Creative to the MAX: Catherine Edition

One of the many learning and developmental initiatives offered by PMG is the opportunity to attend industry conferences relevant to an employee’s role at PMG. In October, I had the awesome opportunity to attend Adobe MAX: The Creativity Conference along with my coworker and fellow designer, Cynthia De La Torre.

Adobe, the leader in creative software, hosts an annual conference that blends technical knowledge with creative inspiration. Conference attendees experience exclusive Adobe product reveals as well as breakout sessions with industry leaders and hands-on labs. Cynthia and I gathered with 14,000 other creative-minded people in Los Angeles, California, for the three-day conference. Each day was dedicated to a different creative focus and was designed to present cutting-edge technology and design.

The conference kicked off with a general session about all things Adobe. This year, Adobe revealed major updates to its line of products and even some new products. One of the biggest announcements was Adobe’s plans to bring the power of Photoshop, one of Adobe’s most classic products, to the iPad Pro in 2019. Having the capabilities of the desktop app on a mobile device will provide more flexibility and opportunities for using the product.

Adobe also rolled out its newest app, Premiere Rush. Premiere Rush is a mobile app made for videographers on the go. Content creators can quickly shoot and edit content on their mobile devices and the app is meant to cater to a wider audience rather than just creative professionals by allowing users to be scrappy with their video creations. Considering that anyone with a cell phone can create and publish content, Premiere Rush will enable anyone to use professional tools without having to be a professional videographer. This app will definitely appeal to rising filmmakers, influencers, and YouTube stars.

Adobe also demonstrated that the company is ahead of the artificial intelligence trend with its Adobe Sensi, Adobe’s AI technology. Adobe Sensi was a heavy presence in app updates in order to increase efficiency and accuracy in workflows.

Read more about the Day 1 Keynote from Cynthia’s perspective, or watch it online.

While Adobe MAX brought out a passionate community and the innovative general session, Community Inspires Creativity, was the dose of needed inspiration. In this session, attendees heard from leading influential creators. Although the creators came from different backgrounds and generations, it was clear that their passion and commitment to their craft was the common denominator.

Albert Watson, a world-renowned photographer, discussed the evolution of his photography career and the ways he continuously makes relevant work. Nicola Scott, the comics artist behind much of the Wonder Woman series, shared how she reached her ultimate goal of becoming the illustrator of the comic book superhero. Scott persistently chased her dream of becoming a comic book artist and took advantage of opportunities she encountered.

My personal favorite was a panel that featured Questlove, the drummer and joint frontman for The Roots, and YouTube influencer, Lilly Singh. Questlove and Singh discussed how modern creators are multifaceted and how they are able to stay motivated in their fast-paced fields. Both artists explained how they not only juggle multiple projects but are always pushing themselves to do even more in order to stay inspired.

Last, but not least, Ron Howard, the actor and filmmaker, shared his thoughts on the creative process and the importance of mentorship. Howard also discussed how creative technology can help elevate work productivity and maximize our creativity.

Each year, SNEAKS is the general session that is hilarious, entertaining, and mind-blowing, all in one. This year, SNEAKS was co-hosted by actress and comedian, Tiffany Haddish and Adobe’s Paul Trani, Senior Creative Cloud Evangelist. SNEAKS wowed the crowd with Adobe’s most innovative technology. Adobe engineers demonstrated new tools in their early stages of development. Most of the technology shown does not yet live in a specific application, but the technology alone gave an exciting glimpse into the tools and apps that will one day be available.

Here are a few sneaks to watch for in future apps. First, Adobe is blurring the lines between static illustration and animation with Project Brush Bounty. Brush Bounty will allow users to add simple motions to illustrations using a brush tool. Think along the lines of adding animated raindrops to an illustration or making a character’s hair blow in the wind.

Although the motions are simple, to produce today, the motions would require the use of advanced animation tools and motion graphics. Brush Bounty will let a user add animation as if the user is coloring on top of an image, but that’s not all! A user will also be able to copy and paste a link with live weather data to make an illustration mimic the actual weather in a certain location or add a link to a hashtag to make the illustration dynamically respond to the hashtag’s usage.

Similar to the way Brush Bounty will bring animation to static illustrations, Project Moving Stills will literally bring static photography to life. Using advanced AI technology from Adobe Sensi, Moving Stills will animate flat, 2D images into 3D. The result is a drone-like effect with the appearance of flying through a photograph.

For all the font lovers, Project Fontphoria will morph glyphs and generate an entire alphabet based on a single letter. For example, users will be able to snap a single photo of a sign or handwritten note and Fontphoria can mimic the glyphs and turn it into a fully functioning font. Users will be able to create custom fonts and lettering from their phone any time the inspiration hits.

The SNEAKS presenters showed off a few more projects that Adobe has in the works. If you want to see more, you can watch all of the amazing demos here.

Adobe MAX gives attendees the chance to refine their abilities and learn new techniques with hands-on labs and speaker sessions. The sessions are often hosted by engineers who work on Adobe product teams or by recognizable industry experts. Attendees have the opportunity to select sessions before arrival.

In my labs, I tried apps I had never used before such as Adobe Dimension, Premiere Pro, and the new Premiere Rush. I will admit that simply opening some of these apps can be a big step. The other labs and classes that I attended allowed me to refine my skills and gave me new ideas to implement into my workflow.

The speaker sessions helped attendees refresh their creativity perspectives. Sessions such as Hack Your Creativity: Banish Your Inner Critic! taught me to stop committing “ideacide” and to silence my inner critic to create my best work. Aaron Draplin’s, The One That Got Away And More, described his rocky road to success. Draplin emphasized that when you live and learn, things can turn out okay. Arianna Orland showed how ambiguity can actually mean potential in Love for the Uncertain: How Designers Wield Ambiguity.

It’s safe to say I left Adobe MAX with a wealth of inspiration after having such a memorable experience. The conference truly sparked my creativity and gave me a fresh eagerness to learn. I was excited to see different ways creators take advantage of the new tools and technologies available. With so many tools at our fingertips, the creative field continues to evolve, and I look forward to seeing how creativity can change our perspectives.

I truly appreciated the opportunity PMG provided for me to attend.