APAC Adobe Insiders Share Inspiration from MAX 2019
Empowering creativity for all.
Over 15,000 of the world’s most talented creatives came together for MAX 2019, where we unveiled the next generation of Creative Cloud products, features and services. The three-day conference was packed with keynotes from some of the world’s most prolific and ingenious creative minds, including musician Billie Eilish, artist Shantell Martin, director M. Night Shyamalan, Foo Fighters front man Dave Grohl and photographer David LaChapelle.
We sent 28 of our APAC Insiders to L.A. to experience the magic of MAX and fuel their inspiration for the coming year. See some of their highlights below!
On finding your identity as a creator
Being creative is part of being human, but the challenge is finding your own way to channel it into your work.
‘My most inspiring MAX moment was hearing Shantell Martin address the topic of identity – Are You You? Across the conference this same rhetorical question seemed to keep popping up raising my own curiosity to delve deeper into my identity as a creator and defining my style as a video artist and storyteller.’ – Jake Rich @mr.jakerich
‘Shantell Martin said ‘Find what makes you, you inside’. I love the way that she presented her art journey. She has inspired and motivated me to continue to do what I love! – Pazut Wutigornsombatkul @tuagomstudio
See Shantell Martin’s keynote here
On making time for personal growth
Good art often comes about spontaneously and organically, so never underestimate the importance of letting your creativity incubate. Our Insiders received a well-timed reminder to hit the reset button every now and then, with some personal time to recalibrate and rejuvenate.
‘Relatable life experiences. Insecurities and self-doubt. If someone like M. Night Shyamalan can have these as a creative person and can still fight them continuously, then I can too. His shared experiences made me feel that I’m not alone, which is what a lot of my MAX experience was about.’ – Naina Redhu @naina
‘For me the thing that resonated most is to make time for personal work, and to go with your gut. Hearing this advice in different ways throughout the keynotes and sessions has given me the push to take time off to focus on growth and making my work better.’ – Sha’an d’Anthes @furrylittlepeach
Authenticity is everything
When it comes to art, authenticity is the cornerstone for diversity, creativity, originality and more. Keynote speakers Billie Eilish, Shantell Martin and M. Night Shyamalan all spoke about the importance of embracing authenticity in unlocking and elevating your creative potential.
‘I was especially impressed when the speakers with varying backgrounds had a similar point of view on creativity. The key message of the presentation was to focus on yourself and generate creatives that make yourself happy regardless of others’ opinions.’ – Juhyun Kim @mazect
‘A key message for me was to knuckle down and really focus on creating what matters to me. Share that as authentically as possible and inspire others to do the same, just as the people have done to me at MAX this year.’ – Tim Northey @tk_north
‘It’s always incredible to hear the journey of an artist and what they did to make it to where they are today. One of the keynotes that spoke to most of us was Shantell Martin’s talk. It was inspiring to see her journey through Japan and how she began to extract her style by forcing herself into a position where she didn’t have any time at all to do anything but be herself and create.’ – James Tran @jamtuna
Watch Billie Eilish and Takashi Murakami’s keynote here
On what fuels creativity
Inspiration is all around you, and speakers Dave Grohl and Dave LaChapelle gave MAX attendees valuable insight on how to unravel the inspiration that drives creativity.
‘When Dave Grohl said, ‘Love is an artist’s muse’, I felt that. Love for the planet, love for each other, love for a higher being and purpose.
Night Shyamalan said something along the lines of ‘Focus on what you can control’, which is what you create, and I feel like that changed something in my brain.
I’m super motivated to take my creations back to the basics, to go back to what I love doing (which is playing around with time and how we perceive our surroundings) and to worry less about what might work for social media or what other people might think of it.’ – Matt Vandeputte @matjoez
‘M. Night Shyamalan, Dave Grohl and Dave LaChapelle are all incredibly successful and creative and it was so inspiring to hear each reaffirm how valuable solitude and silence were for creativity. Being alone and reflecting is so important.’ – Martina Martian @martinamartian
Watch David LaChapelle’s keynote here
MAX is a marriage of education and inspiration and our Adobe Insiders are heading home with their creative engines raring to go. See the full list of Insiders here and follow their creative process on Instagram. Many have created highlights of their MAX experience for more inspiration and ideas!
