Adobe Max - Online for the first time

Shantanu Narayen, Chairman, President and CEO at Adobe, and Scott Belsky, Chief Product Officer and EVP for Creative Cloud at Adobe, led us through the keynotes. They went into 2020, with all its ups and downs, and talked about how countless creatives took action through the pandemic and social emergencies. Whether it was through guerrilla action in the streets of protest marches or posting on social media channels. They led with this to their products that support creative professionals in a wide range of areas on mobile devices: Photoshop and Illustrator - optimized for iPad and smartphones, as well as the extension of their drawing app Adobe Fresco.

In the areas of 3D and AR, Business Productivity, Creativity and Design in Business, Education, Graphic Design, Illustration and Digital Painting, Photography, Social Media, UI and UX and Video, there were numerous presentations to discover, so that three days were almost not enough. Thanks to the availability of the online portal, it was possible to watch the lectures even after they had been broadcast live. The themes of 2020 ran through the individual sessions, in which designers inspired us with an insight into their working methods and provided tips for their audience. Designer Bruno Sellés, for example, gave us personal guidance on how not to lose heart in these volatile times as creatives. We also listened to illustrator Octavia Bromell, who explained how she bridges gloomy days with colorful drawings.

Shantanu Narayen, chairman, president and CEO at Adobe, talks about enhancements to their products:

During the keynotes, some well-known designers had their say. Erik Spiekermann, for example, gave us a tour of his letterpress store in Berlin, where designers from different disciplines can experience the traditional printing process. We learned about Irma Boom and her self-critical view of her unique works "My Books are always a disappointment and I need time to overcome it" and were enlightened by Stefan Sagmeister about various creative techniques. The format was enhanced by the comedian Conan O'Brien as and music acts, as well as a joint sports session.

The presentation of Adobe Sensei was particularly interesting. Under this name, Adobe is constantly developing its AI with machine learning to adapt its products even more to the needs of its users. Some features are already known, such as content-based filling in Adobe Photoshop, where parts of an image are filled with content generated from the selection environment with just a few clicks. Adobe is in the process of extending this feature moving images as well. Also new are the so-called Neural Filters, smart filters in Photoshop that can older a face by simply moving a slider or can change the sky in the image, including the lighting mood, with a single click. Adobe is also in the process of search options for imagery. So we may soon enjoy a graphical image search based on roughly drawn or placed shapes that will save us from having to paraphrase with text.

Overall, Adobe Max was an inspiring event. Despite the challenge of the online-only format and an enormous number of attendees from around the world, the program was exceptional. We are already looking forward to trying out all the new features.