A bittersweet part of sharing Adobe Illustrator fixes on Twitter is getting emails from famous designers I haven't talked to in years, who write to share their similar frustrations, and recount the effort they've put into corresponding with @Adobe PMs who just don't care.
It is tragic to see this once beautiful and elegant program, the tool I've used every day since 1987, get slowly dismantled in the interest of I don't know what. If "snap to point" no longer works reliably, what's the value of new features?
Their team sought me out in 2013 to ask some opinions about the program, and I've had some very genial conversations with @Illustrator over the years — I see 74 emails since then. Rarely do bugs get fixed, or accidentally obliterated features get restored.
Equally frustrated users I've heard from this week include three winners of the AIGA Medal; UI designers, book designers, icon designers, technical illustrators, typeface designers, cartographers, and creative directors seem equally disappointed in the way @Illustrator is going.
I love that there are always new ways of doing things, and that @Adobe is forever reaching out to new constituencies who have new needs & interests. But it seems like the basic foundation of the program is continuing to erode. "Measuring things precisely" is not a "nice-to-have."
What makes this so potent for me is that Illustrator and I grew up together: my expectations about what it does, and what I need it to do, are there because the program has profoundly shaped the way I work: how I think about, and interact with, design.
