Hidden Photoshop Features Designers Love

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Photoshop is packed with powerful features that are rarely discussed, yet professionals rely on them every day.

In this session, Jesús Ramirez pulls back the curtain on lesser-known Photoshop tools, features, and techniques that can dramatically improve your design workflow. These are not tricks for the sake of tricks. Each feature solves a real problem or saves real time.

If you already know the basics and want to work more like a pro, this class focuses on the details that separate casual users from advanced, efficient designers.

You’ll learn:

  • Use hidden Photoshop features that simplify complex tasks
  • Build stronger, cleaner composites with professional techniques
  • Work smarter with tools you may not be using
  • And much more!

Join Jesús for a free Webinar: Photoshop Power Hour, Tuesday, May 5 at 10 am Pacific

Crafting Custom Lettering and Fonts with Photoshop

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Don’t limit your type choices to the font menu! In this session, you’ll learn how to create expressive, custom lettering and DIY fonts directly inside Photoshop using hand-drawn, painted, or otherwise found letterforms. We’ll explore how to capture your lettering, refine it with Photoshop’s tools, and turn it into flexible typographic assets you can reuse across projects—even in InDesign and other apps! Along the way, you’ll develop a greater appreciation for font design and all that goes into a well-crafted font. This session is perfect for designers with a love for fonts—and the curiosity to explore creating their own.

Takeaways:

  • Techniques for creating custom lettering and DIY fonts in Photoshop
  • Tips for consistency, spacing, and reuse across designs
  • Several different routes to bring your very own fonts to life
  • New ways to think about typography as a creative, hands-on process
  • Learn how you can also build vector fonts in Adobe Illustrator

Microsoft Word for Designers: Text Fundamentals

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Although Word is built for documents such as reports, letters, and resumés, many clients expect designers to create professional, reusable templates inside it. Jennifer Parkinson helps InDesign-savvy designers understand Word’s text tools, styles, and layout controls so they can create clean, functional Word documents clients can actually use. You’ll learn how Word handles typography, what maps cleanly from Adobe InDesign, and where Word’s limitations require a different approach.

Topics include:

  • Text formatting and typography tools in Word
  • Creating and managing paragraph and character styles
  • Best practices for layout control using section breaks, lists, bullets, and more

Creative Cloud Enterprise Accounts: What You Need to Know

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If you’ve ever wondered why your Creative Cloud features look different from a colleague’s, this session is for you. In this session, Kevin Stohlmeyer provides a clear, plain-language overview of Creative Cloud Enterprise accounts from the end-user perspective. You’ll learn how these accounts are structured, why certain tools or services may be limited, and how access decisions are typically made.

You’ll leave with a clearer understanding of your Creative Cloud environment and the confidence to advocate for the tools and features you need to do your best work.

Topics include:

  • Understand how enterprise accounts differ from individual Creative Cloud subscriptions
  • Identify common reasons features, services, or tools may be unavailable
  • Helping your IT department help you
  • Gain practical talking points to advocate for the tools you want and need

Business Skills for Confident Designers

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Every designer needs a set of business superpowers: the ability to attract the right opportunities, communicate value, negotiate fair compensation, spot red flags early, and build strong, lasting professional relationships. In this session, Michael Flarup shares lessons drawn from two decades of independent creative work, distilling the skills that separate reactive designers from confident, in-demand professionals.

Through honest stories and practical strategies, Michael breaks down how to price creative work, manage expectations, handle difficult situations, and protect your time and energy. These are skills that apply whether you work in-house, collaborate with external clients, or take on occasional side projects. This session focuses on creative independence, professional confidence, and understanding your value—no matter where you sit on the org chart.

Key takeaways:

  • Communicate value clearly to stakeholders and collaborators
  • Handle budget and scope conversations with confidence
  • Spot project red flags early and course-correct
  • Set expectations that stick and reduce rework
  • Build trust-driven relationships that support long-term growth

Wait… That’s Vector? Photorealism in Illustrator

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Photorealistic vector artwork can feel unattainable until you see how it’s built. In this session, José J. Semidei shares his approach to creating strikingly realistic illustrations entirely in Adobe Illustrator. You’ll see how lifelike results emerge from careful planning, observation, and intentional construction.

José breaks down how to analyze a subject, identify key visual components, and translate light, shadow, and surface detail into believable vector form. This session emphasizes patience, craftsmanship, and creative problem-solving—and shows how to push Illustrator far beyond flat shapes and simple gradients.

What you will learn:

  • How to prepare your artwork and workspace for building complex photorealistic illustrations
  • How to break a subject down into manageable visual components before you start drawing
  • How to map highlights, shadows, and imperfections to create realistic depth and form
  • How to blend multiple elements for smooth, seamless visual transitions

Creative Leadership in the Age of AI

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Creative direction is about vision, judgment, and the ability to guide ideas toward meaningful outcomes. As AI accelerates production and multiplies options, the role of creative leadership becomes even more critical.

In this session, Vincent Wanga explores what it means to lead creatively when speed, automation, and generative tools are part of everyday work. Vincent examines the mindset behind strong direction: setting intent, making clear decisions, building trust, mentoring talent, and protecting the quality of ideas in fast-moving environments.

You’ll leave with a clearer understanding of where creative leadership adds the most value today—and how strong leadership keeps creativity grounded, focused, and human.

Key takeaways:

  • What does creative leadership actually mean in the age of AI?
  • Where does human judgment still make the biggest difference?
  • How do directors create clarity when options are endless?
  • Understand why strong direction—not faster output—is what defines creative impact

Photoshop Curves: Pro-Level Tone and Color Control

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Photoshop Curves is the most powerful and most misunderstood tool for photo editing. When you understand how Curves actually work, they become a precise, flexible way to control tone and color that no other adjustment can match. This session demystifies Curves and shows why experienced professionals rely on them every day.

In this session, Ben Wilmore focuses on real-world workflows for retouching, photography, and design, highlighting practical techniques that deliver polished, professional results without guesswork. With this deep dive, Curves will finally “click” for you. You’ll gain a clearer understanding of how to shape tone and color with intent—and the confidence to make Curves a natural part of your everyday Photoshop workflow.

Key takeaways:

  • Control highlights, midtones, and shadows with precision
  • Shape color intentionally using Curves instead of trial and error
  • Apply Curves confidently across retouching, photography, and design workflows
  • Understand why pros rely on Curves

Sneak Peek:
How to Change a Black Object to Any Color in Photoshop

Workflows for InDesign and Adobe Express

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Adobe Express isn’t a replacement for InDesign, but it can be a powerful extension of your workflow. In this session, Bart Van de Wiele shows when Adobe Express makes sense for social, internal communications, and marketing handoffs—and when it doesn’t. You’ll see real examples of how Express fits into professional design workflows, especially when stakeholders need access to branded layouts without opening InDesign.

Bart walks through how to move designs between InDesign and Express in both directions, covering steps, limitations, and best practices. Learn how to translate brand styles, fonts, and layouts between apps, and how to set up, manage, and use on-brand templates that others can safely edit. See what translates cleanly, what requires adjustment, and how to prepare files so templates stay consistent and usable. This session focuses on practical workflows, realistic expectations, and smart setup choices that help InDesign users collaborate confidently with teams who don’t design for a living.

You will learn:

  • Translate brand styles, fonts, and layouts between InDesign and Express
  • Set up, manage, and use on-brand templates
  • Move designs from Express back into InDesign when needed
  • Set realistic expectations around current limitations and workarounds
  • Build repeatable workflows that support collaboration without sacrificing quality

Fun, Fast, and Fearless Illustrator Workflow

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Illustrator should feel fluid, expressive, and energizing. In this session, Thaddeus Coates reframes how you approach Illustrator so ideas move faster and friction fades into the background.

Explore how thoughtful setup, flexible habits, and a simplified approach to core tools can transform the way you work. The focus stays on building momentum, staying loose, and keeping creativity front and center while working efficiently and intentionally.

Expect a playful mindset, practical perspective shifts, and encouragement to trust your process. Walk away seeing Illustrator as a space where speed, confidence, and creativity coexist—and where fun is part of working smarter.

You will learn how to:

  • Build illustrations that stay clean, flexible, and easy to evolve
  • Work faster by simplifying decisions and reducing friction
  • Approach Illustrator with confidence instead of caution
  • Keep play and experimentation at the center of your workflow