For those of you who have been following along with Elle & Company for any length of time, you’ve probably picked up on my love of Adobe Creative Suite. Not only do I use many of its programs for my design services, but it's been extremely useful for blogging as well. I’ve received several questions about the entire creative suite since I launched my Adobe Illustrator e-course last month, so today I’m breaking it down for you by highlighting its benefits, overviewing my favorite apps, and explaining the plans for Adobe Creative Cloud.
The Benefits
The latest updates are always at your fingertips
When I started college in 2008 I was required to buy Adobe CS3 for Virginia Tech’s design program, and the cost was well over $1,000. Not only was that a large sum of money for a college freshman, but by the time I graduated from Tech four years later, my version of the software had become very outdated (I think the latest version was CS6 in 2012). That’s a lot of money to drop on software every couple years, especially with how often they come out with new versions of the Suite.
Adobe came out with a subscription option for their software a few years ago called Creative Cloud, and it allows you to download the apps to your computer and stay up to date with the most recent version of your favorite Adobe programs. This option saves money in the long run, especially for those who use Photoshop and Illustrator on a regular basis for their blog and business.
You have the ability to pick and choose apps
Adobe Creative Cloud offers different plans that allow you to pick and choose which programs you download. This is helpful for those of you who are only interested in one or two apps and don’t care to access the entire Suite.
Their subscription access allows you to cancel at any time
If you choose to subscribe monthly and after a few months you don’t need or use the software any longer, you have the option to cancel your subscription at any time. Because Creative Cloud is subscription based, you aren’t tied into a long-term agreement.
The programs integrate with each other
The compatibility of the platforms and their ability to work together is another advantage to using the Suite. Lightroom and Photoshop work closely together, as do Illustrator and InDesign and Illustrator and Photoshop.
Their Most Well-Known Apps
Photoshop
Photoshop is used by photographers, graphic designers, videographers, and 3d artists to enhance and manipulate photos and create original, digital artwork. Photoshop can be used to:
- Correct exposure or modifying color
- Crop, align, and rotate photos to achieve better compositions
- Restore and retouch images
- Combine multiple images into composites
- Simulate a variety of photographic lens effects
- Create textures within images or backgrounds
- Create comps of websites and mobile applications
- Apply special effects like blurs and lighting effects
- Repair videos
- Create 3D shapes for use in other applications
Lightroom
Lightroom is used by photographers to organize and process their work. Lightroom can be used to:
- Import and manage their photography libraries
- Nondestructively adjust attributes like vibrancy, clarity, and brightness
- Easily convert photos to black and white
- Remove perspective and lens distortion
- Process multiple photos at once using presets
- Export work in a variety of formats for both print and web
Illustrator
Illustrator is used by artists and graphic designers to create scalable, vector artwork for use in both print and web. Illustrator can be used to:
- Create clean visual compositions that can be scaled infinitely without losing quality
- Create freehand drawings and illustrations
- Trace and recolor scanned-in artwork
- Create wireframes from which to create digital paintings
- Create logos, icons, and other complex shapes
- Set type for use in magazines, flyers, and business cards
- Create website mockups and graphics for use across multiple screens
InDesign
InDesign is the industry-standard publishing application for print publications, interactive PDF documents, digital magazines, and e-publications. InDesign can be used to:
- Create rich typographic layouts
- Assemble photos and artwork into designs quickly and easily
- Create styles to change the look and feel of their document
- Package files for commercial print in a quick and organized manner
- Create rich interactive documents
- Build interactive PDF forms to collect data from customers
Premiere Pro
Premiere Pro is used by videographers and interactive designers to edit, manipulate, and export their video projects. Premiere Pro can be used to:
- Edit multiple camera tracks and sync them
- Correct video exposure and color
- Add a variety of lighting and camera effects
- Add sophisticated title sequences with built-in templates and styles
- Export projects in various high-definition and web-friendly formats
For a complete look at their apps, click here.
Creative CLOUD Plans
For Individuals
Individuals have the ability to choose from 3 different package options:
Photography
$9.99/mo
This includes the latest version of Photoshop and the latest versions of Lightroom desktop, mobile, and web.
Single App
$19.99/mo
This option allows you to choose one app for download. It also gives you access to Typekit desktop and web fonts.
Complete
$49.99/mo
This plan gives you access to all of the applications, as well as Typekit fonts.
For Students and Teachers
Students and teachers don't have the Single App option like individuals, but they offer the other 2 plans at a discounted rate:
Photography
$9.99/mo
Like the individual plan, this includes the latest version of Photoshop and the latest versions of Lightroom desktop, mobile, and web. This plan requires an institutional affiliation.
Complete
$19.99/mo
Like the individual plan, the Complete plan gives you access to all of the applications and Typekit fonts. It provides promotional pricing for the first year and also requires an institutional affiliation.
For Small and Medium Businesses
Creative Cloud for teams allows creative professionals in small and medium-sized businesses to get access to all of Adobe’s latest apps. With the business plan, group administrators and easily add, assign, and reassign licenses as teams and staffing changes.
For a complete look at their plans and pricing, click here.
Adobe Creative Suite is the most comprehensive, compatible, and beneficial software packages for bloggers and creatives entrepreneurs. Each application puts a world of opportunity at your fingertips.
Do you use Adobe Creative Suite for your blog or business? Which programs do you use most often and what are your favorite features?
P.S. Registration for the next Adobe Illustrator e-course opens this Friday at 12 noon EST There are only 40 seats available and we expect them to go quickly (last time they sold out in the first 15 minutes!). Visit the E-Course page for more information!
