Adobe announces next generation of Creative Cloud at MAX 2018

The announced application include Photoshop CC, Lightroom CC, Illustrator CC, InDesign CC, Premiere Pro CC and Adobe XD. Adobe also introduced Adobe Premiere Rush CC, the first all-in-one, easy-to-use video editing app for social media creators, simplifying video creation and sharing on platforms including YouTube and Instagram.

Adobe previewed new iPad versions of Adobe Photoshop CC and Project Gemini, a drawing app, reinforcing the company's commitment to delivering high-performance apps that work seamlessly across surfaces, Adobe said in a press statement.

"Today, we unveiled a portfolio of next-generation creative apps that deliver meaningful value to our community by transforming creative workflows across devices and platforms," said Scott Belsky, chief product officer and executive vice president, Creative Cloud, Adobe. 

"By continuing to innovate in our flagship apps, extending into exploding segments such as experience design and social video creation, and pioneering in emerging mediums like touch, voice, 3D and augmented reality, Adobe Creative Cloud has truly become the creativity platform for all."

Adobe said it introduced major updates to its desktop applications, including: a new Content-Aware Fill workspace in Photoshop CC; performance and workflow improvements across Lightroom CC and Lightroom Classic; the ability to design with photorealistic, Freeform gradients in Illustrator CC; a powerful Content-Aware Fit in InDesign CC; the power to instantly create and animate unique, stylized puppets using a webcam and reference artwork with Character Animator's new Characterizer; a new rendering engine for improved render preview performance in Dimension CC; and new Sensei powered search features and exclusive content in Adobe Stock, including a new library of clips from GoPro.

In addition, Adobe announced it is addressing the needs of the video animation industry with new workflows and integrations across apps, including Animate to After Effects, Animate to Character Animator and Adobe XD to After Effects, Adobe said.

Adobe XD, the all-in-one UX/UI solution for designing websites and mobile apps, now features new capabilities leveraging recently acquired Sayspring technology to empower designers to prototype experiences and apps for voice-powered devices, such as Amazon Echo. New voice capabilities, including voice triggers and speech playback, enable designers to create powerful experiences with screen and voice prototyping now in one application. In addition, developers can now leverage Adobe XD APIs to build plug-ins and app integrations that add new features, automate workflows and connect XD to the tools and services designers use every day

Designed specifically for online video creators, Premiere Rush CC integrates capture, intuitive editing, simplified color, audio and motion graphics with seamless publishing to leading social platforms, such as YouTube and Instagram, all together in one easy-to-use solution. With Premiere Rush CC, content creators do not have to be video, color or audio experts to publish professional-quality videos. Premiere Rush CC harnesses the power of Premiere Pro CC and After Effects CC, offers built-in access to professionally designed Motion Graphics templates in Adobe Stock to get started quickly and features a Sensei-powered, one-click auto-duck feature to adjust music and normalize sound. It also allows access anywhere, enabling users to create compelling video projects – optimized for social distribution – on one device and publish from another with a consistent user experience across desktop and mobile.

Adobe previewed two future mobile apps designed to usher in a new era of multi-surface creation while complementing workflows across Adobe's existing flagship desktop applications:

·         Photoshop CC on iPad: Redesigned for a modern touch experience, Photoshop CC on iPad will deliver the power and precision of its desktop counterpart. Photoshop CC on iPad will let users open and edit native PSD files using Photoshop's industry-standard image-editing tools and will feature the familiar Photoshop layers panel. With Photoshop CC across devices, coming first to iPad in 2019, you will be able to start your work on an iPad and seamlessly roundtrip all of your edits with Photoshop CC on the desktop via Creative Cloud.

·         Project Gemini: A new app designed to accelerate drawing and painting workflows across devices, Project Gemini, coming first to iPad in 2019, combines raster, vector and new dynamic brushes into a single app experience built for drawing. Project Gemini enables artists to use and sync their favorite Photoshop brushes and works seamlessly with Photoshop CC.

The 2019 release of Creative Cloud delivers more than a dozen new Adobe Sensei-powered features and productivity enhancements – building on dozens of existing Sensei-powered features already available to Adobe Creative Cloud, Document Cloud and Experience Cloud customers. Sensei-powered features in the 2019 release include:

·         An expanded Content-Aware Fill workspace in Photoshop CC that offers greater precision and control to save editors valuable time when working with their images.

·         A new Content-Aware Fit feature in InDesign CC that intelligently detects an image and crops or fits it to an image frame automatically.

·         New Freeform Gradients in Illustrator CC that enable the creation of natural gradients.

·         A new tool in Character Animator CC, Characterizer, that transforms any style of portrait into a vivid, animated character.

Designed to make creatives more successful and supercharge their productivity, the 2019 Creative Cloud release delivers significant performance and usability improvements, greater cross-application integration, intuitive collaboration features and faster access to file assets and services. Among the new capabilities, Adobe is optimizing the in-app Start experience to accelerate customer on-boarding with new apps and improve discoverability of new features and product capabilities.

Additional workflow improvements include a contextually-aware Properties Panel in InDesign CC to display options based on the object selected, expanded Undo and auto-resizing in Photoshop CC, a customizable toolbar in Illustrator CC and a modern UI in Bridge CC with support for bulk uploads of libraries. Creative Cloud members also get the all new Adobe Acrobat DC, which provides a completely reimagined way to share work and get it reviewed and approved without sending email attachments or managing version control.

Adobe previewed Project Aero, a new cross-device AR authoring tool that enables creators to design augmented reality experiences. Project Aero is the first AR app built for designers and artists and was first sneaked on-stage at Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference earlier this year. Project Aero enables optimal delivery of AR experiences, empowering creatives to place digital content in the real world. At Adobe MAX, Adobe showcased an AR-powered retail store of the future, revealing the exciting possibilities of immersive design experiences.

Adobe announced deeper integrations between Creative Cloud and Adobe Experience Cloud that unify creative and marketer workflows. With these integrations, brands can now easily access assets in Experience Manager within Creative Cloud apps, Adobe Stock images can be leveraged in Experience Manager, and 3D content designed with Dimension CC can be adjusted in Experience Manager and published as marketing assets.