As Creative Boom settles down to enjoy another Adobe MAX in the heart of Los Angeles, we'll do our best to bring you the latest updates from one of the world’s leading creativity conferences.
Today, the software giant will outline its vision for Creative Cloud – a “connected creative canvas” where people create and share their work from anywhere. With millions of members around the world, Creative Cloud brings together essential desktop and mobile apps; a growing marketplace for content, assets and talent; and a vibrant community where you can showcase your work and find inspiration.
Adding to Creative Cloud's momentum, the company is also launching two new mobile apps – Photoshop Fix (seen as controversial by some) and Capture CC – enabling quick retouching and asset capture "on the go" and announced new Touch capabilities across Creative Cloud desktop applications including Photoshop CC, Illustrator CC and Premiere Pro CC.
Adobe is also highlighting its patented CreativeSync technology, which powers connections between desktop and mobile apps and the assets creatives use every day. In addition, video content is coming soon to Adobe Stock, the company’s royalty-free collection of high-quality photos, illustrations and graphics.
Nearly 7,000 attendees, from across the creative spectrum, are currently gathered in Los Angeles to learn, be inspired and network. This year’s MAX will feature film director Baz Luhrmann; “Humans of New York” founder and photographer Brandon Stanton; illustrator and writer Maira Kalman; and artist, designer and author Elle Luna. To view the keynote via a live stream, visit Adobe.com/go/maxkeynote.
Want to discover more about today's big announcements? Read through the following updates from Adobe, brought to you live from Adobe MAX 2015...
Mobile Apps enable design on the go
Available today, Photoshop Fix offers a retouching and restoration-focused image editing experience on a mobile device, powered by Adobe’s world-renowned image-science technology. The simple, intuitive touch interface makes legendary Photoshop desktop features, like the Healing Brush and Liquify, available for real retouching work on iPad and iPhone.
You can now capture anything that inspires you with Adobe Capture CC. This app combines the capabilities of Adobe Brush, Adobe Shape, Adobe Colour and Adobe Hue into a single, powerful, simple-to-use app and the captured design asset can be used as a brush, shape or colour theme for professional work. In addition, Adobe shipped updates to other essential connected Creative Cloud mobile apps, including Photoshop Mix, Photoshop Sketch, Illustrator Draw, Comp CC and Premiere Clip.
Photoshop Fix on iPad
CreativeSync powers new connected Creative Canvas
At the heart of Creative Cloud is CreativeSync, a signature Adobe technology that syncs creative assets: files, photos, fonts, vector graphics, brushes, colours, settings and metadata.
Thanks to CreativeSync, all the assets created with Adobe mobile apps can be saved to Creative Cloud Libraries. Libraries can be accessed across desktop and mobile apps and shared with anyone who has a Creative Cloud membership, so it's easy to collaborate, keep designs consistent and even create style guides to use across projects.
Touch and more coming to Creative Cloud desktop tools
Adobe today unveils powerful new features across flagship Creative Cloud desktop apps that are also core to Creative Cloud’s connected system of tools and services. These include innovations for design, web, user experience (UX) design, video and photography customers, across nearly every Creative Cloud application. Highlights include:
For Design, Adobe introduces new and updated Touch workspaces to InDesign CC and Illustrator CC, powering mobile creativity for layout artists and graphic designers. New Illustrator CC features include the Shaper tool, Live Shapes and enhanced Smart Guides. InDesign CC delivers new online publishing capabilities and Adobe Fuse CC (Preview) 3D character software is added to existing Creative Cloud membership plans. These 3D models can be synced across Creative Cloud Libraries for use in Photoshop CC. Fuse CC recently joined the Adobe product family through the company’s acquisition of 3D innovator, Mixamo.
For Web and UX Design, free-form responsive design comes to Muse CC, to easily create websites that dynamically scale to any size screen, browser or device, without having to code or use restrictive templates.
For developers, Dreamweaver CC also adds responsive design capabilities powered by the popular Bootstrap framework. In Photoshop CC new Artboards capabilities precisely place elements and layers for easier visualisation and the first version of Design Space, a streamlined design-centric experience, is made available to all customers. UX designers can also look forward to Project Comet, the only end-to-end UX design solution that includes a new CC desktop app with a companion mobile app. Currently under development Project Comet is demoed publicly today for the first time during the MAX opening keynote.
For Video, Adobe ushers in a new era of UltraHD via comprehensive native format support for editing beautiful 4K-to-8k footage; and advances colour, with support for High Dynamic Range (HDR) workflows in Premiere Pro CC and improved colour fidelity and adjustments in After Effects CC. Remix, a powerful new audio feature is added to Audition CC. New Touch capabilities are introduced, with Premiere Pro CC, After Effects CC and Character Animator optimized for Surface Pro, Windows tablets or Apple track pad devices.
Adobe Stock adds video support, new purchase options
Launched earlier this year, Adobe Stock will soon support the download and purchase of video content, adding to its growing collection of photos, images and graphics.
Adobe Stock also adds the ability to search for and browse assets directly from Creative Cloud Libraries, including new support for accessing stock within Muse CC, Dreamweaver CC and Flash Professional CC.
Adobe Stock is already integrated into flagship products, including Photoshop CC, InDesign CC, Illustrator CC, Premiere Pro CC and After Effects CC. In addition, Adobe Stock is delivering new capabilities for businesses, offering pooled licenses at no extra cost to Creative Cloud for team customers.
Adobe Stock is also being made available for enterprise use, with additional support for license management, reporting tools, and unlimited usage of stock content in large print runs.
Adobe Stock adds video support
Adobe Portfolio debuts
The company is also set to announce Adobe Portfolio, a new way to create beautiful, simple, creative portfolio websites. Available soon, Portfolio comes free with any Adobe Creative Cloud plan, delivering elegant layouts ideal for any creative field, from photography to fashion.
You can customise your Portfolio sites, which support responsive web design to ensure content looks stunning across all screen sizes. Portfolio sites can include a personalised URL, password-protection and high-impact Typekit fonts.
For background, Portfolio is built on creative community Behance. If you're a member, you can sync Adobe Portfolio to your Behance Projects pages, giving you even more opportunities to get your work discovered.
Adobe updates Creative Cloud photography
Adobe today unveiled feature updates to its popular Creative Cloud Photography plan that delivers the world’s best imaging software across mobile and desktop, for $9.99 per month.
New and updated touch interfaces and enhanced features in Photoshop CC and Lightroom CC pioneer a fresh way for photographers to interact with their images. As well as introducing Photoshop Fix, Adobe also updated Lightroom mobile with new capture capabilities and Dehaze functionality; added more layer support for Photoshop Mix; and introduced powerful new editing capabilities for Lightroom for web. Adobe Portfolio will also be added to Creative Cloud Photography plan.
Want to know more? Find out about pricing and availability
Adobe’s new and updated mobile apps are available for free download from Apple App Store and Google Play now. Updates to Creative Cloud desktop software will ship to Creative Cloud members before the end of the year. Membership plans are available for individuals, students, teams, educational institutions, government agencies and enterprises.
When adding Adobe Stock to any paid yearly Creative Cloud membership plan, you can save up to 40 percent over purchasing stock content separately. For pricing details – and for Adobe Stock p, visit Creative.adobe.com/plans.
For Adobe Stock pricing, including a special promotion available until 30th October 2015, visit Stock.adobe.com/plans.