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Matt Fons/2 min read

Aligning Objects to Artboard in Adobe Illustrator: Step-by-Step Guide

Illustrator Vector Workflow

1

Set Up Document

Pixels for digital, points/inches for print. Add bleed if printing.

2

Build Shapes

Combine basic shapes with Pathfinder before reaching for the Pen tool.

3

Apply Color & Effects

Swatches panel for repeatable color; Effects for shadows, glows.

4

Export

SVG for web, PDF for print, PNG for raster handoff.

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This Illustrator tutorial walks through aligning objects to artboard in adobe illustrator, covering essential tools and techniques for your projects.

In this video, we’ll be discussing aligning objects to the artboard. So, let’s begin by first selecting our network icon.

As you may remember, we can do this with the Selection Tool, either by selecting the object itself or clicking to the right of "Network" in our Layers panel. With "Network" now selected, it's time to align it to the artboard. To align it, we’ll go up to our Control Bar, use the "Align to Selection" dropdown menu, and instead select "Align to Artboard."

From here, we’ll see different alignment icons, giving us options for how we want to align it. For example, if we want to align it to the bottom, we’ll see that it snaps to the bottom. To the top, right, and left.

However, for these icons, we’re going to want to align them to the center. Therefore, with the group selected, we’ll simply select "Horizontal Align Center" as well as "Vertical Align Center." With both selected, our icon is now perfectly centered within our 30 × 30 pixel artboard.

So, let’s move on to align our other icons. I’ll hold CTRL on the keyboard as I scroll up with the mouse, and next, we’ll be aligning our magnifying glass. To do this, we’ll select the object, then go to the Control Bar, and select "Horizontal Align Center" and "Vertical Align Center."

Next, we’ll move to the left with our download icon, select it, and choose "Horizontal Align Center" and "Vertical Align Center." Finally, we’ll do this with our last icon, the arrow, by clicking it and aligning it horizontally and vertically. While it may not be crucial to be a pixel or two off, it is helpful when we export each of our icons. As we zoom out and view them all, it’s beneficial to have consistency and have them centered within our artboards.

So, let’s now save our work using CTRL + S on the keyboard, and in the next video, we’ll be working on our cloud icon.

See you there!