Rapid Innovation in an Evolving Market

As publishing evolves, Adobe continues to lead the industry, revolutionizing how creative professionals design and produce publications. Entering its second decade, InDesign is poised to change the publishing industry again, allowing designers and production professionals to deliver page layouts beyond traditional print to online media and mobile devices, including eBook readers, smart phones and a new generation of tablet devices due later this year. Adobe has changed the course of desktop publishing with InDesign, giving creative professionals the freedom to create what once seemed impossible and to extend delivery of engaging documents to more than one channel.

“Page by Page: 10 Years of Designing with Adobe InDesign”

Designed to provide an inside look at the company’s stewardship in moving publishing from print to digital solutions, the 10th anniversary book examines the role of InDesign and the InDesign Family in transforming the layout and editorial workflow at agencies, corporate publishers and traditional publishers worldwide. The book also details the evolution of InDesign from its public debut in 1999 to today and includes sample work created by designers for publications such as Marie Claire, publishers like Conde Nast, and cutting edge design agencies such as Modern Dog and Mucca Design.

Quotes

– John Loiacono, senior vice president, Creative Solutions Business Unit at Adobe “InDesign took on an entrenched competitor and won through innovation and customers who demanded more from their software. Now InDesign is seen as an essential tool for enabling publishers to deliver in print and build new businesses around digital publications.”

– Suzanne Sykes, creative director, Marie Claire “InDesign was the breakthrough publishing had been waiting for, and Marie Claire was lucky to be one of the first to take advantage of it.”

– Michael Strassburger, co-founder, Modern Dog “As InDesign began to dominate the publication design world, we were nervous that Adobe could become less attentive to its customer base. But it has been exactly the opposite. Adobe has continued working hard to improve InDesign, including actively soliciting customer input.”

– Matteo Bologna, president, Mucca Design Corporation “With the arrival of InDesign, I was finally freed from the weight of QuarkXPress and allowed to just design — and make mistakes thanks to the Multiple Undo feature!”

About Adobe InDesign

Adobe InDesign CS4 software, available for both Mac and Windows(R), breaks down the barriers between online and offline publishing. InDesign lets you design, pre-flight and publish a broad range of documents in print, online and mobile devices. Whether you work in a design team or on your own, InDesign has consistently delivered breakthrough features and workflows that simplify page layout so creative professionals, production professionals and print service providers can make quick work of everyday tasks and deliver error-free engaging documents across media.

This major Scene7 platform update includes a new AIR desktop application that mirrors the Web-based publishing platform to further streamline asset management with easy drag and drop upload of files and folders from the desktop and connected network resources. In addition, the platform has support for Adobe XMP metadata standards, which allows users to efficiently administer, browse/filter, and search for assets. Also, rules-based batch automation of multi-media sets now eliminates the need for custom scripts or technical support for non-technical users.

“Businesses are constantly being challenged to deliver richer, more personalized experiences with the same or fewer creative and technical resources, making automation and cost-savings critical components of their strategies,” said Doug Mack, vice president and general manager of Digital Imaging and Rich Media Solutions for Adobe. “This latest update to the Adobe Scene7 platform helps users stay connected to desktop tools and extends the data-driven template approach to provide high-performing, easy-to-use services for delivering personalized and targeted dynamic content.”

The new template enhancements allow users to dynamically compile templated video clips, enabling cost-effective personalized promotional videos, targeted video ads, and standardized corporate videos. In addition, the update supports the design, delivery and Web preview of print templates that dynamically flow text within and across pages including inline variables. This template enhancement enables a broader range of multi-page, text-intensive personalized publications.

“We are pleased to see these new features become part of the Adobe Scene7 platform. These automation enhancements will enable us to further streamline our back-office workflows, which gives our team more time to focus on other strategic initiatives,” said Brian McManus, director of technical infrastructure for Under Armour, which uses the Scene7 platform, including the AIR (beta) desktop version, to publish all dynamic media to its e-commerce Web site.

Pricing and Availability

The Adobe Scene7 platform update will be available in March 2010, in five languages: English, French, German, Spanish and Japanese. Pricing is tiered based on customer needs. For more information on pricing, visit www.scene7.com.

About Adobe Scene7

The Adobe Scene7 hosted media platform is an industry-leading solution for e-commerce and multi-channel marketing companies worldwide to publish rich content to engage their audience and drive online business. Leading companies using Adobe Scene7 solutions include QVC, Harrods, Macy’s, Amazon, Office Depot, Polo Ralph Lauren, La-Z-Boy, Lands’ End, Blockbuster, Williams-Sonoma and Levi Strauss & Co. For more information about the Adobe Scene7 cross-media platform, visit www.scene7.com.

“Photoshop.com Mobile is the ‘go-to,’ photo editing application for iPhone and Android devices,” said Doug Mack, vice president and general manager of Digital Imaging and Rich Media Solutions at Adobe. “Unlike iPhone, the Android platform allows us to make the Photoshop.com editor broadly available to developers so they can provide it within any application they are working on. Photoshop functionality can then easily be accessed from an online auction, real estate or social media application so users can quickly fix photos and make them look their best, before being showcased.”

Developer Access to Adobe Technology

A new developer site now allows Android developers to leverage the Photoshop.com Mobile for Android 1.1 editor in the creation of other application workflows. The Web site provides access to Adobe technology and promotes an ecosystem where developers have more creative freedom when developing their software. Consumers in turn are offered even better applications for their phones. Additional information on integrating the Photoshop.com Mobile editor into Android applications can be found at http://mobile.photoshop.com/android/developers.html.

More Mobile Photo Editing Options

Photoshop.com Mobile for Android 1.1 advances mobile photo editing with eye-catching effects such as Vibrant, to boost photo colors, and Pop, which brings a ‘pop art’ style to images. The Soft Black and White, and Warm Vintage tools can be used to add a classic and aged effect to photos. With one touch, users can also apply dramatic changes to a photo’s look and feel with Vignette Blur, White Glow and Rainbow. All edits and changes can be undone so consumers can liberally apply effects and know that their original photo is safe.

Photoshop.com Online Community

The latest updates for Photoshop.com Mobile can be found on Facebook & Twitter. To join the conversation and contribute feedback, follow @photoshopdotcom on Twitter and use the hashtag #PSdroid. Photoshop.com Mobile engineers are available now to answer any questions about developer access or the new update, and their responses will be added to the Photoshop.com FAQ blog post.

Adobe Photoshop Family

Building upon Photoshop’s 20 year history of innovation and leadership, Adobe offers a line of Photoshop desktop and Web-hosted solutions for every level of user. Each product in the Photoshop(R) family gives users across the spectrum of digital expertise the power to manage, edit, create and showcase images.

Photoshop CS4 and Photoshop CS4 Extended software are at the heart of the Photoshop family, providing unrivaled power and editing freedom. Photoshop Lightroom(R) addresses the workflow needs of serious amateur and professional photographers, helping them find, manage, enhance and showcase images in powerful ways. Photoshop Elements software provides accessible tools and sharing options for photo enthusiasts. Snap-shooters can quickly and easily share and edit photos with simple gestures on their iPhone or Android devices. Photoshop.com completes the Photoshop line providing an online photo sharing, editing and hosting resource for all.

Pricing and Availability

Adobe Photoshop.com Mobile for Android 1.1 is available as a free download in all countries with Android Market in English only. To retrieve the update, launch the Android Market application via the Android device and search for “photoshop.com.” More information on Photoshop.com Mobile for Android 1.1 can be found at http://mobile.photoshop.com/android.

About Adobe Systems Incorporated

Adobe revolutionizes how the world engages with ideas and information — anytime, anywhere and through any medium. For more information, visit www.adobe.com.

(C) 2010 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All rights reserved. Adobe, the Adobe logo, Lightroom and Photoshop are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries. Android is a trademark of Google Inc. Use of this trademark is subject to Google Permissions. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

The process is as simple as adding a few lines of provisioning code, setting the price and trial period, and publishing the application. Developers also receive reports, analytics, and automatic settlements on a monthly basis.

Consumers can discover applications on the Adobe AIR Marketplace, and then try them for free. If they like the application they can purchase it using a credit card, PayPal, an Ultimate Game Card(R) or over 85 other global payment methods provided by PlaySpan. Visit the Adobe AIR Marketplace to see live examples of Shibuya-enabled applications.

“We chose to work with PlaySpan because they are a leader in digital goods monetization,” said Danielle Deibler, Senior Engineering Manager — Flash Platform Services. “They have clear focus on creating a great user experience plus a comprehensive system for managing all the details of global consumer payments and developer on boarding and settlement.”

“PlaySpan is thrilled to work with Adobe and Adobe AIR developers,” said Karl Mehta, Founder & CEO of PlaySpan. “The digital goods space is highly specialized and this is a perfect use case of our technology practices in global consumer payments and working with individual developers so that they can sell their applications and manage their own businesses. It’s a fantastic new cottage industry that Adobe is helping create.”

Shibuya is currently in a limited public beta. Once the service is commercially deployed as a full product, Shibuya will be available to all Adobe AIR developers. For more information on Shibuya, please visit the Shibuya web site at http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/shibuya/.

About Adobe Systems Incorporated

Adobe revolutionizes how the world engages with ideas and information – anytime, anywhere and through any medium. For more information, visit www.adobe.com.

About PlaySpan

PlaySpan(TM) is the global leader in monetization solutions for over 1,000 online games, virtual worlds, and social networks. PlaySpan’s patent-pending in-game digital goods commerce and micropayment platform enables game publishers and developers to generate new revenues, acquire new users, and extend the loyalty of existing users.

PlaySpan also provides global payment solutions through its UltimatePay product which enables users to make safe, convenient, and friendly in-app purchases using over 85 global payment methods in 180 countries. UltimatePay includes PlaySpan’s ULTIMATE GAME CARD, which is a pre-paid card available in over 45,000 retail locations across North America and growing rapidly worldwide.

PlaySpan is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices in Ohio, Virginia, and Mumbai. Investors include Easton Capital, Menlo Ventures, STIC and Novel TMT Ventures. The company won the 2009 OnHollywood Category Award for Best Gaming Company.

For more information about PlaySpan, visit: http://corp.playspan.com

Here is how the result should look like:

Read the FusionCharts tutorial here.

Creative DW Menu Pack is a suite of Dreamweaver extensions that seamlessly blends the flexibility of DHTML and the Flash look and feel to create beautifully web site menus.  The extension comes with over 30 built in skins that can be customized to suit the design (colors, fonts, size) and include a smart resize system that preserves round corners and the gradient fills when you change the menu size.

Read the tutorial here.

“Consumers want more than the traditional one-size fits all Web experience,” said Doug Mack, vice president and general manager of Rich Media Solutions at Adobe. “They want to be heard and understood online, which is why 75 percent of the survey respondents say they are planning attention-grabbing innovations over the next twelve months to provide more interactive and personalized experiences.”

Overall, the top features rated as most effective include: product tours or multi-media viewing which combines guided spin, zoom imagery, videos or animations with copy (36 percent); visual filtering and advanced search on product features including size, color, and price (33 percent); user comments and reviews (32 percent); search landing pages (32 percent); product comparisons (28 percent); and zoom (28 percent).

About the Survey

The Adobe Scene7 2010 Customer Experience in the New Decade Survey received 546 responses from brand-name retailers as well as agencies, high-tech companies, media and enterprises worldwide that sell a wide variety of products and services online. Agencies were the highest to respond worldwide, representing about 18 percent of total respondents. Similar to the 2009 survey, the annual company sales showed 60 percent of the respondents with less than $10 million and 23 percent greater than $100 million. For a complete copy of survey results, visit www.scene7.com/survey2010.

About Scene7

The Adobe Scene7 hosted rich media platform is an easy-to-use streamlined publishing system for cross-media workflows. It is an industry-leading solution for e-commerce and multi-channel marketing companies worldwide who need to publish rich content to engage their audience and drive online business. Leading companies using Scene7 solutions include QVC, Harrods, Macy’s, Amazon, Office Depot, Polo Ralph Lauren, La-Z-Boy, Lands’ End, Blockbuster, Williams-Sonoma and Levi Strauss & Co.

The festivities continue overseas in Japan, Southeast Asia and throughout Europe. In honor of the 20th anniversary, Adobe Germany will host a special 20-hour online marathon, featuring over 15 local Photoshop “gurus” demonstrating their favorite tips and tricks live for Photoshop fans. In India and France, digital imaging contests will be held to showcase the work of Photoshop users. A special Adobe TV broadcast will also air on the anniversary date at http://tv.adobe.com/go/photoshop-20th-anniversary, reuniting the original “Photoshop team” for the first time in 18 years, to discuss their early work on the software and demonstrate Photoshop 1.0 on a rebuilt Macintosh computer.

The Photoshop community is also sharing their favorite stories online, with the product and its over 400,000 fan-strong Facebook page, the hub for a worldwide look at the product’s impact. A new “Celebrate” tab directs users to a 20th anniversary logo, which many have already personalized with Photoshop and used as a replacement for their profile image. Connect with the Photoshop team at www.facebook.com/Photoshop or http://twitter.com/photoshop, and add the tag #PS20 to tweets about the anniversary.

“For 20 years Photoshop has played many different roles — it has given creative people the power to deliver amazing images that impact every part of our visual culture and challenged the eye with its ability to transform photographs,” said Shantanu Narayen, president and chief executive officer at Adobe. “It’s no exaggeration to say that, thanks to millions of creative customers, Photoshop has changed the way the world looks at itself.”

The impact of Photoshop is everywhere — billboard signs, magazine covers, major motion pictures, even the logo on the coffee cup you drink out of every morning. All have likely been touched by the software. Over 90 percent of creative professionals have Photoshop on their desktops and today Photoshop is used by professional photographers, graphic designers and advertisers, as well as architects, engineers and even doctors. Whether it’s bringing visual effects to life in the blockbuster film Avatar, helping save lives in partnership with forensics departments and the Center for Missing and Exploited Children, or challenging the human eye to determine if an image is real or fake, Photoshop continues to find new uses and advocates. (See Customer Quote Sheet.)

How It All Began

In 1987, Thomas Knoll developed a pixel imaging program called Display. It was a simple program to showcase grayscale images on a black-and-white monitor. However, after collaborating with his brother John Knoll, the two began adding features that made it possible to process digital image files. The program eventually caught the attention of industry influencers, and in 1988, Adobe made the decision to license the software, naming it Photoshop, and shipping the first version in 1990.

“Twenty years ago, Adobe predicted that it would sell 500 copies of Photoshop per month,” said Thomas Knoll, co-creator of Photoshop at Adobe. “I guess you could say, we beat those projections! It’s amazing to think that millions of people use this software today. We knew we had a groundbreaking technology on our hands, but we never anticipated how much it would impact the images we see all around us. The ability to seamlessly place someone within an image was just the beginning of Photoshop’s magic.”

Over its 20-year history, Photoshop has evolved significantly from a simple original display program to a wildly popular application that has over 10 million users worldwide. With each release, Adobe has introduced technological innovations that defy the impossible. Layers, introduced in Photoshop 3.0, gave designers the ability to create complex compositions easier than ever before. The Healing Brush, another groundbreaking feature introduced in Photoshop 7.0, allowed users to magically retouch images by seamlessly removing blemishes and wrinkles, while preserving lighting and texture. Photoshop tools like crop, eraser, blur and dodge and burn have become part of the creative vernacular worldwide.

The Photoshop team thrives off its rich beta tester program, with active and vocal users who have submitted requests and helped shape the development of features throughout the years. Adobe has maintained a strong connection with its customer base through blogs, user research, customer support, forums and feedback from Adobe “evangelists” who travel the world to engage with Photoshop users.

Helpful Links

– Photoshop Customer Quote Sheet: www.adobe.com/aboutadobe/pressroom/pressreleases/201002/0211810PS20AnniversaryQuoteSheet.html

– National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP) Photoshop 20th Anniversary Celebration: www.photoshopuser.com/photoshop20th

– Adobe TV Photoshop 20th Anniversary Broadcast: http://tv.adobe.com/go/photoshop-20th-anniversary

– Photoshop Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/Photoshop

– Photoshop Twitter: http://twitter.com/photoshop

– Photoshop Family Page: www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/family

Adobe Photoshop Family

Building upon Photoshop’s history of innovation and leadership, Adobe offers a line of Photoshop desktop and Web-hosted solutions for every level of user. Each product in the Photoshop family gives users across the spectrum of digital expertise the power to manage, edit, create and showcase images.

Photoshop CS4 and Photoshop CS4 Extended software are at the heart of the Photoshop family, providing unrivaled power and editing freedom. Photoshop Lightroom(R) addresses the workflow needs of serious amateur and professional photographers, helping them find, manage, enhance and showcase images in powerful ways. Photoshop Elements software provides accessible tools and sharing options for photo enthusiasts. Snap-shooters can quickly and easily share and edit photos with simple gestures on their iPhone or Android devices. Photoshop.com completes the Photoshop line providing an online photo sharing, editing and hosting resource for all.

What you will learn

• Learn how to set up and manage multiple artboards.
• Discover how to use layers to lay out multiple versions of a document.
• See how to thread text and manage imported text in a layout.
• Learn how to effectively use the Pen tool, and how to manipulate anchor points.
• Find out how to move artwork out of Illustrator for use in print and on the web.

Find out the details.

Highlights

• Discover how InDesign CS4 provides a platform for communications beyond print. It can make electronic documents as PDF as well as web documents as SWF.
• Find out whether your print jobs will cause problems at print shops by using the new Preflight panel.
• Learn how design can be more efficient with Text and Object Styles.
• See how InDesign CS4 can apply many artistic effects to your placed artwork, without knowledge of other applications like indesignor Photoshop.
• Learn how to use layers to create different versions of your publications, for different languages, different markets, or more.

Find out more here