The annual Adobe Max conference is world’s largest digital creativity event. This year it involved about ten thousand creatives (in-person) in Los Angeles and hundreds and thousands watching the live and on-demand stream around the planet.

Keynote & demo highlights

In his opening keynote address, Adobe’s CEO, Chairman and Present Shantanu Narayen spoke about how creativity fuels the digital economy. He said,

Our lives are becoming increasingly digital and we are turning to creative differentiation to help us stand out as well as make choices. People are creating more than ever before, flooding every surface, every channel and every medium with their creativity … Digital is transforming every aspect of our lives and how we engage with the world’s information. Artificial Intelligence is accelerating this shift and offers the promise and potential to make us even more creative, even more productive and more successful.

Artificial intelligence, with a focus on Adobe Firefly, was a key theme of Max 2023. Narayen announced that since Firefly was launched 6 months ago, users have generated over 3 billion images. The new Adobe Express was also spotlighted among a record number of new products that have been launched this year by Adobe.

Narayen shared Adobe’s mission, to change the world through personalised digital experiences. He said,

We want to empower everyone anywhere to imagine, create and deliver the best digital experiences … Whether you are a creative pro or a beginner, we’re focused on giving you new playgrounds for exploration as well as ideation. We want to help you harness Adobe magic as this creative co-pilot to unlock new forms of artistry.

In relation to AI, Narayen said that he firmly believes that it will never replace human ingenuity.

Watch the full address here …

Following Narayen’s address, there was a video that showed Photoshop artists from around the world (including Australia) discover Firefly’s new generative fill tool in Photoshop for the first time. Check it out …

David Wadhwani

David Wadhwani, Adobe’s President of the Digital Media business emphasied four key aspects of Adobe Firefly:

• Deeply integrated into our tools
• Designed to be commercially safe
• Transparent with training data
• Support for Content Credentials

He highlighted the importance of the Content Authenticity Initiative which now has almost 2000 members and he said that Firefly, thanks to its seamless integration with Photoshop, Illustrator, and Adobe Express, stands as the most rapidly embraced innovation Adobe has introduced to its suite of tools.

Watch David Wadhwani’s full address here …

Ashley Still

Digital artist Anna McNaught did an amazing demo on Firefly integration with Photoshop. Watch it here …

Ashley Still highlighted the many new features to Photoshop that were added in 2023.

She also highlighted the recent launch of Photoshop on the Web (which also features Firefly tools such as generative fill and generative expand) and she shared a clip that outlines what is new in Lightroom.

Danielle Morimoto provided a demo on the latest features that are coming to Adobe Illustrator. Have a look at her demo …

Dacia Saenz shared some of the latest features of Premiere Pro such as enhanced speech and text based editing. Check them out …

Scott Belsky (Adobe’s EVP for Design & Emerging Products) then hosted a segment on the new re-imagined Adobe Express.

Paul Trani demonstrated the new integration features between Adobe Express, Photoshop & Illustrator. Here is that demo …

Katrina Torrijos (Adobe Express Evangelist) demonstrated the social media sharing side of Adobe Express …

Katrina also demonstrated the new Text to Template feature …

Adobe Sneaks

Danielle Morimoto with celebrity guest Adam Devine hosted this year’s Adobe Sneaks which is all about showcase new technologies that Adobe engineers are working on that may or may not end up as a future product or product feature.

Project Fast Fill

Gabriel Huang

Project Draw and Delight

Souymodip Chakraborty

Project Neo Sneak

Inigo Quilez Les

Project Scene Change

Zhan Xu

Project Primrose

Christine Dierk

Project Glyph Ease

Difan Liu

Project Poseable

Yi Zhou

Project Res Up

Yang Zhou

Project Dub Dub Dub

Zeyu Jin

Project See Though

Eric Kee

Project Stardust

Aya Philémon

Here are some of my favourite non-keynote Max Sessions so far …

Rebecca Hare – Three Simple Teaching Shifts That Unlock Student Creativity – VS202

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About this session

With the avalanche of new challenges, new technologies, and new ways of communicating, we all need creative skills to thrive amid change. How can we best prepare our students for their future? Join Rebecca Hare, education community manager at Adobe, as she addresses the changing landscape and offers three techniques to unlock student creativity.

In this session, you’ll:

• Reframe what matters when creating
• Support your students’ unique vision and voice
• Help them reflect on their journey of growth

Creating the Future, Drawing from the Past – VS818

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About this session

This session features two artists who draw from a deep well of cultural heritage to celebrate the adaptability and resilience of the human spirit in creating art that bridges the digital divide.

Sougwen Chung, Canadian-born, Chinese-raised artist known for innovative and interdisciplinary work that explores the interaction between humans, technology, and art. Sougwen developed the use of robots as nonhuman collaborators to create mesmerizing and intricate visual compositions.

Dylan Mooney is a proud Yuwi, Torres Strait, and South Sea Islander artist from North Queensland. Working across painting, printmaking, digital illustration, and drawing, he vividly brings to life the rich cultural tapestry of his heritage, deeply influenced by history, culture, and family. Despite being legally blind, Dylan’s mastery of digital media allows him to create high-impact illustrations teeming with bright, saturated colors that express his political energy and keen insights.