specific agency. Adobe Illustrator helps them create logos and infographics that help establish their message or brand. Graphic designers also use other software programs to complete their work such as Adobe XD, Dreamweaver, and Adobe InDesign.

2. Digital Marketing Coordinator

As a digital marketing professional, you’ll be responsible for using digital channels to help your clients build brand awareness and increase revenue. Adobe Illustrator is helpful when creating digital advertising campaigns, illustrations on press releases, and even developing graphics and logos for different social media platforms. If this career path appeals to you, you’ll also want to learn to use some other marketing software like Google Analytics.

3. User Interface (UI) Designer

UI Designers are tasked with creating visually appealing interfaces for websites and mobile applications. Along with some other programs, Adobe Illustrator is commonly used in UI design because it allows for the scalability of designs. For instance, a logo that is created with Illustrator will look equally attractive whether it’s presented on a billboard or at the bottom of an email signature. Illustrator allows for consistent designs without sacrificing smaller details.

4. User Experience (UX) Designer

UX Designers are responsible for determining how to improve websites and apps when users encounter some sort of challenge. For instance, they will often assist with optimizing websites for mobile devices since many people exclusively surf the web on their phones. The tools within Illustrator allow UX Designers to create full-color prototypes of their sites and easily make changes that are requested by their clients. 

5. Web Designer

As you’d expect, Web Designers are tasked with building effective and visually appealing web pages for their clients. Adobe Illustrator is a great tool for this profession for many reasons. This program allows you to store and reuse any symbols or logos you’ve created by storing them in the Symbols panel. Users can also edit certain properties of their site and it will translate to all other pages automatically. For example, if your client wants a different font, changing it on one page will automatically translate to other pages for consistency. 

6. Marketing Analyst

These professionals help their clients determine the most effective way to sell a product by conducting consumer research to predict the demand for a particular item. Marketing Analysts use Illustrator to create any number of marketing materials. Things like brochures, flyers, and digital ads can all be developed in this single program. Adobe also has plenty of stock templates available for these types of projects to help speed up the process even more. 

7. Digital Illustrator

It will probably come as no surprise to you that modern illustrators use computers rather than pens and paper to create their work. Becoming an illustrator is an exciting career option because it can be done in multiple industries. Illustrators work on books, but they can also be employed to help create advertisements, video games, and clothing. Illustrator allows these professionals to explore their creativity without limits. The software also has tools that can import your hand-drawn sketches so you can fully realize your vision. 

8. Product Designer

Product Designers work across industries to design, develop, and test various products. They can also use their skills to improve products that already exist to make them more affordable or easier to use. Adobe Illustrator helps these professionals achieve realistic 3D representations of their designs. If a career in product design interests you, focusing on other programs like Figma, InVision, and Sketch is important as well. 

9. Architect

Working in the field of architecture requires a lot of training and education, but Adobe Illustrator is one skill you might not think of boosting before pursuing this career path. Architects are responsible for designing all kinds of structures and working with city planners to ensure the safety of whatever they design. They can use Adobe Illustrator to display and easily update professional renderings of their designs. 

10. Fashion Designer

This is probably the most surprising entry on this list, but Illustrator is very commonly used in the sophisticated world of fashion design! With Adobe Illustrator, fashion designers can easily design fabric with repeated patterns without sacrificing the quality of more intricate details. Commonly referred to as “fashion flats,” these designs can be scaled to any size depending on what type of presentation is being given. 

Learn Adobe Illustrator With Career Centers

If you’re ready to learn more about all Adobe Illustrator has to offer, you can look into these Adobe Illustrator classes offered by Noble Desktop, a partner program of Career Centers. Their courses are conveniently offered remotely or in person at Noble’s New York City campus. Students here can enjoy small class sizes and a free course retake within one year of their original course completion. 

If you’re a complete beginner or you don’t have a lot of time to invest, Noble Desktop offers a six-hour Illustrator in a Day program that covers basic scaling and drawing techniques to start you on your way. There is also a three-day Adobe Illustrator Bootcamp available that is a bit more immersive. Students will learn how to create natural brushstrokes and add perspective to their drawings. For a comprehensive design program, you can check out the Graphic Design Certificate. This is a 12-day program that covers the fundamentals of Illustrator as well as some other Adobe programs like Photoshop and InDesign.