Sessions

Closing Session

It’s time to bring this five-day CreativePro extravaganza to a close. Join us for one last opportunity to catch a tip, win a prize, and learn what’s next on the horizon.

Creative Cloud Unleashed

Explore new avenues for your creativity with professional-level design tools on the iPad. Photoshop and Illustrator have been re-imagined for a touch-enabled experience — and offer a whole new dimension for designing unique and engaging content.

Whether you use your fingers, or Pencil, you’ll discover new ways to seamlessly work across your desktop and iPad apps while creating professional-level content.

We’ll also take a look at Fresco. This natural-media based app brings truly unique features to the iPad for drawing and painting. See how these applications can enhance real-world design projects for any medium.

Topics include:

  • Introduction to Photoshop, Illustrator and Fresco on iPad.
  • How common desktop features translate to the iPad.
  • Unique tools, features and workflows only available on a touch device.
  • How to create, edit, and share documents across devices, projects, and other designers.
  • Drawing and sketching techniques that you can use in any creative project.

Hands-On Design

Isn’t it funny how in the early days of digital imagery, photos were so heavy on grain that they struggled to compete—and now we’re in a place where we add grain to generated images to make them appear more analog? Oh, how the pendulum swings! While it’s much easier these days to move more fluidly between the digital realm and the analog world, it’s also incredibly easy to get stuck in the precise, pixel-perfect world of our screens. Consider this session a respite from your everyday grind and a chance to slow down, embrace imperfection, and create with your hands—no mouse or tablet necessary.

You’ll (re)discover:

  • The sensory joy of hands-on creation and the unique artistic expressions afforded by analog tools
  • Analog media as a catalyst for ideation and creativity
  • Delightful ways analog elements can enhance your digital projects.

Pocket Guide to Design Law in the Age of AI

In this session, legal expert Kathryn Goldman will delve into the three pivotal legal areas every designer must navigate: contract, copyright, and trademark. As AI continues to revolutionize the design industry, understanding its impact on these legal domains has never been more crucial. Kathryn will break down top-line best practices, offering a clear, concise guide tailored to the needs of today’s designer.

Whether you’re a seasoned professional or just starting out, this session will equip you with the knowledge to handle legal challenges in your creative work confidently. Expect to walk away with practical tips that will serve as your go-to reference in the rapidly evolving world of design law. Don’t miss this opportunity to turn complex legal concepts into your competitive advantage in the age of AI.

Evaluating, Choosing, and Managing Fonts

Did you ever hear the saying “the designer with the most fonts wins”? It’s cute, funny, and relatable. And totally wrong.

You don’t need the most fonts, you need the best fonts for your work.

It’s time to curate your font collection, putting your favorites at your fingertips and tossing the junk. The payoffs are huge:

  • No more wasting hours searching in vain for a font with the right look.
  • No more realizing halfway through a job that the font you chose doesn’t have a glyph you absolutely need.
  • No more sketchy free fonts of dubious origin and quality.

In this session you’ll see how to build and maintain a valuable collection of fonts that’s easy to use and flexible enough to meet any need, with fresh new looks and reliable old standbys.

Designing for the Real World

Working on a screen all day is one thing, but bringing your work into the physical world and creating with your hands (using something other than a mouse) is something else entirely! Atlanta-based illustrator and muralist, George Baker III, shares what he’s learned from transforming your digital world into real-world, physical designs.

You’ll discover:

  • Why you should step out and create physical products with your digital designs
  • Ways to use your digital tools to create tangible goods (i.e murals, clothing, screen-printed pieces, hand-drawn type, etc.)
  • How to bring a hand-made component into your digital world
  • Infinite ways to traverse back and forth between the digital and analog realms

CreativePro Partner Panel: Finding Solutions

We all know that Adobe makes powerful tools. But these days, the only way to be truly efficient and productive is to think outside the box and look at the ecosystem of services, resources, and third-party tools that are available to you.

Join us for a panel discussion that looks at how to expand efficiency, improve workflows, and plan for a successful future.

Make an Impact! How Designers Can Promote Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion

We know that diversity and inclusiveness is a crucial component of every design. But what does that look like in practice and how do you know if you’re doing it right?

In this session, designer and brand strategist Nicte Cuevas shares best practices and strategies for:

  • Approaching designs with mindfulness to create more effective and authentic connections with your audience
  • Increasing empathy and understanding across lived experiences
  • Expanding representation and inclusion with diverse content

Grids: The Backbone of Design

We know we should be using grids in our designs, but which ones? How do you choose? Where do you even start? Join Nigel as he shares invaluable insights, practical tips, and real-world examples to demystify the complexities of grid-based design. By the end of the session, you’ll not only understand the importance of grids but also be equipped to use them strategically for visually stunning and harmonious layouts.

You’ll learn:

  • The different kinds of grid: document, layout, baseline, and how to combine them
  • Strategies for working with grids in InDesign, as well as Illustrator, and Photoshop
  • Creative ways to break the grid for added impact

Approachable Animation in After Effects

Having the ability to animate your designs is becoming a must these days, and After Effects is the app that can truly bring your creative vision to life. Emmy-winning motion designer Kyle Hamrick will guide you through the fundamentals of this often-intimidating program, and demonstrate approachable techniques you can use right away to boost your own work.

In this session, you’ll learn:

  • When, why, and how to incorporate motion into your skill set
  • Fundamentals of the After Effects UI and multimedia workflow
  • How to import and animate layered designs from Photoshop or Illustrator (It’s not as hard as you’d expect!)
  • Beginner-friendly techniques that can make a big impact