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Adobe Max 2024 was held from October 14th to 16th, and as expected, some impressive new features were announced across the Adobe suite. Here’s a rundown of what’s available, what’s coming soon, and what the distant future will bring for Adobe customers—I am hyped for it all.
Adobe Introduces More AI to Its Tools
Everyone expected new AI tools, and they weren’t disappointed. Some of the AI announcements are small, simple tools automating daily processes for designers and editors—like Photoshop’s new AI feature to find and remove cables and wires.
Other AI tools are more in-depth and change your workflow and output by saving you time and frustration, likePremiere Pro Beta’s new AI video generation. While it comes with some caveats, being a Beta tool means it’s only going to improve over time.
New Features in Photoshop
The new Reference Image function when using AI generation tools allows you to guide AI towards what you aim to achieve from your generated image. You won’t experience AI going in the opposite direction from your creative vision.
The Find and Remove Distractions tool adapts to various distractions based on what’s identified in your photo—such as cables, trash, and people in the background—and removes it in one seamless motion.
The new adjustment presets and brushes speed up your workflow, allowing you to apply your most frequently used adjustments faster and with greater precision.
My favorite Photoshop announcement is the Generative Workspace Library—this is still in Beta, but it automates a library of all your AI-generated images. You no longer lose them once you save your file or flatten your layers. you may apply adjustments across your library, share and create variations easily, and so much more. This takes AI in your image workflow to a new level.
Adobe Express Gets a Bunch of New Tools
I already love so many of the tools in Adobe Express (it’s afantastic alternative to Canva) and being an Adobe tool means I can connect all my Adobe assets across my workflow.
Express’s new tools include:
Whether you use Adobe Express for creating fun things or it’s part of your professional content workflow, these new features really save so much time. It’s like having a working secretary right inside the software.
Illustrator’s Exciting New Features
If you’ve ever drawn text on a path in Illustrator, you’ll be excited to see Illustrator’s latest feature: Objects on Path. Along with that—which is a truly helpful feature on its own—comes the ability to Rotate on Path, keeping the placement and changing the angle of the element. No more moving an element pixel by pixel to set perfect spacing or alignment.
Illustrator announced some features earlier in 2024, but they were recapped at Adobe Max, including the Generate Pattern feature and improved image trace functions—including being able to finally image trace a gradient without causing color banding.
There’s also the character design, which allows you to apply your design and style to a 3D character, so it fits perfectly in the right places. And you’ll no longer deal with missing files in your workflow, as Illustrator now auto-links missing files.
Content Credentials to Protect Artists
Content Credentialsis a browser-based tool that receives all new updated identification tech.
The premise of this program is to allow authors to prove they created a piece—like applying a digital signature, much like you canadd your artist signature in Procreate. This is a strong step toward preventing theft of creative ideas. It works across elements within a piece of design or art, cropped areas of images, and much more.
Content Credentials currently only works for uploaded flat imagery. However, during Adobe Sneaks—the announcement of upcoming tools over the next year or longer—attendees were informed that Adobe is not only working on a video function of Content Credentials, but also an AR function where you can take photos of artwork found in public, real-life places to find out who created it.
Frame.io Features and Support
Frame.io is primarily a tool for video asset management, but this Adobe Max announcement revealed a new focus on photo asset management. The biggest update of which is the new integration with Canon, Nikon, and Leica cameras with a built-in camera to cloud technology.
This allows you to take your photos in real-time and they’ll automatically appear in your Frame.io library—or if you don’t have a WiFi connection, they’ll upload as soon as you do. From your Frame.io library, you can connect directly to Lightroom or other Adobe software to edit or collaborate on your images.
The new Draw Annotation for Review feature allows you to comment on specific parts of an image for review and criticism. This is more precise than commenting on an entire document.
Lightroom Mobile Gets New Editing Tools
There are already somegreat reasons to use Lightroom Mobile, but with the new Quick Actions, adaptive presets, and enhanced Remove tool, there are even more reasons to love Lightroom.
Lightroom also added video editing tools—you may now edit videos with HDR editing in Lightroom Mobile. You’ll also find most new Lightroom updates available in Lightroom on the Web before they’re implemented into Lightroom CC for the desktop.
Adobe Max 2024 delivered exactly what I hoped for and more. With these game-changing new offerings and updates, there’s so much for every type of creative to look forward to.
