By focusing on two key insights, the software company is co-evolving alongside brands across categories..
Adobe has dedicated itself to evolving creative applications across the devices landscape. As computers have become stronger and smaller, their Creative Cloud service comes at a time where they need to centralize their community and products across the mobile ecosystem.
Another critical addition has been the Adobe Creative SDK, a software that allows companies like Moleskine or Microsoft to seamlessly connect their projects and services to Creative Cloud, giving users the ability to design a workflow across a continuum across analog to digital platforms throughout their unique creative process.
As one would expect, Adobe is also paving new ways for us to engage with mobile apps by incorporating gestural techniques and “digital physics” that add a great amount of dimensionality and depth to what can be done on-screen (and between screens). As this live presentation clearly demonstrates, the possibilities being unleashed with these new interfaces is finding its way to different brand experiences.
From an insights perspective, Adobe seems to be capitalizing on two key trends that revolve around the need for greater seamlessness and integration:
Many creative thinkers say their best ideas come to them when they’re on the move
Creatives oftentimes do their thinking with pen and paper before they take it to digital
Adobe solves for these insights by continually working to integrate across a fairly complicated landscape of brands. A key strength to meet these needs is addressed in Forbes‘ analysis:
The crux of this strategy involves growing the number of customers with Adobe IDs. To use any of the free apps you have to create an Adobe ID which in turn initializes your Creative Profile. Adobe is unique among tech companies. It acquires users through their creative activity as opposed to their history of purchases.
Interestingly, this strategy is not limited to the likes of Apple, Microsoft and Google, but also the likes of Moleskine. Last month saw the launch of a sketching and mobile companion iPhone app during the annual Adobe MAX event.
The advantages of paper are somewhat obvious; one of their key benefits is enabling creatives to work on the move with the need for electricity or WiFi. A notebook sketch or thought is immediate and that may partially explain why the initial stages of the creative process often occur offline (i.e. outside the studio, in transit, during a break).
The idea of “evolving paper” or creating the “smart notebook” runs through Moleskine’s brand DNA and this collaboration is not dissimilar from their work with Evernote. Having said, Scott Belsky, Adobe’s Vice President Creative Cloud Ecosystem & Behance points out that:
Adobe is committed to providing products and services that simplify the creative process from concept to production. Our collaboration with Moleskine helps facilitate this process, with tools for sketching on paper and then refining the project digitally. With today’s launch, we are looking forward to seeing all the incredible work that is created with this simplified workflow.