Adobe Creative Cloud

4.7 (7,077)
Graphic design and video editing software

Overall rating

4.7 /5
(7,077)
Value for Money
4.2/5
Features
4.7/5
Ease of Use
4.2/5
Customer Support
4.2/5
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7077 Reviews

Avash
Overall rating
  • Industry: Information Technology & Services
  • Company size: 2–10 Employees
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10

#1 Design Software in Market

Reviewed on 14/11/2020

I have been using Adobe Creative Cloud for more than 3 years and it has been the best choice among other competitors for all these 3+ years. The software I use most is Adobe Photoshop and it has helped me a lot in my professional career.

For all the features available in Adobe Creative Cloud - I absolutely love it! If you are a graphic designer, you need Adobe Creative Cloud as it is the #1 graphic designing software available in the market.

Pros

One subscription - and I get access to 20+ awesome design software. I also get access to stock photographs and other assets which I use regularly as they are of high quality. It's also easy to work on a project with teams as projects are saved online.

The thing I like most about Adobe Creative Cloud is that - it gets updated regularly. Due to regular updates, I can be sure that the features of these software are in accordance with current technologies. I have spent more than 3 years using Adobe Creative Cloud in regular basis - and I can say that I learn something new every week and this has helped me a lot in my professional career.

Cons

Subscription for only one software is expensive and doesn't seem to be suitable for beginners.

We also need a fast performing computer to use most of Adobe software - which is fine looking at the features they offer. However, I think there is room for improvement of performance.

Alternatives Considered

GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program)

Reasons for Switching to Adobe Creative Cloud

Adobe Creative Cloud is way ahead in terms of User Interface, Easiness to Use and Features Available. There are also tons and tons of resources available online that makes it really easy to learn how to use Adobe CC.
Eric
Overall rating
  • Industry: Retail
  • Company size: 10,000+ Employees
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support
  • Likelihood to recommend 6.0 /10

Nice Software but it is expensive

Reviewed on 20/03/2023

Pros

I love how easy it is to use and how connected all of the adobe suite is.

Cons

I dislike the price tag especially the monthly subscription.

Sam
Overall rating
  • Industry: Animation
  • Company size: Self Employed
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Ease of Use
  • Likelihood to recommend 0.0 /10

I cannot say how much I dislike Adobe enough

Reviewed on 04/01/2020

I use the Adobe Creative Cloud at my full-time job, and it is a constant headache. It does the job it's supposed to, but for a company such as Adobe, I expect better. I expect better products, better customer service, better policies, better everything.

Pros

The programs are fairly easy to use. And I suppose on paper it's not a bad idea. Having a subscription does make it so you're spending less money up front. And it's an easy way to stay up to date. But remember, this is all on paper. In practice it's not so good.

Cons

Adobe seems to have something of a monopoly on the graphic design market, because I don't think they'd be getting away with their practices otherwise. People who bought their products previously no longer have license to use the software they once purchased if they're not using Cloud. Their programs crash all the time, and are full of annoying UI issues. A ton of small things that just don't make sense. For instance, resizing in Photoshop used to require holding shift to maintain original dimensions. And after users become familiar with that, they decide to change it so that when you size something, holding shift changes the width and height independent of each other. Sure, this would have made sense in the beginning, but to change what so many people are familiar with this late in the game? Plus, you'd think they implement that with all programs. But nope, InDesign it's the opposite, making the change completely pointless. And InDesign is a whole other bag of problems and glitches that can really put you in a bind if you're putting together a company catalog. My supervisor and I are constantly holding our breaths and on the edges of our seats when building a catalog that something major doesn't go wrong. Crashes every single time my computer goes to sleep, it'll randomly delete elements, and there are so many problems across the Adobe Suite that they simply won't fix. I could go on and on and on, but I'm about to run out of space.

Joshua
Overall rating
  • Industry: Biotechnology
  • Company size: 51–200 Employees
  • Used Weekly for 2+ years
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support
  • Likelihood to recommend 9.0 /10

All The Tools You Need to be Successful

Reviewed on 11/01/2023

I love Creative Cloud. Because I have access to such strong tools and am only constrained by my own creativity and skill level in using them, Adobe always excites me.

Pros

I absolutely adore Creative Cloud. It offers a wide range of products to meet all of your media production needs, including video editing, marketing, promotional videos, and anything else you can imagine, as well as flyers, websites, commercial ads, and Facebook promotions. Photoshop is my favorite and is where I spend HOURS every other week! On Photoshop, however I can also use Lightroom if I need to brighten or darken a particular area of a picture. Like how you can alter a shirt's hue to fit a person's eye color. You can also work on a portion of a picture in one program, export it to another to finish the project, like I did when I started something in Photoshop and moved it to Ai. I educated myself using the vast collection of tutorials available on YouTube. The alternatives are only limited by your imagination after you get the hang of the tools and capabilities, which required years of experience and a lot of patience.The lasso tool is incredibly useful for picking out intricate shapes and pictures from a photo to place on a simple or unique background. If you're a professional designer, Photoshop is still the only truly outstanding alternative. It is the best available. When working with type, Illustrator excels, and I adore using the art boards to have a variety of designs at my disposal all at once.

Cons

In-Design is the only product in the creative cloud that I haven't really loved that much; I occasionally find it to be pretty challenging to utilize. But that's simply what I think. Really, there aren't too many aspects about Creative Cloud that I dislike. It essentially does everything.If you only intend to use a few apps, it is somewhat pricey. It takes some getting used to and is undoubtedly not one of the simpler apps to use. Photoshop editing can occasionally be challenging for new users. Since many of the functions are special and difficult to understand, watching tutorials will be quite helpful when starting started. The program uses a lot of RAM on my PC to run. My laptop had trouble with it, which was a little disappointing.

Alexia
Overall rating
  • Industry: Consumer Electronics
  • Company size: 2–10 Employees
  • Used Daily for 6-12 months
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support
  • Likelihood to recommend 9.0 /10

Excelent tool

Reviewed on 19/03/2023

Having so many programs is wonderful for different needs, photo and video editing...

Pros

Adobe programs are necessary for any type of graphic adjustment.This cloud option groups the process allowing you to access all of them and have them in the cloud. necessary for the most creative part of a company.

Cons

They are programs that you need a minimum of knowledge to work with, but they are very easy to use.

Lynn
Overall rating
  • Industry: Religious Institutions
  • Company size: 2–10 Employees
  • Used Daily for 6-12 months
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Ease of Use
  • Likelihood to recommend 8.0 /10

Powerful tool, but training is needed

Reviewed on 27/01/2023

It has been a struggle. As I have learned, though, I am able to do more and more quickly. It is a powerful and useful tool.

Pros

I use the photo editing features the most. I can edit my photos, create new images, design graphics and foligures for publications, etc. I know there is so much more I could do, but am still learning.

Cons

It is HARD to use and learn! It is so complicated and not intuitive. Once you learn how to do something, it isn't too bad, but it takes a long time to learn.

Okunade
Overall rating
  • Industry: Consumer Services
  • Company size: 201–500 Employees
  • Used Daily for 1-5 months
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support
  • Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10

Creativity at its peak

Reviewed on 20/03/2023

Eventful

Pros

I love its all-in-one capability and the fact that you can edit, create, crop, cut and join videos without a problem The app is very helpful for me, and the past few weeks I've been using the app it has been helpful and helped me keep work up to date, by providing a w a better way to edit and create video os

Cons

The inability to use it on mobile phone and some times the app logs me out.

Verified Reviewer
Overall rating
  • Industry: Education Management
  • Company size: 501–1,000 Employees
  • Used Monthly for 2+ years
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support
  • Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10

In Adobe Creative Cloud you will find anything you need for your project.

Reviewed on 03/02/2023

I download like 90% of my software's are form there.

Pros

It has every software you would need for any type of project.

Cons

It kind be a little expensive but it has a lot of options.

Pedro
Overall rating
  • Industry: Consumer Electronics
  • Company size: 2–10 Employees
  • Used Weekly for 1+ year
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support
  • Likelihood to recommend 8.0 /10

It has everything

Reviewed on 19/03/2023

Pros

With photoshop you can do anything you can imagine.

Cons

I would love some functionalities to initial users, sometimes it is too difficult.

Brayan
Overall rating
  • Industry: Computer Software
  • Company size: 2–10 Employees
  • Used Weekly for 6-12 months
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support
  • Likelihood to recommend 8.0 /10

My experience about Adobe creative cloud

Reviewed on 02/02/2023

Pros

the animation and transitions are the parts I liked the most and I find the software easy to adapt with

Cons

I think the price is a bit expensive, we should think about lowering the price.

Jordan
Overall rating
  • Industry: Defense & Space
  • Company size: 10,000+ Employees
  • Used Weekly for 2+ years
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support
  • Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10

Adobe User Since 2003

Reviewed on 07/08/2020

The Adobe Cloud software has been pinnacle to creating digital media which entices customers to shop at my business. It also has been great for designing and editing artwork and photographs for my families home. I have also used it to design presentations I used while in school. It is my workhorse for productivity, design, and creation!

Pros

There are a lot of different things to say about the Adobe Creative Cloud Suite. Simply put, with access to Adobe's Creative Cloud, the top quality media editing tools are right at your fingertips. I have spent the last 17 years using Adobe's products on a weekly basis. It has varied from professional uses, to personal uses, to educational uses. During this time I have seen the upgrades and implementations first hand.

I was introduced to photoshop in 2003 and was impressed with the versatility and capabilities even then. As my skills and needs increased so did the capabilities of photoshop and I always had the tools I needed. I must also say that at first, I knew all of the capabilities of the software, but know the endless capabilities have surpassed my knowledge. They are always improving!

Later they released lightroom, and that became my go to for lighting adjustments. It has been a great ally since I found it!

Previously the software cost $600+, and I could only afford a new copy every so many years, and I often found myself sticking with the older software. However, with their subscription version, I can pay small amounts and always have the newest software. All-in-all it is the same cost as upgrading every 4 or 5 years.

The software tends to be very user friendly, and the cloud option to cross platform edits is a huge win!

Cons

This is just a con I feel about most "Cloud Softwares" in general. The launcher applications they use take a hit on memory, and occasionally CPU. This gets annoying since I do not like having extra unnecessary things running in the background. I wish I could just have a local license the required weekly internet connection renewal. This to me is the biggest con.

I also wish I could by a universal subscription for personal work and school. I have to three different instances to abide by their terms. Because of this my cloud sharing functionality takes a hit.

Tony
Overall rating
  • Industry: Building Materials
  • Company size: 201–500 Employees
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support
  • Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10

Creative Cloud increases access to everthing!

Reviewed on 07/01/2020

The Adobe Creative Cloud keeps everything I need in one easy to access storage location without needing to add to my own harddrive if I choose. This allows me more room for the things I need to store on my devices. I love the fact that I can open, edit and sign documents on my iPad and then move them to the cloud for easy access by myself or anyone with access. Truly great product.

Pros

The best feature of course is the ability to have all of my PDF's categorized and available on any device through the Creative Cloud. But it doesn't stop with PDF's. Jpeg's, (bitmaps of all kinds) Photoshop projects CAD drawings and more are all easily stored in the cloud. And access is seamless between all of my devices. Windows Lap top, Apple iPad and Android smart phone are all supported and work as if there was only one storage location... because there is only one! They are simply all accessible from every device. Love it!

Cons

Adobe Cloud can be and has been a bit finicky. But each time I have reported issues the support team is on them instantly and with in a few days if not the same day the issues have been solved.

Verified Reviewer
Overall rating
  • Industry: Marketing & Advertising
  • Company size: Self Employed
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support
  • Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10

20 plus years using Adobe's products, time for a review

Reviewed on 16/09/2020

in 1995, I was introduced to Adobe Photoshop and it's ability to layer compositions and never turned back. I've worked with the best digital retouchers in Germany, Designed along side legends in the beauty industry, and have always pushed the limits of the Adobe software line until Creative Cloud came out. It was the first time I used cloud based software and was amazed by the new features and abilities. For once, I was learning more than doing and the challenge was well worth the switch. my only concern is for the users who do not understand the benefits of the SAAS model and see it as a price barrier. Basically, the Creative Cloud pushed out novice/occasional users as they are not willing to commit to a monthly bill. Other than leaving behind such users, the CC edition of Adobe's software suite has been the leading edge of the creative industry. From Live TV ads, to Print billboards, and catalogs with hundreds of pages, I've been able to do it all thanks to Adobe and their software.

Pros

I love the new cloud-based platform and all the features that come along with it
-Stock imagery flows directly into my projects
-Libraries follow me through my day for each client
-The Pallette based GUI has always been the best on the market
-Customization of key commands was a huge upgrade a while back
-Being able to paste vector forms from AI to PS is awesome

Cons

-AE is always having trouble with my video card even though listed and drivers are updated
-AE often stops rendering previews and I must restart to gain back the ability to preview timeline (related to first item?)
-I would like to see more pricing options for those who don't need the full kit. Example: a small company who cannot afford "Teams" and only needs one seat for design, but needs multiple seats for edits.

Heidi
Overall rating
  • Industry: Graphic Design
  • Company size: Self Employed
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support
  • Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10

A game changer in the world of graphic design software.

Reviewed on 11/07/2018

A necessity for creative professionals working on line or in brick and mortar studios.

Pros

For many years, Adobe products were price prohibitive, usually only available to students and larger businesses. Freelance designers and smaller design studios were often left to find alternatives that many times failed to meet the standard that Adobe has set with its wide array of industry applications. With the advent of the subscription program, now Adobe products are available in any combination and easily managed through Adobe Creative Cloud. The Creative Cloud makes managing your Adobe Suite a simple matter, which frees you up to spend the time utilizing all of that luscious creativity that each application can help you utilize. Changing up the software bundle that you've chosen is also quick and easy, and can be handled with the click of a button. Similarly, all software updates are also taken care of in your Creative Cloud application so you can keep your Adobe Software running at its peak.

Adobe Creative Cloud is also so much more than simply the software management hub for Adobe software suites, it also stores your personal and shared libraries, is the storage behind Adobe Stock photos and connects you to your software from multiple devices. These benefits are so seamless that most people hardly notice they are using it.

Cons

There are no cons to this software. While it runs quietly in the background at all times, it doesn't take up a lot of space or memory and it never inundates you with annoying popups or notifications while you're working. There is no downside to Adobe Creative Cloud.

Emily
Overall rating
  • Industry: Printing
  • Company size: 2–10 Employees
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Likelihood to recommend 7.0 /10

It's the Industry Standard for a reason, but for how long?

Reviewed on 21/11/2018

Pros

I have loved the Adobe suite since I first started using it back when I started in design with CS2, made my first purchase of the CS5 design suite in high school and Lightroom while in university, and now the CC at work. It's always growing with the demands of the industry and creating new features that assist designers and expand the possibilities. It now has easy tutorials included for new features that are visual more them verbal and easy to understand. The programs all integrate seamlessly together and makes it a joy to work with the software all day.

Cons

There is one flaw in the Illustrator software that is very specific to what I do on a daily basis that most people don't, that I wish would get created. A quick button that would create cut lines and apply bleeds. I specifically am in the sign and vehicle graphics industry and have an old (1990's/Early2000's) software that with a click of a button can recognize what image area is selected, apply cut lines and create the bleed needed for safety when cutting (multicoloured too). I always have to import my graphics from AI to this software to efficiently do this process, but sometime the colours just don't convey well and I'm left to spend an hour or more getting it done in Illustrator.

I also wasn't a supporter of the creative cloud subscription. I use it every day at work, but as a student and start-up owner as they transitioned to the CC format, the costs of that bill every month was difficult to justify since I had just spent a large amount on the CS5 edition on a while earlier that I started to explore other software options. It is completely worth the regular investment if your business relies on it for hours a day because it already holds the title for industry standard, but if your looking for something for only occasional use, It may be worth shopping around first.

Delia
Overall rating
  • Industry: Health, Wellness & Fitness
  • Company size: Self Employed
  • Used for 2+ years
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support
  • Likelihood to recommend 1.0 /10

Why I cancelled my Adobe CC subscription

Reviewed on 02/05/2019

My experience with the Adobe CC payment plan was very poor.

Upfront payments for single packages are no longer available with Adobe. You have to sign up for yearly subscriptions for a suit of packages.

The yearly subscription auto renews with no prior warning. There is no-where on your personal account page where you can request an alert to be sent, before payments are due to be taken out.

When I tried to cancel a yearly auto renewal (several days after the payment was removed from my account) I was told this was not possible. In order to cancel my subscription and get a refund I had to contact their help desk and literally, threaten them with lawyers.

I subsequently found a major American consumer complaints website and lodged my experiences with Adobe. There was a long list of similar stories and complaints by other people.

My opinion of Adobe CC is a that their payment plan is restrictive, secretive and very user unfriendly. In today's world of customer friendly products, Adobe CC stands out as old fashion and frankly unacceptable.

I have since moved on to the Affinity suit and couldn't be happier. One-off up-front payments, high quality software and great customer service.

Frankly I think Adobe is a dinosaur. Large studios who don't care about payment plans are a thing of the past. The majority of creative work is currently being done by individuals working in the 'gig economy'.

Pros

This is very high quality software that offers a vast range of functionality. It is stable, efficiently constructed and updated continuously. Extensive education is available (via a paid Linda.com subscription). The different packages (photoshop, premier pro, audition) all integrate reasonably well.

I would imagine that it's equivalent to any of the software packages currently used by professionals working at the top level of the graphics and animation industry.

Cons

This is very high end software, that offers a vast array of options. The average blogger or photography enthusiast will only (in my opinion) only use a small range of the functions available.

Be aware, the more functionality any software has, the longer it takes to learn how to use it. I found creating a short movie clip for my website draining and unnecessarily complex. The same experience held with photoshop.

While the range of features that Adobe CC offers is astonishing, the time it took me to understand how to use them, was frankly not worth the results.

Maru
Overall rating
  • Industry: Architecture & Planning
  • Company size: 11–50 Employees
  • Used Weekly for 2+ years
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10

Can't live without it

Reviewed on 12/12/2018

Pros

I love that the Creative Cloud suite holds all my graphics and video editing software needs in one place. And the Creative Cloud app helps ease the install process with a simple click of a button. Since Adobe owns all the softwares (premiere, aftereffects, photoshop, etc.), they are very well integrated with each other. There isn't a need for a separate export or save to be able to use files between multiple programs. For instance, photoshop or illustrator files can be used directly on premiere as a smart file, and the file can be updated without the hassle of having the save over and relinking. Another great collaboration tool is being able to switch between premiere and aftereffects when working on a video project.
Each software is very powerful and can do a lot more than other similar softwares can provide.

Cons

The file size for the apps are large. And the cloud defaults the install storage to your primary drive. And most computers have a smaller primary SSD drive nowadays that you will run out of storage quickly. Be sure to change your default install folder within the cloud app to a secondary drive. However, if your secondary drive is not an SSD drive, you will get a little bit of slowdown.

Another con for me was the newer releases were very unstable which required me to uninstall and install an older version.

Adobe Cloud softwares are not an easy software to use, and I do not mean in terms of just tools. There are certain aspects of the software that requires you to know more about computers to be able to set it up properly. For example, Premiere Pro has an issue with the Mercury Playback not working on many graphic drivers. This required me to search on the internet for a while for a solution that ending up being a setting in cloud that was not obvious on what it does. And I consider myself pretty tech savvy. Most people who use Adobe are the creative type and do not know a lot about computer hardware. This part can use some help to help streamline the process for many users

Ryan
Overall rating
  • Industry: Computer Software
  • Company size: Self Employed
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10

Adobe opened so many doors when they released Creative Cloud.

Reviewed on 14/10/2019

Overall, I'll continue to use Adobe Creative Cloud. It does have its drawbacks and can be slow when performing certain actions, and it does lock up my computer from time to time, but the amount of value it provides for the small monthly subscription fee is absolutely insane. I've never seen something cost so little but provide so much value in all of my years in the technology industry. It's a must-have for any industry professional, whether creative, technical, or anyone else who has even a small need for Adobe's products.

Pros

- An easy to use application manager that allows you to find, download, and update your Adobe products within seconds (excluding download/install time) from your task bar
- All of Adobe's products at your fingertips, including many that most have never heard of or used (I personally just learned about Adobe XD from their application manager last week and it's extremely useful for prototyping layouts)
- Very affordable subscription. Instead of shelling out an insane amount of money per product, you can subscribe to Creative Cloud and have everything you need and more. Sure, at some point the money you've spent on the subscriptions could surpass just buying the products, but for startups it makes much more sense to go with the subscription option until you've really nailed down what products you need. Personally I've found it makes sense to continue using Creative Cloud even after I could have purchased the products I primarily use because of the additional benefits their subscription provides over purchasing the software outright such as access to their other products without any additional cost.
- Even without using Bridge, everything in your workflow is integrated so well that you can get things done extremely efficiently. This is more of a application-specific pro than a general Creative Cloud benefit, but most applications can be run side-by-side and you can move resources between them as fast as your computer will allow with a couple keypresses, which is amazing.

Cons

- The size of the applications I feel could be reduced, and if they're not using a peer based download platform (even if the "peers" are their own servers) it'd help if they did to save on download and update time, which for some applications, especially the video and animation products, takes forever.
- They really need to figure out what they're doing with Adobe Stock. It's bounced around from being free to having free options to having a free trial to having a set download limit and I've just given up going to Adobe Stock for anything and use other outlets for stock imagery and video. I understand promotions affect this, but what I've noticed is even for paid subscriptions it's been very inconsistent in their approach.
- The application manager could be categorized or laid out better, it's easy to click "Install" on a new application that looks promising but it'd be nice if they sorted everything by the type of output media it creates so that you're not accidentally downloading an outdated Flash product while looking for new animation tools. They've grown quite a bit from Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Illustrator, and Flash so filtering through the tons of tools they have now can be tough if they don't at least hint at what specific software is for.

Ilan
Overall rating
  • Industry: Graphic Design
  • Company size: Self Employed
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support
  • Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10

Adobe Photoshop Creative Cloud 2020 Review

Reviewed on 01/10/2020

Using Photoshop on a daily basis for client design projects has made me familiar with the product and I can say it is an amazingly useful tool to any designer or artist. Someone who doesn't need the entire Adobe set but is looking to edit photos with filters and cropping can pay for a Photshop-only plan at a reduced cost compared to the all-program suite. This is important to mention as unfortunately the price on the entire Suite is high, being $40 per month at the time of writing. It grows even more feature-rich yearly, and there is the ability to use Photoshop on tablets as well to transfer files for on-the-go editing. I'd say look into Photoshop and if you need it for your work or are a hobbyist artist, buy it if it's financially viable.

Pros

A highly impactful feature that separates Photshop from simpler image-editing software would be the ability to use layers. Layers mean that a user can decide to have the background be distinct from the foreground, or individually edit objects within a large picture with many objects. The layers can also be merged together, copied or deleted as needed. Naming layers is a small effort that pays off in the long run as you may work on a design or artwork for several days or weeks at a time. Seeing the name "tree" as opposed to "layer 2" and knowing it will edit a certain tree in a piece saves time. Another key element of Photoshop is the ability to download and implement brushes, to differentiate art pieces by using specific techniques like digitally mimicking watercolor or texture. All layers in Photshop have an opacity function, so a user can even select portions of the drawing to fully show or be less visible, and this is often used to do shading and make collages. Photoshop can accept various Adobe file types for editing, such as moving a file back and forth from Illustrator to Photoshop, or opening a PDF file. The save feature can be used to save a file as various formats so if your client needs a specific file type it can be provided. The entire layout of the program can be customized to your liking and entire sections can be toggled on or off.

Cons

There are minor issues I have with the program. When initially downloading it unless settings are toggled Photoshop might not naturally start every document in inches or even pixels, but in picas. Picas aren't a common measurement tool and it is easy to think your program has a bug if you do not know where the settings are. Another issue is that Photoshop, like most Adobe programs, does take up a rather high amount of computer RAM. Low-end or older computers will have problems running it, even recent laptops do not always come with the recommended RAM for it unless buying an expensive one. While on a vacation and wanting to make some artwork I attempted to run the program on a family member's laptop and what would take moments to do on my desktop PC took minutes on the laptop because of freezing and general hiccups due to lack of resource on the laptop. It was an awful experience. A smaller quirk is how every new version of Photoshop, which is revised yearly, will change the place various tools are located, either hiding them or putting them in a new location. It's annoying to have muscle memory lead to a different tool or temporarily being scared a great feature was removed.

Michael
Overall rating
  • Industry: Education Management
  • Company size: 201–500 Employees
  • Used Weekly for 2+ years
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Likelihood to recommend 7.0 /10

Adobe Creative Cloud - Low price Barrier of Entry, and a Cloud

Reviewed on 05/12/2018

If you need adobe for your business needs, Adobe CC is probably what you need, despite the expense. Considering the professional use-fullness of the software, it's quite affordable for a one stop shop license.

It's always up-to-date, and it includes their full catalog.

Unless you don't really need their products, Adobe Creative Cloud is pretty much a no-brainer if you are going to live in these applications.

Pros

Seriously, it's everything in Adobe's Product Offering (~ish) for a one monthly fee.
Photoshop, Yes. Premier, Yes. Fonts? Yeaup. Illustrator, sure! Everything.

For years, average people couldn't risk the massive outlet of cash to buy one full powered Adobe product, so they'd suffer with Photoshop Elements, or Premier's lite version. Now, Adobe Creative Cloud lets us get in with everything. The All Apps price, spread out monthly, is roughly the same it used to be for a single application.

Once you start using Adobe Acrobat Pro (for example), you'll discover what you've been missing, and hey, why not, it's included!

And, oh yea, it has some cloud storage too.

Cons

Creative Cloud is NOT Cheap. A lack of Permanent ownership is a problem for people who want to one and done a software program.

Adobe is the king of many of it's programs. Because of that, it can set whatever performance bars it wants. Many of the program's run sluggish, or slow. My 32GB Ram workstation can start crying with high resolution (very high) images. Watch as my swap file fills up, because for some reason, 32GB simply isn't enough.

Let's face it, using Photoshop versions years old was adequate, and ran pretty good back then. Now strangely the software is soo poorly optimized, we need some serious hardware to perform tasks smoothly.

Not that it won't work smooth. It can work quite well on some under-powered machines. But when you have a serious workstation, it is a little off-putting.

Don't worry, Adobe will email you when your subscription is expiring. (That's some nice cloud storage you got there, it'd be a shame if something happened to it - gulp).

Scott
Overall rating
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support
  • Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10

Adobe Creative Cloud was an ingenius solution to a problem you didn't know existed.

Reviewed on 19/03/2018

Adobe Creative Cloud provides me with every tool I need for my daily work in production. I cannot work without it and due to the quality of their products it makes my job easier every day.

Pros

Creative Cloud solved the issue of constantly needing to rebuy your software every few years to get the newest and latest updates. If you worked at a studio that had a newer version of Premiere then you were out of luck when you tried bringing in your project files.

Adobe CC solved this, it's a monthly plan, which some were against, but getting access to the newest features and newest versions of ALL the programs Adobe has to offer is worth the monthly fee.

You're staying up to date. New features, less bugs, constant improvements. These are just to name a few of the highlights of why Adobe CC is great. It gave Adobe a huge increase in cash flow as well so there has been a big upswing in the innovation department. With the newest features on every program making their respective components even higher quality is amazing.

And finally having access to multiple Adobe platforms gives you the opportunity to see just how well they interact within the Adobe ecosystem. Bringing in photoshop files into After effects projects that were extracted from Premiere Pro timelines and then sent to Audition for audio mixing... The entire ecosystem of products just works well together and that's the biggest thing about Adobe that beats out the competitors!

Cons

The only issue I have with Adobe CC is in my field I use only about 60% of the products that come with it... so you could look at it as I am paying for 40% of things I don't use... However you're still saving money rather than buying the software yearly.

Erin
Overall rating
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support

Must-have for any designer!

Reviewed on 30/03/2018

Pros

I've been using Photoshop and Illustrator for ages now to edit images and set type in my design work. Photoshop is the most powerful image editing tool on the market. The most useful feature by far is the content aware scale. I use this a lot when I'm editing images for web pages where text needs to be on top of the image. It allows you to manipulate the size of photos by stretching them out with minimal distortion. So handy!

The lasso tool is also very helpful for selecting complex shapes and images from a photo to put on a plain or different background.

If you're a professional designer, there really is no amazing substitute for photoshop yet. It's the best there is.

Illustrator is great for doing type work and I love using the art boards to have many variations on the design at once available. Photoshop doesn't have this feature, which is something I really love about Illustrator.

To do graphic and web work, you really need to use multiple programs in tandem, so unless you're a photographer and only edit pictures, you'd also need to use Illustrator.

Web design stuff is better done in another program. Dreamweaver is outdated and I never found Fireworks to be useful either.

Cons

The programs are not super easy to use without a lot of practice. It really is an art form if you want to do complex image editing like cutting someone out, adding something in, making the background bigger, etc... but there are many helpful tutorials online that you can watch to help learn as you go depending on what you need to edit.

If you just need to do basic editing like cropping and adjusting color, brightness, etc... you can get away with something much simpler. But in terms of type setting Illustrator and Indesign are still the best in my opinion.

Another weakness of photoshop is the typography options. I've tried to mix type with imagery in photoshop for designs before, but the kerning and special character options are no where near as good as you can get in Illustrator. So, you really need to use Photoshop and Illustrator in tandem if you're doing type and imagery graphic design work.

Clare
Overall rating
  • Company size: 11–50 Employees
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support
  • Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10

As an Art Director at a marketing agency, I use the Adobe Creative Suite on a daily basis

Reviewed on 16/01/2018

To have the ability to design seamlessly within the various programs is incredibly important to my daily workflow and the products we produce at our marketing agency.

Pros

I appreciate the robust functionality that the Adobe Creative Suite offers. When I was in college, you had to purchase each program separately. Since they've moved to the cloud-based suite, my interactions with the programs has changed pretty dramatically. At first I was frustrated with having to pay a monthly fee for the software, but I've grown to appreciate having access to the wide variety of programs that the suite offers.

I think you'd be hard-pressed to find a designer that doesn't use Adobe products in one way our another. While there are other programs and design solutions for a cheaper price tag, I've yet to find one with the tools and functionality that Adobe offers.

Cons

There are a few things that can be frustrating if you're a regular user. One of the most beneficial things about the software is consistency in functionality and tools from program to program. Because of the efficiencies I've experienced with the program continuity, it become very obvious when there is a gap. For example, the shortcut for Save As in Photoshop allows you to access all file types, whereas the shortcut for Save As in Illustrator only allows you to save in the vector formats (you must access the Export As option to save out in JPG/PNG, which doesn't have a short cut). While differences like this seem very minor, they can inhibit efficiency. That being said, I'm not sure there is any other competitive solution that handles this better.

The other piece that can be frustrating is the level of support. It's often difficult to find answers to specific functionality questions. You have to dig quite a bit, and often find a solution on a random, non-Adobe forum.

Ben
Overall rating
  • Industry: Nonprofit Organization Management
  • Company size: 2–10 Employees
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support
  • Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10

Creative Cloud is the software I dreamed about when I was a young professional.

Reviewed on 06/09/2017

Creative Cloud lets us bring our creative ideas to life.

Pros

Comprehensive and contiguous creative ecosystem at the foundation of Creative Cloud, and the reason I will use this platform for years to come. Some 10 years ago when I began my career in digital video and design, I lamented the limitations that the available software was bound by. I could not easily jump from one function to another (like video editing to sound editing, to coloring, to VFX, etc.), I had to wrestle with interoperability of projects and files, and many other things. My creativity was stifled by technological capacity. I hoped that new tools would fix these issues. Creative Cloud delivers on those hopes I had then.

The ability to seamlessly (and as someone who entered the industry at a time before these features existed I cannot emphasize this enough), send a video sequence from editing to VFX, to coloring, to sound design, to finishing and exporting without the need of intermediates or exports is just incredible. Premier, After Effects, and Audition work together as a trifecta of creative competence. When you throw in Photoshop and Illustrator into the mix, it's truly unmatched.

Creative Cloud has helped me become the creative professional I am today.

Cons

Creative Cloud has been sluggish to integrate certain features that I think they need. For example, audio/video sync should be built in to Premier by now, and not relegated to a feature that can only be obtained with pricey 3rd party plug-ins. Also, the performance of SpeedGrade lags behind other color grading applications that I am familiar with. I stick with SpeedGrade because of the tight integration, but it is slower than I like (part of this might be my workstation setup, but I cannot be sure).

Janice
Overall rating
  • Industry: E-Learning
  • Company size: 2–10 Employees
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support
  • Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10

Creative Asset Development and Management of Content is A*

Reviewed on 28/08/2018

From creating logos; to creating stock in Adobe Spark with links and downloads; Adobe Photoshop for quick photo edits that are then used in Indesign or Illustrator. There is really so much. My most usage is Adobe Acrobat and an Invaluable tool. I am a Subscriber but will Invest and buy Adobe Acrobat. I do not know how a business can work effectively without it as most documents need eSigning or adding or reducing pages and editing in .PDF format. It is so easy with Acrobat. Most of my usage is for creating Assets for Online Course Development, so I work across the Creative Cloud but there is always more to see. Can't wait to use the Animator! It also works well for Software Gurus that just want to try more and more and more. It is an addictive software that is not going to go away. Very Professional indeed. I used this from the days of Photoshop 5 and Coreldraw (no competition for Adobe at all). I will always use Adobe and recommend it for professional and creative industries.

Pros

Adobe Creative Cloud is so very very adaptable to whatever you need it for. There are just so many tools and features that you can use and are easy to learn too if you are new to them.

I love the creative flare to simple Assets that you create and how professional the content can look. Also, the use of Stock Images; Videos; etc.. that can be used across all of the Creative Cloud products. Being able to use them from the cloud makes for easy usage for business by just having a link or being able to login and see your Mobile Content.

Cons

The only thing that can be a problem is waiting for a Mobile App to upload and save what you are doing, but to be fair, this is directly related to your Internet source - Adobe is not responsible for this so I would say it is something that you as a User must ensure is clean (that is the internet source).