Related Class
Adobe Creative Cloud 2015 new features
- Published on
Adobe Creative Cloud 2015 adds some new features to a few of the CC applications. Most existing Creative Cloud users won’t have a compelling need to immediately update their versions of the Creative Cloud apps. If you are not a Creative Cloud user, it’s useful to understand that the Creative Cloud is a collection of many different applications, not just a single program. A subscription to the Creative Cloud includes programs for photo retouching, designing logos, and creating brochures, among other things.
The most widely used Creative Cloud app is Photoshop. Photoshop CC has been updated with capabilities that have nothing to do with photo editing. The new capabilities added to Photoshop will help UX designers create mockups and comps for webpages and apps they are designing, using the new artboard option. Illustrator users have had this ability, which allows for multiple compositions to exist within the same file. It is similar to the concept of having multiple pages, but instead it involves multiple screens or images, all within a single file. In a related move, Photoshop now also includes a Device Preview option to show how designs will appear on mobile devices. Additional under-the-hood improvements will provide improved speed for certain brushes and tools.
The Creative Cloud 2015 new features for InDesign and Illustrator also include similar behind-the-scenes changes. Adobe is claiming dramatic speed improvements with panning, zooming, and scrolling. They’ve also added an automatic save feature which protects files from loss if the app should ever crash. InDesign also adds capabilities for publishing documents online.
As most websites have moved to content management systems like WordPress or Drupal, little Adobe Dreamweaver is shouting “don’t forget about me” and adds support for creating responsive web pages.
For video editors, Premiere Pro incorporates capabilities shown earlier this year by Adobe, such as the Lumetri Color panel for color correcting, and the Morph Cut option to make it easier to create jump cuts in multi-camera interviews.
Once we complete more testing and confirm the applications are stable and don’t crash frequently, we will be updating the Creative Cloud training classes at AGI to use these latest versions of the apps. In all cases, the core features and functions of the Creative Cloud apps have not changed, and users participating in Adobe training will be able to use any of the Creative Cloud versions for all the introductory courses, as these functions have not changed for many versions. It is only the most advanced courses that will be updated to include the most recent capabilities.
Adobe is also using the Creative Cloud 2015 update to try and sell its subscribers more things directly within the Creative Cloud apps. Adobe purchased stock photography company Fotolia earlier this year. With the Creative Cloud 2015 update, Adobe is trying to now sell these stock photos to Creative Cloud subscribers by including in-app purchasing options. Users who had hoped that their $50 per month subscriptions might include more value, with some stock photos being incorporated, will be sadly disappointed as Adobe tries to keep users in their apps and sell them everything from web fonts to stock photos to use in their designs.
About the author
Christopher Smith is president of American Graphics Institute. He is the co-author of Adobe Creative Cloud for Dummies and more than 10 other books on design and digital publishing. He served as publisher and editor of the Digital Classroom book series, which has sold more than one million books on topics relating to InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects, Premiere Pro and other Creative Cloud apps. At American Graphics Institute, he provides strategic technology consulting to marketing professionals, publishers designers, and large technology companies including Google, Apple, Microsoft, and HP. An expert on web analytics and digital marketing, he also delivers Google Analytics classes along with workshops on digital marketing topics. Christopher did his undergraduate studies the at the University of Minnesota, and then worked for Quark, Inc. prior to joining American Graphics Institute where he has worked for more than 20 years.