Finnish creative director Monica Javanainen: Seven things that totally blew my mind at Adobe MAX 2015

Adobe has worked hard on getting everything out of your way and maxing the productivity of your creative process. So let the inspiration strike and just GO!

Disclosure: Monica Javanainen was invited by Adobe Nordic to Adobe MAX 2015. All photos by Monica Javanainen.

The creativity conference held in Los Angeles had already once before managed to completely exceed all my expectations and blow my mind. This year it did it again. The first time was in 2013, after which some kind of creative transformation and growth within me begun. Since that awakening I’ve had the feeling of coming home, returning to what I am and to whom I was as a kid. To allow myself to play. It is in these very moments that inspiration strikes and I feel that time and space don’t matter. Just grab the tools and start to create. It’s a wonderful feeling!

Adobe MAX 2015 convinced me that I’m on the right path. I was emotionally touched, inspired and so enthusiastic to start doing stuff and sharing all the great new things, I had learned with my team. Amongst all the amazing experiences and announcements, I picked a few I want to highlight for you.

1. The atmosphere

Being part of a group of 7,000 people that share the same passion for creativity felt absolutely magical. The feeling in the audience and the vibes from the stage was just mesmerising. The good vibes didn’t only flow from the stage but it was all around. Proof of that was the effortless way to make new friends.

2. The speakers

Charismatic speakers such as Maira Kalman, Brandon Stanton, Elle Luna and Baz Luhrman told us touching stories where and how to find the creativity and craving we all carry inside. Follow these rules and you will definitely be a step closer: 1. Be yourself 2. Let go of your fear 3. Collect exciting moments 4. Have a coffee 5. Just GO for it!

3. The sessions

Already weeks before MAX, I planned and booked all the exciting sessions I wanted to attend, and there were so many to choose from! As my interest is in graphic design, I mixed a track based on Photoshop, lllustrator and Adobe mobile apps. It was awesome to learn from the pros and meet some of the famous designers such as Bert Monroy and Justin Seeley!

4. Connected workflow

Well, as keynote speaker Scott Belsky said: “Creativity has to be extended beyond the desktop”. Adobe’s new mobile apps totally fulfill this need as the mobile-to-mobile as well as mobile-to-desktop workflow is just so smooth! The most mind-blowing mobile app, in my opinion, is the Adobe Comp CC, which was released earlier this year and developed to help you sketch layouts. It allows you to flick between both mobile and desktop apps and has a Typekit integration! Any layouts you create on Comp can easily be sent to InDesign, Photoshop and Illustrator via the Share menu as fully editable native files. In addition there is another great new app called Capture, that combines four great apps I’ve used in the past: Color, Shape, Brush and Hue. With Capture you’ll soon also be able to create patterns. These apps really give you the chance to create anything, anywhere, anytime. Super awesome.

5. Integrated stock photos

Adobe Stock is the largest growing Stock service and it’s integrated in applications that support Creative Cloud Libraries, such as Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Premiere Pro, and After Effects. It brings you millions of design elements and images into your workflow and the best thing is that you can access the images directly from the application you work on. In addition, you may select, test and modify a watermark image and later buy the licence straight within the application, for example in Photoshop!

6. Project Comet

Adobe has created a thrilling new project, code named ‘Comet’. A tool for UX/UI designers that combines design and interactivity. The demo was so amazing and the tool seemed so intuitive to use. You can work with hundreds of artboards and easily link them between each other. Within the artboard you can repeat grids, import several images at once, drop them into shapes and finally preview your prototype on any device. I just can’t wait to get my hands on this tool, which is arriving in early 2016.

7. The power of Adobe CreativeSync

At last, but not least. Adobe CreativeSync the fully intuitive system that ties all together. Also called ‘the heart of Creative Cloud’. It is the very system that enables you to create libraries to share with your team and to use your assets and styles anywhere. It keeps your apps connected. You can start with a mobile app, continue on desktop and everything you work with will follow. This is definitely something all teams should understand and take advantage of. It will for sure speed up any creative work process and let you focus more on the idea and the creativity.

For all of us attending MAX and for all of you watching the first keynote, the sound of CreativeSync will never be forgotten… So what matters the most? You. And your creativity. Imagination knows no limits.

About Monica Javanainen

Creative Director and partner at Finnish digital studio JCO. Founder of the virtual network Piphyllan, a cluster for companies within the creative industry.

Previously she was a musician. Nowadays her passion is for all things creative. Follow Monica on Twitter: @MJavanainen