Millions of users of Adobe use its flagship product for editing or photoshopping images, i.e. Adobe Photoshop. Besides this, they are other apps of Adobe like Acrobat Reader, PDF Illustrator, Indesign etc. All this falls under Adobe Creative Suite.
Key Takeaways
- Illustrator is a vector-based graphic design software, while InDesign is a page layout and publishing tool.
- Illustrator excels at creating logos, icons, and illustrations, while InDesign is ideal for multi-page documents and print media.
- Illustrator enables easy manipulation of vector graphics, while InDesign offers advanced text and layout options.
Illustrator vs Indesign
Illustrator is primarily used for creating vector graphics such as logos, icons, and illustrations, focusing on creating graphics. InDesign is used for creating layouts for print or digital media, such as magazines, brochures, and e-books, focusing on arranging and formatting content.
Illustrator consists of various tools like a sidebar that appears on the left of the screen with options like create, manipulate, and select objects or artworks. The select tool can do the following things such as reshaping, slicing and cutting, symbolism, moving, drawing, typing, painting, zooming, and graphing.
With the help of the Adobe Digital Publishing Suite, Indesign can also publish content on tablet devices. Users that use Indesign mainly are Production and Graphic artists who create various types of posters, print media and periodicals.
Comparison Table
| Parameters of Comparison | Illustrator | Indesign |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Vector Graphics editor | Desktop Publishing |
| Language | C++, ActionScript | C++ |
| Document | Single-page | Multi-page |
| Editing | Not good | Considered best |
| Drawing | Best | Not good |
| Features | Perfect for creating Logos. | Very well integrated with other systems. |
What is Illustrator?
Illustrator was considered good for creating logos and provided better typesetting and graphic design results. Earlier, Illustrator was called “Adobe Illustrator”. When version 1.7, called Illustrator 88, came into the market, many new features and tools were added.
Eventually, it was developed for Apple, but Adobe launched it on other platforms as well. In the 1990s, Illustrator was launched on platforms like NeXT, Silicon Graphics IRIX, Digital Equipment Corporation Ultrix, and Sun Solaris. Illustrator Version 4 was the first that supported preview mode.
Adobe Illustrator was compatible with Inkscape. It has a lot of tools like APen Tools, Pencil Tools, Paintbrush Tools, Selection Tools etc. One feature called Illustrator Draw is also available with Illustrator.
What is Indesign?
Adobe Indesign was made by the company Aldus Corporation as PageMaker in 1994. Indesign is considered as the first software for desktop publishing designed for Mac OS X.
The feature of Indesign is that it is available in multiple languages. It can even export documents in Adobe PDF. It supports Unicode character sets, advanced transparency & typography with OpenType fonts, layout styles, optical margin alignment, and cross-platform scripting with JavaScript.
When InDesign was localised, then it was released in Middle Eastern editions with features like Text settings, Bi-directional text flow, Indices, Table of Contents, Reverse layout, Importing and exporting and complex script rendering.
- Fore drawing enhanced and creative designs, Illustrator is best. Indesign is not good at this.
- Feature of Illustrator includes considered good for creating logos and typesetting. Features of Indesign are that it is good for text-related projects and very well integrated with other systems.
- https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=aQ9OTbj3heQC&oi=fnd&pg=PT15&dq=Illustrator+and+Indesign&ots=Uc_VZbEcMG&sig=R_Co0qxZIPfCl9QE_3d0PdhtrUs
- http://www.wibkekraemer.com/portfolio_kraemerwibke.pdf
Last Updated : 20 June, 2023
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Sandeep Bhandari holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Computers from Thapar University (2006). He has 20 years of experience in the technology field. He has a keen interest in various technical fields, including database systems, computer networks, and programming. You can read more about him on his bio page.
This post is very informative and helpful. I didn’t know the minute differences between the two Adobe softwares before.
I can’t appreciate the features of Indesign as stated in the content. I need more explanation.
I agree with you, the post focuses more on Illustrator than Indesign.
I appreciate the historical information about Adobe Illustrator and InDesign. It’s a good addition to understanding their development.
This post sounds like an advertisement for Adobe products rather than an informative comparison.
I agree. The information presented seems to be biased towards Adobe products.
I disagree with the comparison’s conclusion. Illustrator is not the only software for creative designs.
The comparison table is a significant addition to the content. It makes the comparison easier to understand.