Adobe has taken the “cloud” to a new level. Most know of the cloud as a remote storage space, but Adobe is using it for much more than that. It’s a designer’s playground. With a reasonable $49.99/mo price tag, a designer can access every program in the Adobe Master Suite Collection. For many, this is more achievable than spending $2,600 to purchase the Suite outright. This is a much simpler pricing structure than Adobe’s previous release, which had many designers like me agitated.

Adobe® Creative Suite® 6 software delivers a whole new experience for digital media creation, enabling you to work lightning fast and reach audiences wherever they may be. Now, for the first time, CS applications are also available through Adobe Creative Cloud™, giving you the flexibility to download and install them at any time. Plus, access additional applications, publishing services, and new products and features as they are released.

I believe other software companies will start taking a similar approach. It’s a win-win for everyone. This provides affordable pricing for the consumer, and less piracy against the software companies. Not to mention that this will keep the software current for everyone, making it easier and more efficient for software companies to support. As a former business owner, I wish this option had been available when I launched my company. This approach allows designers to focus on producing better design without worrying about having the right tools.

I’m even more excited that Adobe is emerging as a leader in the tablet arena. I believe they are pushing computer manufacturers to develop a tablet for the designer. With some of the basic Touch App software they have developed thus far, it’s only a matter of time before we can use a full version of Photoshop on a 17” tablet. Now we just need a computer manufacturer to step up to the plate and build something that can handle real computing. There is no question that tablet devices are the future of computing. The Asus Transformer Prime is probably the closest thing I have seen, but is too small and not powerful enough for designers and their software. As a designer, I’m looking forward to what the future has in store for our industry with software and hardware. This is a no brainer and should be the model moving forward for software companies.

What do you think about this new pricing structure Adobe has introduced?

Just before the holidays, my boss asked me about  Pinterest . Now I have to admit that when she asked I had never heard of it, however afterwards I noticed everyone I knew was talking about Pinterest. It turns out that Pinterest is a visual bookmarking social media tool. 

Pinterest acts as a digital corkboard that lets you organize and share visual things that inspire you. It has a little something for everyone no matter what your interests are, including cooking, arts and crafts, design, DIY things, architecture, things for kids, etc.  As a designer I have to say I’m in love with Pinterest and wish I had more time to create boards all day long.

With the growth Pinterest is experiencing it is becoming an important tool for brands and companies looking to push products online. According to  Mashable, the site has 3 million users and surpassed 421 million page views (as of Oct. 2011). While 70 percent of “pinners” are female, according to Open Forum and other sources, one simply can’t avoid the discussion on how to use this tool to market products and services, especially if the target audience is women.  

Here are a few brands that have jumped at this opportunity. Based on the number of people following them and repining their images, I have to say it is a success for the brands below:

Brands on Pinterest Board

Whole Foods Market - Grocery | 12,171 followers
West Elm - Furniture | 9,894 followers
Mashable - Digital news source | 8,934 followers
General Electric - Products | 289 followers
GAP - Clothing | 1,615 followers
Food Network - TV cooking network | 2,429 followers
Lowes - Home Improvement |  1,553 followers

If you know of other companies worthy of mentioning that I have missed please share them.

Follow me on Pinterest

In spirit of Martin Luther King day I thought it would be appropriate to show some great Typographic Portraits of him.

 
by: Dencii

 
by Kenneth Rougeau

by: Tiana Mae Design

by Alex Verlan of Versa Studios

by Seiko Karakama

by Jonas Fleuraime