Let’s Give our Young Creatives the Tools that will Go the Distance
I am pulling for you, Adobe Express. Although not a perfect company, I have a deep loyalty to Adobe and a huge appreciation for their innovation, the way they listen to their designers, and how they make creative software accessible to the masses. Adobe has been around for 40 years and has consistently delivered, revolutionizing the landscape of marketing and storytelling. Adobe Express is their answer to the Canva rage, a graphics software company used for social media graphics, presentations, posters, videos and the like. For non-profits and businesses who have very basic needs, Canva is a great start. It makes it possible for companies to do a wealth of basic communications and graphics projects without having to learn more complex programs.
Where the rub is for me, is where smart young creators plateau out on simple iphone apps and software like Canva instead of diving into the wealth of opportunity that is in suites like the Adobe Creative Cloud . There is so much that can be offered as you expand into animation, cinematic visual effects, illustration, industry-standard film editing, 3D Modeling, advanced photo editing and more. The Adobe Suite also offers a robust creative community, collaboration tools, ample tutorials, and the Adobe culture, which celebrates storytelling, each person's unique voice, diversity, and career development opportunities. It is important to both open the door to the creative landscape AND teach designers the gold standard so they will be competitive and proficient with industry requirements. It is the job of leaders and CMOs to create a culture that allows for growth and excellence.
Without putting a ton of time into beta-testing Adobe Express, here is why I love it:
The basic version of Adobe Express is free, the premium version is only $10 / month, and if you have the Creative Cloud, the premium version is included at no extra cost with the integration of Photoshop Express and Premiere Rush, a video editing application. You can get a year's subscription for $99 and start your Adobe journey.
You get access to the massive Adobe Stock library without having to pay the subscription - with more images that you'll ever need and quality and consistency that is very strong. You also get access to the Adobe font library, making use of 20,000+ Adobe fonts that are going to be more consistent with industry standard branding and aesthetics.
Most importantly, creatives will get access to the Adobe tools and learn the basic versions of existing software programs like Photoshop and Premiere. This will open the door to the more advanced programs that Adobe offers and the potential to move into careers that will expand their skills, impact, and let their voices be heard through powerful creative channels. Adobe integrates with LinkedIn, enabling them to showcase their creative skills to prospective employers — and learn new ones with LinkedIn Learning.
I believe in giving creators the tools that will take them the distance, and expand the possibilities and opportunities that will enable more successful marketing teams. Head to head, Canva will still have some features that Adobe Express needs to catch up on, but the programs are largely interchangeable. What Adobe offers these marketing professionals in the long run will far outweigh the dizzying array of emerging content development tools. Let's train our marketing teams and invest the time in creating expansive, stable, and sophisticated creative tools.
