Illustrators Before Adobe – Revolution of Design

Our team recently stumbled across a really interesting video, in which experienced illustrators highlighted what life was like for a graphic designer before the revolutionary rise of adobe illustrator.

The video

The video is a stomach-turning watch for any graphic designer. Seeing illustrators perform their work without being a keystroke away from fixing any errors can be truly hard to watch for any designer. Practiced illustrators perform some work in the video and showcase the tools and methods they previously used whist emphasising they are thrilled they no longer have to use these traditional methods. The people featured in the video capture the risk of these traditional methods with one woman mentioning how heart-breaking it is to near the end of a piece only to jerk slightly and be forced start from scratch, terrifying! If you would like to see the video check it out here, be warned, it is not for the feint of heart.

The revolution

If you’re a sucker for tradition, then the adobe illustrator revolution probably grinds your gears but for us normal people who don’t want to spend 8 weeks on a project only for it to be eaten by a dog, adobe illustrator and the like is fantastic. Gone were the days of rulers, French curves and rub on lettering. These methods have been replaced with programmes that allow you to perform every illustrating method you could imagine all in one place.

The traditionalists

The comment section as you will have seen if you chose to give the video a watch is filled with illustrators who still utilise these methods. A surprising number of people in the comment section claim to still have these tools lying around which is pretty mind blowing considering how much safer the contemporary method is. Several members of our team had previously used these methods so the video definitely offers a nostalgic element, particularly those who have been in the industry for a considerable amount of time.

Our methods

The traditional methods are fantastic and truly interesting but our graphic designers like so many others opt for conventional methods. Our designers create fantastic illustrations for our clients and will continue to do so with our efficient methods but it is certainly refreshing to see these methods that have been lost to the ages still get the occasional use.