Adobe Max 2016 Keynote Unveils Creative Cloud Updates and More

At a time when design-led thinking in businesses is having a positive effect on creative professionals, keeping pace with content demands across new and traditional platforms, Adobe showcased its next-generation Creative Cloud innovations at the ongoing annual creativity conference in San Diego.

The innovations includes a new breed of applications in experience design, photography and 3D compositing. Over the next two days of Adobe Max 2016, Adobe will also throw light on developments brewing in the company's research labs.

"Our mission has always been to change the world through digital experiences," Shantanu Narayen, President and CEO of Adobe said during his keynote on first day of the Adobe Max 2016 conference on Wednesday.

Adobe also announced Adobe Sensei, a new framework and set of intelligent services spanning the entire Adobe Cloud Platform which is aimed at dramatically improving how customers design and deliver digital experiences.

Adobe MAX will feature keynotes from creative leaders, including film-maker Quentin Tarantino, fashion designer Zac Posen and photographer Lynsey Addario.

"Adobe MAX is where the creative community comes together to see the latest in Creative Cloud innovation and be inspired by the world's best creative minds," Bryan Lamkin, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Digital Media at Adobe, said.

"This year, we'll be showcasing amazing breakthroughs in experience design, photography, virtual reality, character animation and 3D compositing," Lamkin added.

He said Adobe fulfils the demand of more high-quality content by customers. He also announced 2017 release of the Creative Cloud.

Apart from Sensei, a new Mac release of Adobe Experience Design CC (XD) - the first all-in-one tool for designing, prototyping and sharing user experiences for website and mobile apps - is available with two highly anticipated features - Layers and Symbols support.

The company also launched a special version of XD for Windows keeping in mind the features offered by Microsoft, including stylus and touch.

At MAX, Adobe will also give a sneak peek at new capabilities that enable real-time collaboration including co-editing of documents, visual versioning and Creative Cloud Libraries enhancements.

The company also unveiled Project Felix - an industry-first design tool that enables graphic designers to easily create high-quality, photo-realistic images by combining 2D and 3D assets for projects such as product shot comps, scene visualisation and abstract design.

For filmmakers, advancements in virtual reality, character animation and 3D across Adobe's video tools will set the stage for the future of video.

The next release of Adobe Premiere Pro CC includes auto-aware virtual reality (VR) that seamlessly detects and applies the correct setting to stereoscopic and monoscopic media.

First introduced at "IBC 2016" exhibition at the RAI Amsterdam Convention Centre, the Netherlands, in September, updates to Premiere Pro, After Effects CC and Prelude CC will also include a Beta of Team Projects that allows teams and enterprise customers to co-edit and collaborate on Creative Cloud projects.

Adobe also announced the release of a new Cinema 4D renderer in After Effects that will speed up efficiency and quality of 3D content generation.

At MAX, Adobe announced a partnership with Thomson Reuters. Available through Adobe Creative Cloud, creatives will be able to access Thomson Reuters editorial content including photos and videos.

The expanded Adobe Stock service now offers more than 60 million royalty-free, high-quality photos, videos, illustrations, graphics and 3D models and templates.

The company introduced a new way to find, purchase and manage individual fonts from premier foundries including Frere-Jones Type, Type Network/Font Bureau and Emigré with the new Adobe Typekit marketplace.

In updates to Creative Cloud, a new interface and fast, flexible coding engine is incorporated in Dreamweaver CC, while Photoshop comes with a universal search bar that allows users to quickly search tools, panels, menus, Adobe Stock assets, help content and tutorials.

Updates to Creative Cloud desktop software will ship to Creative Cloud members before the end of the year, Adobe said.

Membership plans are available for individuals, students, educational institutions, government agencies, and enterprises.

Adobe's new and updated mobile apps are available for free download from Apple App Store and Google Play.