Generating Buzz: Tech, Trends & Tips from Adobe MAX 2023

I had the pleasure of attending Adobe MAX 2023 earlier this month, and while the creative industry is expanding rapidly to keep pace with the global demand for content, Adobe continues to highlight the things that bring all creatives together. There may be a lot more of us now, but we’re all still mostly nerding out over different ways to push pixels around. Whether you’re a digital creative yourself or just happen to work with one (we’re sorry), this breakdown will lay out everything you need to know about what went down at Adobe MAX 2023, and what creative trends are on the horizon.

The “G” Word

If you’ve used social media in the past year, it’s probably no surprise that generative artificial intelligence took center stage at the premiere conference for digital creatives. While Adobe software has incorporated AI in smaller ways for some time now (think Photoshop’s Content Aware Fill tool), its proprietary generative engine, dubbed Firefly, officially launched in March of this year. In the months since then, creatives have used Firefly to generate over 3 billion images from text prompts. It’s clear from that traction and the new features unveiled at MAX that generative AI is here to stay in the Adobe toolkit.

Content Provenance

With every conversation about generative AI comes a question about provenance and ownership — Who owns the content? How is the model trained? — and rightly so. As most creatives are aware, ChatGPT creator OpenAI recently came under fire for allegedly training their large language model on copyrighted material. Adobe spoke proudly of their content provenance initiative during MAX, detailing both how they’re working to prevent the use of unlicensed material in AI generation, and also how they’re implementing metadata tags that can confirm if an image has been generated, in order to combat misinformation. 

The take-home message was clear; GenAI is a power tool in the same way an impact driver or a table saw is. It can make difficult or tedious work faster and easier, but it requires a degree of understanding to use responsibly; and those who make the tools need to make sure that there are safety mechanisms in place. While both of those conditions are met, GenAI will break down barriers and make creative work more accessible and diverse than ever before  —but it’s definitely worth exercising critical thinking as the technology develops.

MAX-imizing Impact

Of course, at the end of the day, we’re all still looking for a practical edge; some kind of tip or trick that will support our functional work and give us the peace of mind to log off when the work is done. So how does all of this creative and technological insight translate into actionable strategies for marketing teams? Since AI was the hot topic at MAX 2023, let’s start there. Yes, it will absolutely win you points if you mention it to your tech-savvy colleagues, but we’re thinking more tactical and practical. Here are a few of my new favorite design workflows, powered by the latest and greatest from Adobe.

1. Pro Proposals: Sometimes, you’ve got a vision for something revolutionary — but proving it out with a proposal or proof-of-concept can take time away from the task at hand. If you’ve ever shelved an idea you’re excited about because you didn’t have the bandwidth to mock it up for approval, you need to check out Adobe’s three new Firefly generative AI models; Firefly Vector for infinitely-scalable graphics (think bullets, icons, and logos), Firefly Image 2 for precise raster imagery at 4X the resolution than ever before, and Firefly Design for templates and layouts.  
   
   The point of a proposal isn’t to display a finished product, it’s just to lay out the idea with explanations of how you intend it to work. With Firefly Image and Vector, you can create a (rough) approximation of your new art direction or design concept in minutes, and then throw it all in a Firefly Design template to achieve true formatting bliss. With all the time you save, you can finally focus on running the numbers and creating a proposal that gets stakeholder approval (and maybe a budget, too).
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2. PD-effortless: Here’s a scenario most designers are familiar with: You’re assigned a project that includes updating an old design, but the client doesn’t have the original working file. Instead of asking them to look through their old files in hopes of that glimmering .AI, just take the PDF! One of the latest additions to Adobe Illustrator is the Retype tool, which allows designers to match and even edit text — even after it’s been expanded into shapes. With the Retype tool, you can easily match every font and edit the copy to your heart’s content (or just update the date, if it’s that kind of thing).
   
   Then, you can get your visuals going, using Adobe Firefly’s new generative match feature to create new visuals that fit your current needs and your established art style. With Firefly Vector and Image 2, you can select a reference and match the style to generate what you want, exactly how you want it. What was once a static PDF is now a wellspring of source material for your next design.
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3. Live Libraries: By now, you may have heard of Adobe Express, and how it’s perfect for teams with non-designers who need to generate assets. Sure, you can create brand-specific templates that allow for certain content customizations, but block others. But did you also know that you can link assets to your Adobe Creative Cloud libraries? That way, you can create an asset in Illustrator or Photoshop, let your team use it in their Express designs, and then, when you update the asset on your end, it updates both in your brand library and across every instance of use in Express automatically.
   
   With this workflow, you can hand off marketing assets to your copywriting team before the designs are even finished. Simply create the template with editable text boxes where they need them, and create linked placeholders through your Creative Cloud library. You can keep working on your assets while they’re punching in the copy, and your final versions get synced over as soon as you’re done.
   

Even if you’re not an efficiency-obsessed designer, these three workflow enhancements are worth checking out. Not only do they open you up to new ways of working in your software of choice, but they’ll also save you at least a few minutes every time. Take those few minutes to meditate, brainstorm, or space out and daydream — you know, whatever it is you do to keep the creativity flowing.
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More about Michael Maerlender, Branding & Marketing Manager
Michael is a designer, writer, and creative collaborator. With a degree from Vanderbilt University in Creative Writing and Theatre and both in-house and agency-side design experience, Michael helps HearstLab portfolio companies create purposeful and powerful brands. Michael is an Adobe Creative Ambassador, as well as a member of the Adobe Creator Council.