Every graphic designer should have their go-to shortcuts to help speed up their workflow. From changing the size of the text to selecting and deselecting layers, these shortcuts are guaranteed to increase your productivity. As in any profession, there are quite a few ways to complete one task. So, while I won’t provide you with every shortcut, I will provide you with some of my favorites to add to your Illustrator toolbox!
Direct Selection Tool
Mac: Cmd Windows: Ctrl
This will help you switch between the selection and the direction selection tool. It’s perfect for when you have an object selected and then want to select a specific portion of the object. Huge time saver!
Scale Proportionally with Selection Tool
Mac: Shift + drag bounding box Windows: Shift + drag bounding box
With this handy shortcut, you will never distort your images again! Enjoy scaling proportionally with this tool.
Sample Color
Mac: I Windows: I
I am constantly sampling colors from other images and graphics, and with this shortcut, using your eyedropper tool becomes a seamless process.
Select All Items on a Layer
Mac: Option + click layer Windows: Option + click layer
If you guys are organized and work in layers, you can quickly select all the items on one particular layer by using the shortcut above. Quick tip: If you only want to see the visible, unlocked objects, click the select circle in the layer palette.
Move Selection 10 pts
Mac: Shift + arrow direction Windows: Shift + arrow direction
This will come in handy when you need to move text or a graphic quickly and accurately. It’s a huge time saver since you don’t have to manually click it over each time!
Add To A Selection
Mac: Shift, Click Windows: Shift, Click
One of my most used shortcuts! This allows you to select multiple items or objects from different layers and artboards.
Duplicate
Mac: Option + drag Windows: Alt + drag
Using this shortcut, you will just drag your selection while holding option to duplicate the text or object. Think of this as a faster way to copy and paste!
There are so many shortcuts for Illustrator and even though I could go on, I just wanted to share a few of my favorites. I would recommend taking a look at your workflow in Illustrator and really evaluating where you think you could be faster. Then do a quick google search and try and implement some of these shortcuts into your practices. I promise you won’t regret it, and I can guarantee that they will become second nature and you won’t know how you worked without them!
