Adobe MAX

PixelTone. The Future of Photoshop? I Hope So.

This is really pretty bad ass. It promises what people have been doing with image editing software on TV and in the movies for ages now. That scifi and voice controlled manipulation of images using smart software that learns. Created by Adobe Research the University of Michigan, PixelTone is an experimental piece of software that I hope makes it into the real world.

This video demonstrate PixelTone, a research prototype app that uses voice-control and touch to control photo editing operations. PixelTone is a collaboration between researchers at Adobe Research and University of Michigan, and will be presented at the ACM CHI (Computer-Human Interaction) conference this May in Paris. More details can be found here:
http://www.gierad.com/projects/pixelt…

Moving Photoshop Design Features to the Cloud.

A little over a year ago at the Adobe Max conference in Los Angeles Adobe announced their new Creative Cloud service to the world. At the time it really seemed like another cloud based storage solution, but as it has rolled out Adobe’s Creative Cloud has begun to show what it is really about. Creative Cloud is Adobe’s vehicle to move all of us to a subscription based model for software.

On December 5th at 12:00 Central Standard Time, Adobe will host a live streaming event where Jeffrey Veen, the Vice President of Products at Adobe, will demo new Photoshop features that will be available to Creative Cloud members only. This is not a new strategy. Adobe has already done this with other core products (Illustrator, Dreamweaver and Acrobat) where there hav been Creative Cloud only upgrades.

The Creative Now Live event will showcase the upcoming team version of Creative Cloud, and a how to “explore ways to take your design skills from print to online and mobile.” This will be followed by presentations by Photoshop master Scott Kelby talking about hidden gems in Photoshop CS6, and Justin Weyers talking about “A Liars Autobiography: The Untrue Story of Monty Python’s Graham Chapman”.

So why should you watch the event and what does it mean to you the Adobe software user? You should watch because this event shows Adobe’s plan to move its user base to a subscription model. A model that provides access to an extended range of creative tools for a flat monthly rate. This effects you the designer, because in the long term you will probably lease your software from Adobe.

If you are still on the fence about Adobe’s Creative Cloud, you can still get a special upgrade price to join. It’s 30 bucks a month which will cost you 360.00 a year.

Working Adobe Muse

Yesterday afternoon I was given an assignment to build a micro-site, on a very tight deadline and budget. Now I want to point out I am Not a coder/developer. I can hack my way around with some light HTML and CSS stuff but I am not the guy you want to sit down and start writing from code scratch. Especially if it involves advanced HTML5 and CSS tricks paired up with Java.

So in order to get the initial site design hammered out with the correct flow, look and feel, and user experience, I turned to Adobe Muse which I haven’t touched since it was in beta on Adobe Labs. I have to say, while not perfect, it does a solid job of letting me plan and execute this small 11 page site. The application is pretty much drop dead simple, and allows you to create all sorts of things like modal windows with video embedded in it.

Now before any hardcore code junkies fire up the comment wagon and send a bunch of comments slamming Muse, remember this application was not built for developers. It was built for designers that need to rapid prototype a web design for functionality and user flow. And hopefully Muse will be a catalyst for designers wanting to learn more about HTML, CSS, and Java. For a couple of quick reviews of the software, click here or here. For a more in depth overview of what Muse does, and to see how it is different from things like Dreamweaver watch the video below.

SwApp. Adobe’s Latest Tutorial Builder, iOS Dev Tool, Creative Showcase

You have to hand it to Adobe. Not only have they completely embraced the tablet eco system, they have pushed their software development teams to create tools that make it easier to build and publish interactive apps for iOS and Android devices.

One of the latest training tools that Adobe is releasing is titled SwApp. It is a dedicated tablet application that features tutorials created and uploaded by the creative community from all over the world. The app is available for free on the Apple App Store, and distributed in a series of editions, each including up to twelve user-contributed tutorials and examples of work.

If you are one of those rare individuals that makes good tutorials and want to join in the fun, you’ll need a copy of InDesign CS6, Folio Producer, and Folio Builder. You’ll need to download the Adobe provided InDesign templates and assets to start your tutorial build, and follow the Adobe guidelines for creating tutorial content. There is a ton of potential here to show off your mad creative skills and teaching talents. All it costs you is time.