Adobe’s subscription based service Creative Cloud has been out for a while now, yet with all of their success, there are still skeptics. As a professional designer who has been a Creative Cloud subscriber for 5 years now, let me tell you, there’s nothing to be skeptical about!
(I know, why not 10 reasons? I’m not an even number conformist, okay!)
1: Affordability
Adobe Creative Cloud is affordable. You may be thinking “this guy is crazy, how is $49.99 a month affordable?” Hear me out. Before Creative Cloud, you had to spend thousands of dollars to get a few of Adobe’s apps in what was called editions. If you were in print you’d buy the Design Standard edition and get Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign and the other apps intended for print, web, interactive and mobile designers. But if you were a videographer, you’d most likely purchase the Production Premium edition and you’d get all the apps useful for video production.
The most frustrating thing about this model as opposed to the Creative Cloud subscription model was that you had to fork out a few thousand bucks to buy the new renditions of your favorite software every few years. With the monthly subscription, you spend $49.99 a month which equals out to $1,319.76 every two years. If you purchased the updated suite about every two years, the monthly model is obviously more affordable.
But if you were like me, I couldn’t afford to do that. I remember I got CS2 at a discounted price as a student and could never afford to upgrade after that. I was essentially stuck using CS2 until CC came out in 2013. A monthly payment was much easier for me to handle as a young designer with a family to support.
2: More Access to Apps
You can download every Adobe creative app available. Before CC came out, I always wanted to learn After Effects and Adobe Premiere but it was hard to come by since I only had access to the apps at school. When Adobe offered all of the CC apps with Creative Cloud, I was able to start downloading software to my devices that I hadn’t had access to before. This changed the game for me as I was able to start learning how to use Premiere and After Effects. Instead of outsourcing all my video and animation work, I was able to learn new software and expand my service offerings.
3: Never Out of Touch with New Features
When you’re a subscriber to Adobe Creative Cloud you’re never left behind on updates. With the Creative Cloud app, you always have access to the latest versions of the apps you love. Just open the CC app and see a list of all the creative apps and either install or update the apps you want to.
Manage all of your Adobe Creative Cloud apps from one convenient location!
4: Use on Multiple Devices
One of the best features of Adobe Creative Cloud is that you can use your favorite apps on up to 2 devices. Move from your desktop to your laptop with ease. If for whatever reason you end up on a different desktop, or you need to use a 3rd device, just sign out of one device and login on your 3rd device with ease! Once you install the apps on your desktop or laptop, the apps will remain on your computer until you uninstall them.
I’ve seen much confusion on the topic of working from the cloud. This isn’t the case as all the apps you install are on your computer, you just need to connect to the internet so Adobe can verify your subscription. It’s actually a very easy and convenient process.
5: Adobe Color
Adobe Color is pretty self explanatory. It’s alllll about the color!
Create your own colors:
OR select from a large library of user created swatch sets:
And manage your saved swatch sets in your CC Library.
6: Adobe TV
Adobe TV is one of my favorite features of the Creative Cloud service. With your subscription to Creative Cloud, Adobe gives you access to tons of tutorials in all of their apps as well. With Adobe TV you have access to not only tutorials but basic support. Learn how to download and manage the Creative Cloud app, learn how to install your favorite apps, learn how to manage your account and so much more!
(Note from the TV.Adobe.com website: “Access anything and everything about Adobe tools and services with Adobe Learn. As we phase out Adobe TV, Adobe Learn will be the new home for tutorials and other assets to help you create your best work.” I will post more about Adobe’s transition from Adobe TV to Adobe Learn at a later time.)
7: Adobe Mobile Apps.
Also included in your subscription are the full library of Adobe Mobile Apps. Adobe Capture gives you the ability to turn images into color themes, patterns, type, materials, and shapes to use in your creative projects directly from your mobile device. The 4 apps, Illustrator Draw, Photoshop Sketch, Adobe Comp CC, and Adobe XD, in the Design & Illustration category allow you to create layouts and draw expressively on your mobile devices, and even preview mobile designs on devices. Also included is the new Adobe Spark Page that gives you the ability to create dynamic websites in minutes!
8: Libraries
Adobe Libraries will change your life! Store commonly used items like logos, swatches from Adobe Color, vectors, textures and photos on the Adobe Cloud and access them in all of your apps via libraries! I don’t know how I ever got by without them.
9: Adobe Stock
I learned about Adobe Stock when they bought out Dollar Photo Club and I had to transfer my credits. Luckily it gave me the opportunity to learn about Adobe’s stock image service. It boasts one of the largest stock image libraries available and pricing starts at just $9.99. Adobe offers several subscription offers to choose from. Existing Creative Cloud users get a discounted price and the best part of Adobe Stock is the integration into Adobe Libraries!
