Amidst the furore regarding its change to a subscription based model for most of its software, Adobe has released the new Creative Cloud (CC) versions of its apps. These include Photoshop CC, Premier Pro CC and After Effects CC amongst others. Key improvements include new sharpening technology in Photoshop and the Lumetri Deep Color Engine in Premiere.

Press Release

Major Update to Adobe Creative Cloud Now Available

Includes Next Generation of “CC” Desktop Applications and Delivers New Community and Publishing Capabilities

SAN JOSE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Adobe (Nasdaq:ADBE) today announced that a major update to Adobe® Creative Cloud™, the company’s flagship offering for creatives, is now available. Unveiled at Adobe MAX, The Creativity Conference, in early May and packed with new features, this Creative Cloud release reimagines the creative process through a stunning set of “CC” desktop applications and sophisticated cross-device collaboration and publishing capabilities. Creative files can be stored and shared, via Creative Cloud, on Mac OS, Windows, iOS and Android; and Behance, the world’s leading online creative community, is now integrated with Creative Cloud, so customers can showcase work, get feedback on projects and gain global exposure.

“We’ve added a ton of new innovation to all our CC desktop apps like Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign. These apps include new features that increase productivity, streamline the effort to build mobile content and showcase some stunning new imaging and video science. And in addition to the traditional areas of innovation these apps are now connected to the powerful publishing and community features integral to the Creative Cloud experience,” said David Wadhwani, senior vice president and general manager, Digital Media, Adobe. “And with even more great updates coming to Creative Cloud throughout the year, we can’t wait to see the incredible work our customers are going to deliver.”

With Creative Cloud, publishing finished work has never been easier, with enhanced services that build and power websites, mobile apps, tablet publications, online portfolios, and content for virtually any medium and device.

Adobe Creative Cloud Powers Frictionless Creative Workflows

This milestone update to Creative Cloud simplifies the entire creative process. Core features include:

• Creative Cloud Experience on the Desktop. With the new Creative Cloud desktop app, your entire creative world is synced and organized across your desktop, website, and mobile device. You can stay connected to work on Behance; track feedback; and install and manage apps and updates. More features will be added soon to manage your files and desktop fonts within this same experience.
• Integration With The World’s Leading Creative Community. With Behance now integrated with Creative Cloud, members are able to publish their own portfolios, follow other creatives, publish work-in-progress from within a growing number of CC apps and solicit feedback from the worldwide creative community. Over 1.4 million creatives globally are part of the Behance network.
• Store, Share and Collaborate. All files and assets can be shared between the desktop, cloud and mobile devices. A designer can take a photo on their iPad, use Photoshop® Touch to refine the photo while on the go, then access that file, via the cloud, and use Photoshop CC on their Mac or Windows PC to further enhance the image. Designers can send files to view, download or comment. Individual members receive 20GB of storage.
• Seamless Publishing. Creative Cloud members have access to the services necessary to publish highly personalized portfolio websites using Behance ProSite, high-impact digital publications for iPad using Digital Publishing Suite (DPS) Single Edition, and PhoneGap™ Build to create and publish mobile apps for any device. Adobe Typekit features an unmatched library of old-classic to new-favorite fonts for use on websites and, coming soon in an update to Creative Cloud, creatives will also be able to quickly find the perfect fonts in the growing Adobe Typekit library, sync them to their computer, and have them immediately available for use in any desktop application. Full Creative Cloud members will soon have access to over 700 fonts, installed with a single click.

New Family of CC Desktop Applications Available Exclusively to Creative Cloud Members

This update to Creative Cloud includes the next generation of 15 Adobe desktop applications – including Adobe Photoshop CC, InDesign® CC, Illustrator® CC,Dreamweaver® CC, Premiere® Pro CC and more. Adobe Creative Cloud includes more than 30 tools and services that enable professional-grade content creation and delivery across print, web, mobile apps, video and photography.

Hundreds of new features are included in these latest versions of Adobe’s industry-defining desktop tools. Innovations include:

• Photoshop CC ships with new sharpening technologies and designer workflow enhancements. Camera Shake Reduction deblurs images that would have otherwise been lost due to camera movement. All-new Smart Sharpen makes texture and detail pop, and Adobe Camera Raw 8 adds even more powerful photographic controls to straighten and perfect images. Photoshop CC and Illustrator CC are the first Adobe desktop applications to include the ability to post files directly to Behance, showcasing work immediately and integrating peer feedback into the creative process.
• For designers, the Touch Type tool in Illustrator CC offers a new level of creativity with type. Move, scale, and rotate text characters knowing that it remains editable. This feature works with a mouse, stylus or multi-touch device. Illustrator also enables painting with a brush made from a photo. Art, Pattern, and Scatter brushes can contain raster images, so designers can create complex organic designs quickly, with simple brush strokes. And Illustrator CC features integration with Behance, so work can be shared directly to Behance to get feedback and showcase projects. A new, modern architecture for InDesign CC turbocharges performance, and in-browser editing in Adobe Muse™ CC – a tool for designers to create and publish HTML websites without writing code – allows clients to make edits to a published website, which can then be reviewed, approved, and updated by the designer.
• For video customers Adobe Premiere Pro CC includes dramatic new editing features, customizations and improvements to help editors work efficiently. Premiere Pro CC integrates powerful color workflows, with the addition of the Lumetri™ Deep Color Engine to easily apply rich color grading looks. A high-impact version of Adobe After Effects® CC brings motion graphics and visual effects artists more creative possibilities and allows them to work more easily in 3D with the new Live 3D Pipeline with Maxon Cinema4D integration. There are also all-new versions of Adobe SpeedGrade CC, Audition® CC, Prelude™ CC and Adobe Story CC Plus.
• Web designers and developers can look forward to significant advances in Adobe’s family of Edge tools and services. The latest Edge Animate CC lets web designers create animated and interactive content with amazing ease and precision, using native HTML, CSS and JavaScript. Dreamweaver users can look forward to the most up-to-date CSS and properties via the intuitive visual editing tool, CSS Designer. And Adobe Flash® Pro CC features a modern, modular 64-bit architecture rebuilt from the ground up to be fast and reliable.

Adobe Create Now

To mark this introduction, Adobe has also launched Create Now: a Celebration of Creativity. Over the course of the program’s first month Adobe will host a variety of collaborative art projects, commemorate the birthday of a design icon and provide a forum for creatives to use Adobe tools to express themselves in fun, engaging and unexpected ways. More information is available on the Adobe Create Now page.

Membership Plans and Availability

This major update to Creative Cloud is available now. Current Creative Cloud members receive all of this innovation as part of their existing membership, at no extra cost. Special promotional pricing is available to existing customers who own CS3 or later. Individual, education, team, government and enterprise membership plans are available. See here for pricing details.