Adobe Creative Cloud: New Features to Know

Dec 18, 2023 | Tech Research & Case Studies, Workforce Technology

Adobe Creative Cloud is a subscription based service that provides access to a library of industry leading creative applications like Photoshop, Illustrator, Adobe Express, Lightroom, Premiere Pro, After Effects, and more. As an industry leading service, it has become a one-stop shop for designers, photographers, filmmakers, animators, web developers, and others to create stunning visuals and compelling experiences.

Adobe Creative Cloud is used for a wide range of creative tasks and projects, including (but definitely not limited to) graphic design, photography, video production, web development, and 3D design and animation. With its vast library of creative tools that has regular improvements and new features, collaboration ability and cloud storage, and access to resources and community, Adobe Creative Cloud offers benefits that make both itself and those who use it at the forefront of the industry. Those who use it might have job titles in graphic or video design, photography, or animation. Marketing specialists, freelancers, small businesses, and web developers also use the applications found in the Creative Cloud. Just about anyone who has the task of creating visually compelling experiences, whether digitally or in print, find Adobe Creative Cloud to be a crucial tool in completing projects.

Creative and digital landscapes are constantly evolving, at speeds faster than we can keep up with sometimes. Adobe Creative Cloud consistently implements new features to evolve with these landscapes, regularly updating their services to be the most efficient and accessible digital creative tool library out there. As creative professionals, it is also important to implement new ways of creating, regularly updating skills to be at the forefront of respective industries.

As a school that provides many classes in Adobe applications, staying up to date about new implementations and how they can be beneficial to the user helps ourselves and our students in using the Cloud. New features have been introduced in Photoshop, Illustrator, Adobe Express, Lightroom, Premier Pro, and After Effects. Many of these new features have implemented the use of AI technology such as Generative AI, a technology that can create digital content based on the data that it has collected. The following section provides an overview of the new features that have been introduced in 2023 that make creating in the Adobe Creative Cloud a task that can be done with more ease than ever before.

New Adobe Creative Cloud Features to Explore

Photoshop

Photoshop is an application used to digitally alter images. The November 2023 features release has expanded Photoshop’s generative AI capabilities and brought Photoshop to the web, allowing creators to create anything on the go. Other new features include:

On Photoshop Desktop, Adobe has improved the layers panel, flyout menu, and right-click options. This improvement is so that less time is spent searching for the needed commands and more time is spent on actual creation of designs. Adobe has offered a way for this feature to be turned off, if it isn’t a personal preference: Preferences > Interface > Show Simplified Right Click And Flyout Menus. Learn more about the Layers panel here: Layer Basics.
As part of the September 2023 features release, core Photoshop capabilities are now available through a web browser, not just through a desktop or mobile application. This version of Photoshop allows creators to reimagine images with generative AI, basic editing tools, quick actions for quick on the go edits, and the ability to work with anyone, even those who don’t have their own Adobe Creative Cloud account. Read more about the new web features here: Photoshop on the Web.
Generative AI capabilities also come to Photoshop’s mobile application, with generative fill being the main feature implemented; add a background, remove unwanted distractions, ideate creative concepts, and more using simple text prompts to generate high-quality results,” as noted by Adobe’s Feature Summary.

Illustrator

Illustrator is a vector graphics editor and design program used to create any visual experience, such as logos, icons, and digital illustrations. Similar to the other applications, generative AI plays a huge role in the new features but most in Illustrator are still in Beta, meaning that they are available to test and users are encouraged to make suggestions for improvements.

Make graphics editable, customizable, and scalable through the use of text prompts, called Text to Vector Graphics. This feature is still in beta and a more detailed description of how it works can be found here: Generate a vector graphic using a text prompt.
Recolor and customize colors of any graphic with a simple text description.
With Mockup (beta) in Illustrator, creators are now able to “create imitations of art on objects such as product packaging, mugs, and T-shirts. When you apply vector art on a raster object, Illustrator honors the curves and edges of the object, and the vector art auto-adjusts onto the object non-destructively.”
Identify and edit fonts in any image with Retype (beta).
In the October 2023 feature release, Adobe enhanced the smooth tool with the smooth slider. The smooth slider lets creators manually control smoothing levels for a path.
Creators can now send shareable links to PDF files without having to convert them first to .ai or .aic files. Share for review enables creators to have flexibility and control when sending designs for review and feedback.
Illustrator is available on the web in beta.

Adobe Express

Adobe Express is an all-in-one design, photo, and video tool to create content. Features released in 2023 include…

Generative Fill: insert, remove, and replace objects from an image with just a textual description. Learn more about the different abilities of generative fill in the Adobe Express User Guide.
Text to template (beta) allows for creators to generate editable templates for social media campaigns, marketing flyers, business cards, and more.
Translate single and multiple-page files into 45 different languages.

Lightroom

Lightroom is an image processing application that can be used to make basic image adjustments, like exposure, contrast, cropping, or removing flaws from images. In 2023, Adobe released enhancements to lightroom that make editing images easier for all users.

Using the new tool lens blur, creators can adjust the depth in a photo and blur backgrounds/foregrounds. Read more about the capabilities of this new tool here: Applying Lens Blur. Get a step by step tutorial on how to use the tool here: Lightroom feature summary.
The HDR Output has also changed in the 2023 feature release. HDR (High Dynamic Range) is used to create detailed, high-contrast photos that result in dynamic results. Adobe Lightroom “now provides a first-of-its-kind, end-to-end workflow while working with HDR photos. This means you can now capture HDR photos (using your mobile device), merge, edit, display, and export them in Adobe Lightroom.”
Access and edit locally stored media in Lightroom without having to import or sync them to a cloud. Creators can also now create folders for better organization.
There is an updated experience of Lightroom on mobile devices. The toolbar is more streamlined for a cleaner and intuitive editing experience on the go.
Other smaller enhancements in Lightroom are listed here: October 2023 Release.

Premiere Pro

Premiere Pro is a timeline-based non-linear video editing software that includes audio editing. In the December 2023 feature release, Adobe Premiere Pro is enhanced with text-based editing, AI-powered enhanced speech, consistent color management, and faster timelines.

With text-based editing, it is now easier than ever to detect filler words from video transcripts and bulk delete them so that transcripts are instantly more accurate. Pauses can also be bulk deleted, and since filler words are language agnostic, this new feature works with the 18 languages in speech to text.
MOGRT (Motion Graphics Templates) management has been redesigned “as templates with easy-to-use controls designed to be customized.” With user feedback in mind, Adobe is also working on making the MOGRT management more intuitive, enabling access to MOGRT collections across multiple locations. Learn more about the redesign: Install and Use Motion Graphics Templates.
There are new sequence presets for HD, UHD, HDR, and social media projects. To view these new presets, Adobe encourages users to navigate to “File > New Sequence or click the New Item > New Sequence button on the Project panel.”
There is easier access to Team Projects, version history, and auto saves; simply select the Team Project name in the header bar and the new options will appear.
Listening to user feedback on feature and episodic workflows, Adobe is working to make incremental improvements to the editing and trimming tools. A new trimming preference, ripple trim, adds edits to keep both sides of trim in sync. Learn more about set trim preferences.
Additional enhancements are listed here: In case you missed it.

After Effects

After Effects is a digital visual effects, motion graphics, and compositing application, part of the Creative Cloud library. It is used in post-production processes in film making, video games, and TV production. Among other purposes, After Effects is also used for keying, tracking, compositing, and animation. New features announced in 2023 help creators make content more efficiently.

3D model files in GLTF and GLB formats can be imported and “rendered in the same 3D space as native After Effects cameras, lights, and other 3D layers.”
Create image-based environment maps by using HDRI files “to position 3D models into scenes with realistic lighting, reflections, and shadows.”
The addition of Advanced 3D, a new rendering engine, allows creators to render “3D motion graphics with high-quality antialiasing and transparency.” Read more about this new rendering: Advanced 3D renderer.
Combine 2D and 3D assets to create engaging animations. Learn more about importing 3D models to designs here: Import and Add 3D Models.
Additional enhancements are listed here: December 2023 release.

Learn Adobe Creative Cloud Skills through Certifications

In a world of ever-evolving technology, staying ahead of the curve is a constant sprint. Those looking to dominate creative landscapes, upskilling in Adobe Creative Cloud is a must. As a vocational tech school, our tech certifications aren’t just about mastering the old tricks. They’re about unleashing the full potential of your creating ability and empowering you to create like never before. Learn from industry experts who live and breathe Adobe, and gain the confidence to tackle any creative challenge.

Invest in your future with a DWC tech certificate and become the Adobe master you were meant to be.

Say goodbye to outdated skills and hello to a world of creative possibilities.