Adobe has launched a bunch of new tools and features for its Creative Cloud suite of apps, as well as partnerships with Leica and Nikon, at its annual online MAX Conference.
The big announcements are all designed to make collaboration between creative teams, content creators, and anyone working with them smoother and more straightforward. There are, of course, some smaller feature updates and improvements to Adobe’s roster of creative software.
Photoshop updates
The first big announcements are to do with Photoshop, the company’s longstanding image editing tool.
A new Share for Review feature is designed to help creative teams work from anywhere with asynchronous collaboration, letting everyone working on a project give and receive feedback within the Photoshop app. It also lets creatives share their preferred version of a project in a web link and collaborators can review and comment on the project in their browser, even without a Creative Cloud subscription.
As usual, Photoshop received a host of improvements and updates such as one-click delete and fill and remove background being available on Photoshop’s web version.
Partnerships with Leica and Nikon
Adobe has penned new partnerships with Leica and Nikon to “implement content authenticity technology” into the brands’ cameras.
Leica’s M11 Rangefinder and Nikon’s mirrorless Z 9 cameras have both received new photo provenance technology thanks to the Content Authenticity Initiative, of which Adobe is a member.
Each image captured using the cameras is provided with a forgery-proof signature that documents essential information, such as camera model, manufacturer and image content. This, according to Adobe, will ensure an “unbroken” chain of authenticity from capture to completion.
“Leica cameras have always stood witness to iconic moments in world history. However, determining the authenticity of visual content has become increasingly difficult and important in the age of digital photography,” said Dr. Andreas Kaufmann, chairman of the Supervisory Board of Leica Camera AG.
“Now with the ability to provide this proof, we are once again strengthening trust in digital content and re-establishing Leica cameras as authoritative tools in the documentation of world events.”
Naoyuki Murakami, executive fellow and sector manager of Nikon’s development sector, added:
“Nikon believes the protection of individuals and enterprises involved in the imaging industry, as well as the entire society, from the unfavourable results of falsification and unauthorized use of images is a global issue.”
Adobe Express Tools
Adobe Express is designed to help everyone from students and small business owners to marketers and creative professionals to create simple designs such as a logo, social media images, banners, or resumes.
However, despite being made by the same company, Express hasn’t always played nicely with Adobe Creative Cloud. Now the company is looking to change that through Adobe Creative Cloud Libraries. Creative Cloud users can access their documents, assets, and more across Creative Cloud apps, to make edits and create new content in several different sizes and formats. After creating across apps, Adobe Express enables users to publish and schedule their content across social platforms.
A new partnership with Meta, called Express Your Brand, gives training to small businesses to help grow their online presence with free resources, tools, and community support.
Adobe in the metaverse
Adobe has new innovations across its Substance 3D tools that let creators build standalone 3D content and “metaverse-ready” immersive experiences.
Substance 3D Sampler has a new 3D Capture capability, using photogrammetry technology to produce 3D models directly from real-life images – a “significant” time-saver for creatives.
“Brand investments in 3D and immersive content creation capabilities have skyrocketed over the past year,” said Sebastien Deguy, vice president and head of 3D and metaverse at Adobe.
“At Adobe, our mission is to support creatives and brands as they transition into new mediums, including immersive experiences, and the new features we’re delivering today make creating 3D content easier and more accessible than ever.”
Adobe and Meta are also working to integrate Substance 3D Modeler and a forthcoming collaborative review app directly into Meta’s Quest platform, letting everyone build and share 3D content and experiences while using Meta Quest virtual reality headsets.
