30 Ways You Can Use Adobe Illustrator for your Business
Do you have Illustrator installed on your computer but have no idea what types of graphics you should be using it for?
Or maybe you’ve been interested in learning Illustrator, but aren’t fully sure of what all it can do yet.
If either of these describes you, you’re in luck! I’ve done a bit of a brain dump for you, spilling 30 ways I’ve used Illustrator over the last several years. Between my own graphics and client projects, I have tons I can share!
I hope this gets you inspired of new ways to use the program, or inspires you to start learning the program! – More on that at the end of this post.
1. Logos
Illustrator is actually THE design program you should be using to design logos. Not only does this program allow you to create completely custom logo designs that you know will be one-of-a-kind to your brand, but Illustrator also will create your logo as a vector graphic. A vector graphic allows you to resize the image as large or a small as you could ever want, without it ever losing resolution or picture quality. It’s essentially graphic design magic, and thus, the only program you should be using to create your logo designs.
2. Business Cards
Because Illustrator is great for print graphics, creating business cards in this program is a breeze! Plus you can make them any size or shape that you could ever want them.
Mine? They’re square and I LOVE them. (And were made in Illustrator, of course!)
3. Social Media Graphics
Not only is Illustrator great for print graphics, but it’s also great for creating web graphics! Therefore, I create all of my social media graphics in Illustrator. Illustrator also makes it super easy to create your graphics in multiple different sizes, so it’s easy to create various versions of the same graphic to use on each social media platform.
4. Blog Post Templates
Creating templates for my graphics in Adobe Illustrator has saved me SO much time in my business! All I have to do is open up my blog post template, pop in a new photo and text, save it and I’m good to go! Why recreate the wheel if you don’t need to?!
5. Posters or Flyers
If you’re a local business, posters and flyers are definitely something you should consider for any upcoming events, promotions or announcements that your community should know about. Design them in Illustrator, get them printed at a local print shop, and hang them all around town!
6. Social Media Banners
I recommend keeping all of your social media platforms super branded and professional looking. You can use Illustrator to create social media banner that look cohesive and consistent across all of your social media accounts.
7. Infographics
Did you know that my infographics get repinned on Pinterest THOUSANDS more times than my regular blog posts? That’s because people love a good infographic. Also because visual information can be consumed way faster than written content – which is why they do so well on social media. Infographics are also the sole reason I make affiliate income each month. So if you’re not creating infographics for your business, you should be! Your audience will eat them up!
8. Branded Icons
If you’ve ever looked for ways to easily jazz up your website without knowing any fancy code, custom, branded icons are your solution! These give your website tons of personality and really add something special to your brand while increasing your brand recognition. I recommend creating them for different categories of your site or blog or using them to section off areas of a web page.
9. Buttons
Another great way to add some personality to your website is by creating custom buttons. All you need to do is create an image in Illustrator, upload the graphic to your website and then give it a click-through URL. That way whens it's clicked, it will take the user to another place on your website. Easy enough, huh?
10. Thank You Notes
For any of you who have the BEST clients ever (like me), you may want to send them a thank you note someday. I do this for all of my big time clients at Christmas time. Because Illustrator is the best at creating print projects, thank you notes are no exception!
11. Invitations
Have an event coming up? Create your invites in Illustrator! Illustrator gives you tons of freedom to choose whatever size, shape, and layout works best for your invites. So making them super customized is no problem!
12. Printables
Any of you who have a blog or an Etsy shop, you may want to offer printables to your audience! Illustrator is the perfect place to make these. That's how I made my super popular calendar printable a few months ago and is exactly the program you should be using for your printables too!
13. Newsletter Banners
If you have an email list, you’ve probably thought about designing a fancy, well-branded newsletter banner to add to your newsletter template. Guess where you should create it?! Illustrator.
14. Email Signatures
I love having a branded email signature loaded into my Gmail account. Now every time I send an email to a client or a blog reader, they can click my signature and go right to my website or social media accounts. It’s awesome! I created my signature in Illustrator and here’s a tutorial to show you how I put it into Gmail.
15. Facebook Ads
I’m just getting ready to run my first Facebook Ads and guess where I’m making them?! Illustrator. Illustrator makes it super easy to create multiple variations of the same ad in the same document, so it’s easy to see all of the concepts you’ve come up with in one place.
16. Mood Boards
If you’re in the early stages of branding, Illustrator is a great place to create a mood board. You can create some really stunning layouts!
17. Brochures
I make brochures for clients ALL the time. My favorite part of Illustrator is that I can design a bifold, trifold, or a weird, different fold that is custom to that particular design. The layouts and designs are endless and brochures are something you can be super creative with!
18. Handouts or Coupons
If your business has a physical location, having promotional handouts in your store or giving out coupons for an upcoming sale is a great way to keep customers coming back. You can easily make these in Illustrator in any size and shape you’d like!
19. Print Ads
Some of my clients run ads in their local publications and I always design them in Illustrator. The program easily allows me to create ads in multiple sizes really easily, plus it’s great for print design, so it’s a no brainer. Plus depending on the audience, print ads may be a great way to advertise your biz!
20. T-Shirts
What better way to promote your business than looking hella' good wearing a custom designed, branded t-shirt?! Although I don’t currently have any of my own, I’ve made them for clients! I’ve got a few of them in my closet right now, in fact.
21. Postcards and Mailers
Mailers are another great option for promoting special offers to your existing and potential clients. Whether you have an upcoming sale, event, or new offer you want people to know about, you could send out a special mailer or postcard to get the word out!
22. Signage
One of the best qualities about Illustrator its ability to create vector graphics. Vector graphics are images that will never become pixelated, no matter how large you stretch them. This makes Illustrator perfect for creating graphics for signs of any size. I’ve created signs promoting events and promos, as well as signs to be used at events themselves. I’ve also even helped design a billboard! So no matter the size, Illustrator can hook you up with all of your signage needs.
23. Video Thumbnails
Although this is a great project for Photoshop, I actually create all of my video thumbnails in Illustrator! They come out great either way.
24. Stickers
Who doesn’t love some branded stickers?! Enough said really, but if you want stickers, Illustrator is the place to make them!
25. Media Kits
Media kits can easily be made in Illustrator. In fact, it’s a great program to use if you want to add icons or infographics to display your super impressive stats. The more visual, the more impressed potential sponsors will be, so make sure your media kit knocks their socks off!
26. Worksheets
If you’re a blogger, a teacher, or an even a service-based business owner and you create worksheets for one reason or another, Illustrator can be a great place to put them together! You’re not limited by what you can create in the program, so the worksheets can be completely specialized to your needs.
27. Welcome Packets
For any of you service based business owners, you may want to create a welcome packet for onboarding new clients. That’s what I do and it works out really well! Illustrator is great for creating multi-page documents, so don’t worry if your welcome packet needs to be several pages long to convey all the necessary information.
28. Digitizing Hand Lettered Text
Any hand letterers out there?! (If you're one, I’m super jealous of you). For those of you wanting to bring your hand lettering onto the computer, Illustrator is where you can do it! You can digitize it by either tracing it with the pen tool or by using the live-trace function.
29. Digital Illustrations
Guys this might be my favorite thing to do in all of Illustrator. I LOVE drawing on the computer. The best part about it? You don’t even need to be good at drawing in real life to draw on the computer. I swear. Drawings are also a great way to add character to your graphics and branding, while also standing out from the competition.
Ps. How much do you love these faces of me and my family?! 😂
30. Custom Envelopes
If you’re sending snail mail to clients, you may want to invest in some custom-printed envelopes! They can add a lot to your brand with little effort and investment.
As you can see, you can create SO MANY THINGS in Illustrator.
Literally almost any graphic you can think of. I highly recommend learning if it you haven't already. It will seriously elevate what you're able to design yourself for your clients!
