I have recently returned from a trip to Los Angeles for the Adobe MAX conference and am excited to tell you about Adobe’s biggest announcement from MAX, Creative Cloud. Now keep in mind that we were only given a glimpse of what’s in store, so don’t take everything I say as exactly how it will be. We were promised more details in November so be sure to keep up with that.

Adobe’s Creative Cloud will consist of a few pieces conjoined into one service. It will all be included in a subscription with a supposedly ”attractive” price. My biggest concern with the service is just that. The pricing of the Creative Suite is far from attractive to me, but pricing will be announced in November. I know that great software and services will come at a cost, but not many people can afford software priced as high as Adobe has charged in the past. I am hopeful, though, that between saving money by a solely digital distribution method in future versions and also the fact that cheaper prices will greatly increase the user base, that it will be beneficial for us and Adobe to have Creative Cloud come with reasonable pricing.

Pricing aside, let’s get into the meat and potatoes of the Creative Cloud. The service will come with 20GB of cloud storage for whatever you may need and it does sound like there will be options to upgrade the size of this storage (20GB is a lot for, but for you video editing types you will likely need a lot more). It seems like this cloud storage will be incorporated into every application included in Creative Cloud. This will make working between different devices extremely easy, since you can save your work into the clouds. Your cloud storage will be automatically synced between all devices you are using the cloud service on and your files are accesible and shareable through not only your Adobe applications, but directly through the browser as well. Now this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Next up is the publishing end of things. Your Creative Cloud will have publishing options in 3 realms. If you didn’t already assume, Creative Cloud comes with a social networking aspect. You create you cloud profile, can share your work and connect with other creatives. The browser based part of the cloud is very well done. You can not only categorize and add meta data to your various files all through the browser, or any application accessing your cloud for that matter, but you are given great detail on your files. So much detail that you can even view and turn off layers in your Photoshop files while you are spooling through your files in the browser. Pretty nifty. For web developers, business catalyst is part of your cloud service allowing you to post your sites to the web and there is also the CMS aspect of business catalyst of which you can take advantage. The third part here is the Digital Publishing Suite for InDesign. This allows you to take your creations in InDesign and publish them to all devices as an epub file. This will be a great tool to create magazines, comics, and whatever else you can think of and publish them. This service will cost money for the actual publishing, but you can also charge your audience to download the works. In this digital age, you can still do your print projects but have them completely digital. This doesn’t only make it easy to publish your work, but you can add all sorts of interactive elements that you would not be able to do in a physical print.

Now for the finale. It seems your subscription includes the Creative Suite, I was given the impression that it is the suite in its entirety, but I want that in writing. Come early 2012, it appears as though everything Adobe will be lumped into a single, subscription based service that is Creative Cloud. Better yet, there is a suite of Mobile applications (for the most part actually created using the Flash platform) thrown into the mix and again its my understanding that all of these are included in your subscription. I will go over these applications briefly.

Photoshop Touch – A touch version of Photoshop, obviously. It retains a majority of the functionality from the Desktop application.

Proto – Quickly make a mock up website that includes much of the functionality and linking created through the touch app. Also creates HTML code to turn your mockup into a fully functional site.

Ideas – This one is already available. Create vector graphics and image all with a simple touch interface.

Debut – An app to make stunning presentations.

Collage – A re-imagining of  the “drawing board”. A quick and easy way to throw pictures, color schemes, and notes on a virtual white board. Portray an idea in only a few moments that can then be passed along to designers to create a finished product.

Kuler – Create and share color palettes.

So that is the gist of it. The touch apps provide great ways to kick start a project, or even the tools to complete a project. Again, pricing will be announced in November and the service itself will be released early 2012. So, I would recommend staying tuned for further information.

The Creative Suite Conference

November 9th, 2011 , Chicago

Join the top industry professionals in Photoshop, Flash, Dreamweaver, InDesign and all your favorite Adobe apps to learn everything about CS5.5! This 3 day conference is packed with tips, tricks, and amazing ways to expand your creativity. Nov 9-11 2011

The InDesign Conference

November 7th, 2011 , Chicago

For the past 8 years The InDesign Conference has offered dedicated design professionals jam packed in-depth seminars to publishing professionals. Our unmatched level of instruction offers the premier InDesign event of the year! Nov 7-9 2011

• CS – Released in October 2003.
• CS2 – Released in April 2005 (18 months after CS).
• CS3 – Released April 2007 (24 months after CS2).
• CS4 – October 2008 (18 months after CS3).
• CS5 – Released April 2010 (18 months after CS4).
• CS6 – If history is showing us a pattern….October 2011?

There is bad news for those still using CS3. Adobe has said that CS3 will not be upgradable to CS6. So if you are still using CS3, keep in mind that you will end up paying full price for CS6 whenever Adobe plans to release it.

*Ascend Training has no knowledge of any Adobe release dates.

Camera RAW with Photoshop CS5 Free Seminar, February 10th at 5:30pm.

Interactive InDesign CS5 Free Seminar, March 1st, 5:30-6:30.

HTML5 Free Seminar, March 16, 6-7pm.

These complimentary events are at our downtown Chicago training facility at 410 South Michigan Avenue, Suite 433.

Adobe InDesign CS5 Interactive Level 1: InDesign Documents for Web and Distribution–This 2 day class is geared towards current InDesign users who are looking to make the leap from print to interactivity. Learn how InDesign has evolved and can now create many interactive functions previously exclusive to Flash. You’ll also learn how InDesign and Flash can work hand in hand through new export functions in CS5.

Adobe Flash CS5 for Android: Building and Deploying Android Apps–Want to take your ActionScript skills to the next level? The newest update for Flash CS5 will allow users to develop Droid Apps. If you want to learn more about this exciting new technology and the potential it holds, check out this 5-day class! Also, take a peek at this related class topic: Adobe AIR.

HTML 5: Designing Websites with HTML 5–After 10 long years of waiting for a major HTML release, here it is, HTML 5. In this 2-day class students will be introduced to the newest HTML tags and image controls. Be on the forefront of this cutting edge technology that incorporates CSS3, CANVAS, and JavaScript.

Dreamweaver CS4 Level 1, Chicago, Aug 30 – Sep 1, Deerfield, Oct 11 – 13

Ascend Training is happy to put CS4 classes on our regular schedule for groups of 3 or more people. We will also be happy to provide our CS4 curriculum for our on-site training. Any of our students taking CS4 classes are still eligible for 8 months worth of free retakes in the CS5 version of the class. Those retaking a class in CS5 who have originally taken CS4 classes will also have the option of buying the book used in the new class.

We have a promotion on all of our hands-on InDesign classes. You must register by October 15th, but you may take the class at any time. Please contact us if you would like a custom discount code to register.

Our Adobe Authorized In-Depth classes always include a free 8 month retake policy that includes the new version, and the guarantee of 10 students or less. We offer the following InDesign CS5 Classes:

Adobe InDesign CS5 Level 1: Fundamentals to Intermediate
Adobe InDesign CS5 Level 1: *Accelerated Pace* for Current InDesign Users for Former Quark Users
Adobe InDesign CS5 Level 2: Advanced Master Class
Adobe InDesign & XML: XML for Designers

Questions about Adobe, iPhone or web development training? Chat with us Live through our LivePerson.