As a university student by profession and designer by hobby, my monthly budget is usually filled with textbooks, groceries, and other student expenses. Even with the fantastic deals corporations like Adobe offer students for their products, I’m left to wonder what makes the newest editions of their products any better from the older editions. I know I could purchase older editions off the Internet. If I wanted to make sure I had the latest updates, I could share with friends or use the University’s computers. Why should university design students bother including the expense for the latest design software?
Why not?
As this multi-media designer will tell you, there is nothing more convenient than owning your own software. University computer labs are not open twenty-four seven—neither is your friend’s basement apartment. For us Northerners, trying to battle a blizzard just to use Photoshop or Illustrator is both silly and potentially skin damaging. Frostbite doesn’t look attractive on anyone’s nose, ears, or cheeks. Having our own copy is essential to our life’s work, even if during school it remains a hobby.
After sitting on multiple conference calls outlining Adobe Creative Suite 6, I can barely contain my excitement for this product! Professional and student designers will be squirming in their seats to get their copy. However, I can guarantee the Adobe production team is doing everything in their power to make them try. Past Adobe editions haven’t changed that much from their predecessors. A few bugs and glitches were fixed, but other than that the products worked pretty much the same: computer bound applications with little flexibility outside other Adobe products.
Adobe Creative Suite 6 is the completely and utter repurposing and remarketing of Adobe. Expanding the playing field for professionals, teachers, and students alike, Adobe is finally creating a market for every interest in the social media world. Industries once thought separate from the Adobe market are being brought into many aspects of Adobe CS6. Even the layman designer could easily market themselves in multimedia industries with a more understanding User Interface that is carried across the new Adobe CS6 line.
In this technology-driven world, design software and computer skills (or lack thereof) can make (or break) a graduate’s resume. The college student audience needs to get on board, despite Adobe’s wide professional audience. How can we expect to be competitive in the professional world when we aren’t familiar with the technology in our school years? We cannot skimp out on ourselves simply to save a couple hundred dollars. In the long run, that could be another thousand in the bank.
It’s not just me that’s taken notice. Since Photoshop CS6 was released as a public beta on March 22nd, 2012 for Mac OS and Microsoft® Windows® platforms, there have been nearly one million downloads of the software worldwide – surpassing any public beta in Adobe’s history. With its increased performance of editing in real time and a new Content Aware Patch feature, Photoshop CS6 has raised the bar for photo editing software.
Having been through the complete beta testing stage of CS6, I can guarantee Adobe’s claims of streamlined content and performance throughout the software. Before CS6, Adobe tended to look unfriendly to the average consumer. Yes, it was powerful. Yes, it would help. But was it worth the hours it took to learn the product? That was highly debated. Not anymore.
Adobe CS6 has carried over their Photoshop interface to include multiple easy to access icons that help the casual user begin to use their products right away. The CS6 interface is beautiful, streamlined through all their products, and softens the once overtly professional tone. Adobe Creative Suite isn’t just a feature upgrade; it’s an experience upgrade.
With Creative Cloud technology, students can take their projects with them. From the dorm room to the classroom, Adobe isn’t confined to a high-performance desktop machine anymore. It can sit on your lap in the park. It can workout with you as you cycle. It can even help you study—procrastinate—during the upcoming finals week. With what ever it is going to do for you, it’s strong artistic and business capabilities make Adobe CS6 something for even the non-design majors to get excited about.
Get Excited. Get Noticed. Start Saving Up.
Adobe’s pushing the limits of the design and technological world; and you will be too.
Lauryn Ash is currently a second year, sophomore at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, studying English and International Studies. During the school year, she is a volunteer/intern for ICFRC/CIVIC, an NGO dedicated to bringing international issues along with international visitors into Iowa City and Eastern Iowa. When she’s not watching Doctor Who or Sherlock, she’s either studying Japanese, writing fiction, or blogging from her main blog: laurynash.wordpress.com. She also contributes a new, monthly column series for NICHE Literary Magazine, which can be found at nichelitmag.com.