Before 2005, converting a scanned sketch or a pixelated JPEG into a clean vector path required the clunky "Auto Trace" tool (which produced thousands of unnecessary anchor points) or a third-party plugin like Silhouette or Streamline.
This wasn't true 3D modeling like you would find in Blender or Maya, but it was revolutionary for logo design. A designer could type a company name, apply a 3D Extrude effect, and instantly have a 3D logo that remained fully editable as text. The mapping feature allowed users to wrap artwork onto adobe illustrator 2005