Adobe recently announced the release of their HTML5 Pack for Adobe Illustrator CS5. It’s totally free for Illustrator CS5 users. Here’s a quick rundown from their site:

• Efficiently design for web and devices by exporting Illustrator Artboards for unique screen sizes using SVG and CSS3 media queries.
• Create web widgets with Illustrator by generating dynamic vector art for data driven web work-flows.
• Take advantage of the latest enhancements to SVG and Canvas to generate interactive web content.
• Map artwork appearance attributes from designer to developer tools—export from the Illustrator Appearance Panel to CSS3 for streamlined styling of web pages.

It’s interesting that this was released around the same time that Apple relaxed their rules about how iPhone and iPad apps can be developed, specifically in allowing tools like Adobe’s Flash-to-iPhone compiler found in Flash CS5.

In effect, Apple now allows Adobe use their Flash-based tools to develop apps, and Adobe releases tools to allow Illustrator CS5 users to develop non-Flash interactive content for the web — which in particular means developing interactive content for the iPhone and iPad. And of course for Android, since most Android phones still do not have the capability to run Flash content.

Note that this has nothing to do with Flash content displaying on Apple’s iOS devices, but interestingly offers an alternative to Flash for developing interactive web content. The two are only loosely related, but I find the shift in attitude from both companies very surprising and welcome.

I’m glad to see Adobe offering these tools and stepping up to the plate. Sure, they have a lot riding on Flash and would prefer creators to use their proprietary formats. But designers need to have tools to develop in whatever environment is applicable to their project. If a client wants HTML5, Adobe needs to offer the tools to do so before someone else beats them to it.

Adobe Evangelist Greg Rewis has an extended video demonstrating the use of the HTML5 Pack for use on the web. Looks pretty slick: