Let’s be honest — the last year or so has been, at times, challenging. Join designer/illustrator Tad Carpenter, owner of Carpenter Collective, as he puts that all behind him and looks on the sunny side. Tad will explore the things we should all be grateful for and reasons why he counts his lucky stars to be a designer. Tad will weave stories of triumph and terror and how he finds motivation to keep designing. Throughout the talk Tad will show his studio’s approach to brand strategy, reveal design tricks he’s thankful for, and give shout-outs to some of his design heroes.
You may even walk away with:
Whether you’re a freelance artist or part of a team, see how to take advantage of the robust, powerful medium of 3D to speed workflows, enhance pitches, and bring ideas to life. Master the basics of Dimension, a new desktop app that seamlessly combines 3D and 2D content to create high-quality, photorealistic imagery. Designed for 3D novices, this hands-on lab with Dimension product manager Jeanette Mathews will give you a new skill set to expand your capabilities in the evolving digital design landscape.
While building a product and brand visualization project, you’ll learn how to:
Discover the approach to interdisciplinary, team-based creative projects that evoke community engagement and social change. Learn about Limbitless Solutions, a nonprofit that makes 3D-printed, artistic bionic arms for children with the aid of UCF students who have backgrounds in engineering, marketing, gaming, and visual arts. You’ll find out how to effectively utilize creativity to empower, promote inclusion, and communicate your story to a broader audience.
In this session, you’ll learn:
Matt Dombrowski
Roman Mars will perform stories from his immensely popular design podcast, 99% Invisible, all about the hidden design details that shape the world.
Roman’s stories will include:
About 99% Invisible
99% Invisible is a podcast about all the thought that goes into the things we don’t think about — the unnoticed architecture and design that shape our world. With nearly 300 million downloads, 99% Invisible is one of the most popular podcasts in the world. It has won a Third Coast Festival award for Best Documentary, two Podcast Academy awards, and two Webby Awards for Best Podcast and Best Host.
Character animation has never been more approachable (or fun) thanks to Adobe Character Animator. Join Adobe MAX Master Dave Werner as he walks you through a complete animation workflow using an industry-changing animation program that has captured the attention of artists working on TV shows such as The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and Showtime’s Our Cartoon President. Whether you’re a newcomer to animation or a seasoned veteran, this lab will teach you new ways to incorporate Character Animator into your toolset, making it faster, streamlined, and more enjoyable.
In Dave’s lab, you’ll learn how to:
Check out our Character Animator preconference bootcamp, which will dive deeper into this lab and more!
Dave WernerTake a journey to another dimension! Dive into the amazing world of 3D graphics and discover how easy it is to make photorealistic 3D materials. We’ll demystify the advanced techniques of emulating physical surfaces using a simple set of parameters and texture maps. You’ll leave with a deep understanding of how 3D materials work and how to use texture maps to achieve compelling results.
Join Adobe colleagues Vladimir Petkovic, art director, and Paul Edmondson, senior graphics engineer, in this hands-on lab, where you’ll:
Are you just starting out with Illustrator and feeling a bit overwhelmed when you begin a new project? Get the solid foundation you need to build and edit shapes, work with color, and design with type. Find out how much fun it is to create cool icons, logos — anything you can imagine — for print, web, video, and mobile, all in Illustrator.
Join Adobe Certified Expert Jason Hoppe in this hands-on lab that’s perfect for Illustrator newbies, and learn:
Ever wonder if there’s an easier way to manipulate vectors in Illustrator? Or what shortcuts could really save you time? Let Adobe Senior Worldwide Evangelist Paul Trani take you through the need-to-know fundamentals you may have missed over the years, as well as some much-needed new timesavers. Paul will also focus on power tips, tricks, and techniques that can make your life as an Illustrator user easier, so you can take your work to the next level.
In this session, you’ll learn how to:
Do you already have a few years of InDesign experience under your belt but know there’s room to learn more? Extend your knowledge of your favorite layout software by joining MAX Master and Adobe Senior Solution Consultant Bart Van de Wiele in this hands-on lab that’s practical and filled with techniques that you can use right away. If you’ve attended this lab previously, note that it has been completely revised and is filled with new information.
Get the most out of InDesign, and discover:
Have you always wanted to master InDesign but found it a bit intimidating? With so many controls, you don’t know where to look first? If so, this is your lab! Learn the basics while discovering insider secrets about laying out beautiful pages for print, PDF, and digital publications.
Join InDesign expert and master teacher Anne-Marie “HerGeekness” Concepcion, cofounder of InDesignSecrets.com, as she patiently and enthusiastically helps you:
Develop the most important skills you need to create a video. Join Adobe MAX Masters Karl Soule and Dave Helmly as they introduce you to the basics of editing with Adobe Premiere Pro. This is a beginner class in Premiere Pro designed for people who have never used it before.
In this hands-on lab, you’ll learn how to:
Check out our Premiere Pro preconference bootcamp, which will dive deeper into this lab and more!
Karl SouleThere’s always a way to work smarter, not harder. Join Master Trainers Jeff Greenberg and Abba Shapiro and see how to optimize your use of Premiere Pro. Find out how professional editors speed up the process and get answers to the tough questions you have.
In this dynamic session, you’ll learn:
Learn how Hollywood post-production professionals make the most of their time and effort by taking advantage of the essential features for professional editors and assistant editors in Creative Cloud. Discover features in Premiere Pro that will streamline your workflow, save time, and help you deliver exactly what you want when you want it.
In this session, Hollywood director and editor Christine Steele will show you:
Spark is the one-stop place to create all your social media content. Join Amy Zhong, Spark Post product specialist, and Lisa Boghosian, Spark Video senior product manager, to see how fun, fast, and frictionless it can be to create a well-rounded, effective multimedia campaign.
In this informative and interactive hands-on lab, you’ll learn how to:
Note: You’ll need to bring a laptop to access spark.adobe.com via a browser with a valid Adobe ID to log in or an iOS device with the Adobe Spark Video and Adobe Spark Post apps installed to participate in this lab.
Amy ZhongSpark gives you the power to easily communicate your story through visually stunning web pages and presentations. Learn how to captivate your audience and keep them coming back for more with goal-oriented communications and promotions. Join Spark product manager Laura Wittig as they guide you through the steps you need to take your storytelling skills to the next level.
In this collaborative, hands-on workshop you’ll learn how to:
Note: You’ll need to bring a laptop to access spark.adobe.com via a browser — or bring an iOS device with the Adobe Spark Page app installed — and log in to the web or mobile application with a valid Adobe ID to participate in this lab.
Laura Wittig
To quote leading educator Sir Ken Robinson, “Creativity is as important as literacy” — which is why educators the world over are seeking ways to embrace creativity in the classroom, encouraging both creative expression and creative problem solving. But between existing classroom responsibilities, national standards and assessment, and an already overstuffed day, where is there room to do more?
Join Dr. Monica Burns, education technology and curriculum consultant, and Ben Forta, Adobe senior director of education initiatives, to learn:
Whether you’re a creative professional or a solo entrepreneur with limited design skills, it can be a struggle to create engaging content for an ever-increasing number of social media platforms. In this session, learn how to use Adobe Spark to dramatically reduce the time it takes to create beautiful social media graphics, videos, stories, and presentations that reflect your or your company’s brand.
Veronica Belmont, product manager and evangelist for Spark, will cover:
Ready to get up and running with Adobe XD? Learn how to quickly design and build prototypes for web and mobile projects in XD by leveraging Creative Cloud Libraries and key features of Photoshop and Illustrator for an optimal, integrated, real-world workflow. If you’re comfortable in Photoshop and Illustrator but just starting out with Adobe’s UX/UI design and prototyping tool, this session will let you hit the ground running.
In this hands-on lab, veteran instructors Michael Murphy and A.J. Wood will walk you through:
Photoshop Lightroom Classic is packed with features that make editing photographs more powerful than ever before. In this session, join Julieanne Kost, Digital Evangelist at Adobe, as she demonstrates firsthand why the original image is only half of the photographic equation. She’ll reveal her favorite tips, tricks, and techniques that enable her to elevate her creativity; increase productivity; and add a unique, personal style when enhancing and refining images. This session will help accelerate your Lightroom Classic skills.
Julieanne will explore topics that include:
In the early ’90s, engineer, designer, and executive leader John Maeda started making interactive, or what he called “reactive,” graphics in C language for the 68k Apple Macintosh. As the web started to take off in the mid-’90s, John moved to Java and in parallel joined the MIT Media Lab to recruit talent at the intersection of design and tech. Join John as he explores early work that he made for the computer back in the ’90s that doesn’t work anymore on modern computers.
You’ll discover why:
Creating superior motion graphics or visual effects is not as hard as you may think. Learn from veteran After Effects artists Ian Robinson and Eran Stern as they show you how to master this industry standard software. Experience the magic of After Effects and learn how to incorporate After Effects into your creative life.
In this bootcamp, you’ll learn how to:
For generating visual effects, learn how to:
Work faster and smarter with tips designed to make you a power user of After Effects. Join MAX Master Ian Robinson and video veteran Nick Harauz as they show you the latest features in After Effects, keyboard shortcuts to success, and efficient ways to get things done. Learn how motion graphics and VFX artists speed up their compositing and animation processes, shedding a whole new light on how to view After Effects. At the end of this session, you’ll walk away with information and skills that will make working in After Effects better and more efficient.
You’ll discover:
Ian Robinson
In this workshop, find out how to set your images apart with low-tech, low-budget, fun, and exciting techniques to create high-impact images. We’ll shoot through, with, and on a wide variety of materials to create surprising and eye-catching images. Plus, we’ll take risks, make mistakes, learn — and laugh a lot.
Join Sony Artisan and photo educator Katrin Eismann and explore the neighborhood with your mobile phone or camera to:
We all take photos in our personal life, but how do you add photography to your professional life as well? Meet Adé Hogue, a designer and art director with an enthusiasm for custom lettering and photography, two passions that fuel his design process and creative energy. In this lively session, he’ll share how he merged his design career with his photographic hobby to deliver better and more artistic creations. You’ll see how the power of photography helps bring his design ideas to life and understand his creative process. You’ll also pick up nuggets on color theory, art direction, and what it takes to make a meaningful photograph.
Adé will show you how to:
In today’s ever-connected world, we use a multitude of devices to access information. Increasingly, these devices have smart capabilities to control and manage daily tasks, which presents challenges for designers who must adopt new creative strategies and techniques to solve complex problems. Join Chakib Labidi, London-based UX consultant and founder of UX Playground, to explore how Adobe XD and its framework can help you more efficiently design and prototype smart device experiences.
In this session, you’ll learn:
Whether you’re editing audio in Adobe Premiere Pro or Adobe Audition, Creative Cloud has the tools you need to make your project sounds its best. Join Principal Evangelist Jason Levine as he walks you through tools that help you correct audio loudness, remove noise, and much more in this beginner audio editing session.
You’ll learn:
Augmented reality (AR) is poised to change the way we interact with the world. From education to industry, AR has the potential to create a paradigm shift in the way we work, learn, and play. Estella Tse, immersive media artist and designer, joins Stefano Corazza, creative director of the Festival of the Impossible and senior director of engineering at Adobe, to discuss the future of art in AR. Estella and Stefano will showcase key pieces and insights from the Festival of the Impossible, a three-day immersive art exhibition featuring artists who are pushing past the boundaries of reality.
Join Estella and Stefano in this exciting session to see:
If you’re ready to move beyond the basics and learn how to really take advantage of the power inside Premiere Pro, this is the session for you. Join Master Trainer Abba Shapiro as he shows you how to use many of the advanced features in Premiere Pro.
In this class, you’ll move beyond basic trimming and learn:
If you have a unique story to tell, join YouTube veteran and social media editor Valentina Vee as she shares her favorite tips for capturing great moments. Using your hands-on skills to help craft a compelling story, you’ll get acquainted with new Premiere Rush CC, an all-in-one, cross-device video editing application designed to help you increase your content velocity and expand your social reach.
In this bring your own device lab, you’ll learn how to:
This session will be offered on days two and three of MAX. Download Premiere Rush CC on the first day of MAX to your iPad or iPhone before the class starts on Tuesday or Wednesday. No devices will be available for your use.
Valentina VeeThere are lots of ways to use Photoshop — some are effective and some are…not so much. In this session, hear Photoshop Hall of Famer and MAX Master Dave Cross reveal some of the most common “bad habits” that can hold you back. He’ll demonstrate best practices to take your Photoshop efficiency to the next level.
In this tip-packed session, you’ll learn about:
The perfect composite image is built from many photos seamlessly combined into one. It’s truly a craft where the end result is greater than the sum of its parts. Join Aaron Nace, one of the world’s premier Photoshop instructors, and discover how complex composites are built. Find out how with a spark of imagination and a little technical knowledge, you can make any idea real. Aaron will show how he created some of his favorite composites — from initial idea, to sourcing individual components, to the essential techniques he uses to craft the final masterpiece. You’ll gain valuable skills to take your compositing projects to the next level.
In this session focusing on technique and theory, you’ll learn:
Learn how Google and YouTube, in partnership with Adobe, continue to develop and refine the tools available to help creators bring their imaginations to life in immersive media.
In this session, we'll:
By attending this session, your information will be shared with Google.
Frank RodriguezWhether you’re shooting a corporate video or a commercial, elements like loopable backgrounds, custom transitions, and lower thirds should always be part of the plan. These subtle graphics transform ordinary videos into extraordinary ones. Join Sergei Prokhnevskiy, former Fox Sports motion graphics designer, as he shows you how to create broadcast-style graphics created in After Effects to help you make your next video stand out.
In this session, you’ll learn how to:
Award-winning, full-service agency R/GA is known for creating Connected Brands for Fortune 500 companies, including Nike, Samsung, and Google. Join Mike Rigby, VP and ECD of Business Transformation, as he shares R/GA’s unique playbook and examples for the agency’s Connected Brands approach. Mike will demonstrate how to combine a brand’s story and system together to achieve powerful network effects.
Attendees will gain perspective on:
Connected tea kettles that advertise themselves to thieves. Fitness trackers that tell your enemies where to find you. Go beyond the dystopian headlines to pragmatic advice on how user experience design can promote security, privacy, and transparency. There’s a leadership role for interaction design, brand strategy, and copywriting in making products people trust. Ame Elliott, design director for Simply Secure, provides an approachable look at how user experience design can brighten up the shadier side of the Internet of Things (IoT).
Join Ame in this fascinating session, and gain an understanding of:
Join Christian Clayton, ArtCenter College of Design professor, artist, and image maker, as you experiment in 3D with the ubiquitous and indestructible art material known as cardboard. You will be amazed at what is possible!
In this preconference workshop, as you design, tear, cut, mold, sculpt, draw, and paint, you’ll create own one-of-a-kind sculpture: a self-portrait, a free-form design, an architectural object — or just use your imagination! You’ll use cardboard, paper, fabric, glue, string, and paint — along with your creative energy and an open mind — to fully explore the endless possibilities and creative potential of these readily available materials. This is your opportunity to learn a new style of art and exercise your creativity. No prior experience required.
Christian ClaytonLearn how you can bring your characters to life. Adobe Character Animator has been taking the animation world by storm as the first software to do live animation. But that’s not all it does — it also helps artists transform any Photoshop or Illustrator character into an animation with a very simple, yet robust toolset.
Join Adobe’s Dave Werner and Dan Ramirez as they walk you step-by-step through the process of creating your first animation and explore the tools professional animators use. You’ll love the results.
In this bootcamp, you’ll learn how to:
Unleash your creativity with Sony and Paul DeVecchio, a director/cinematographer/editor who has worked on several promo reels like Fast & Furious, The Hunger Games, and more. He’ll be doing a mini shoot on stage with Sony equipment, showing you how to edit in Adobe Premiere Pro with his tips and tricks.
You’ll see:
By attending this session, your information will be shared with Sony.
Paul Del VecchioColorists make video color correction and grading look easy, but is it? In this session, join colorist MAX Master Robbie Carman as he demystifies the basics of color correction and shows how you can easily achieve great results with a wide variety of tools in Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects.
In this session, Robbie will show you how to:
Check out our Premiere Pro preconference bootcamp, which will dive deeper into this lab and more!
Robbie CarmanPortraiture is one of the fastest growing and dynamic types of photography, and as a practice it’s a great way to ignite your creativity. We all strive to capture better portraits of our family and friends, and we all need good portraits for social media, marketing, and more. Yet capturing natural, engaging, and authentic portraits isn’t easy. Join celebrated photographer and best-selling author Chris Orwig to learn how to make stronger portraits regardless of your creative field.
In this session, Chris will show you:
Don’t miss this fun, hands-on lab where you’ll create a range of dynamic media that’s perfect for the web and social media. Join Richard Harrington, graphic design and new media expert, as he shows you how to create media that is unique and engaging using a DSLR or mirrorless camera and applications like Adobe Premiere Pro, After Effects, and Photoshop. Designed for all experience levels, this class is great for those who have at least a basic knowledge of at least two of the applications being covered.
While you capture images and video on-site and transform it into dynamic online content, you’ll learn how to:
Learn how to create modern, responsive web pages from scratch using a combination of Bootstrap components and a set of intuitive tools that caters to designers who need to code. This session will feature updates to Bootstrap and the latest integration with Dreamweaver CC.
In this hands-on lab, you’ll create a responsive design project, and Roman Villarreal, CEO of Lumenbrite Training, will show you how to:
Learn how to get started creating your own engaging animated content with Animate CC. In this hands-on lab, we’ll work with a variety of project types to design and produce animated banners, sweeping scenic animations, and even unique character animations. Let’s explore these creative possibilities and more with Animate CC.
Joseph Labrecque, creative developer and interactive designer, will show you how to:
Want to learn how to build a platform for Gen Z? Learn how to capture ever-shortening attention spans and engage today’s youth via design, usability, and prompts for action from the team that built the site for Project 1324, a new Adobe initiative that unlocks and supports the creativity in every young person.
In this session, Devin Fernandez, principal product manager, and Winsha Chen, principal scientist, will share:
A multitude of companies are looking to create tools that capture and distribute 3D and 360-degree content. To push immersive content creation to the next level, RED and Facebook partnered to build a camera that captures and renders content that allows six degrees of freedom (6DoF) with incredible fidelity, resulting in a viewing experience in VR that was never possible before. Join Brian Cabral, engineering director at Facebook, and other partners like RED to hear more about this workflow and how it will shape the future of immersive filmmaking.
In this speaker panel, you’ll hear about:
By attending this session, your information will be shared with Facebook.
Brian CabralWith a combination of your own artwork and your favorite Adobe graphics editing tool, you can use the Samsung Theme Editor or Galaxy Watch Designer to create dynamic, stunning, UI experiences that allow end-users from across the globe to personalize their mobile and wearable devices. Join Samsung Technical Evangelist and artist as he demonstrates how to create Samsung Theme and Galaxy Watch Face designs.
You’ll learn:
Plus, attendees will have a chance to win their very own Galaxy Watch, among other great Samsung prizes. Don't miss out!
By attending this session, your information will be shared with Samsung.
Josue BustosCreate your first promo project using After Effects, the most popular tool on the market for motion graphics, visual effects, and composting. Join motion design artist Eran Stern as he shows you how you can create animated promotions that capture audience attention.
In this lab, Eran will teach you how to:
Check out our After Effects preconference bootcamp, which will dive deeper into this lab and more!
Eran SternStep away from the screen and put down the mouse. Here’s your chance to roll up your sleeves, relax, and explore the unpredictable process of making art with your own hands without ego or judgment. Join Christian Clayton, an artist and professor at ArtCenter School of Design, as he guides you to act on your intuition, push your personal expression, and create imagery that moves from artist to artist, delivering one-of-a-kind art that’s created together by you and your workshop colleagues. No experience is required and all materials are provided.
In this lively workshop, you’ll discover:
Asset management is critical to creatives, and Adobe offers support via the dedicated app Bridge CC as well Creative Cloud Libraries inside Creative Cloud desktop and mobile apps and services. In this session, senior Adobe product managers Hina Naqvi and Fernando Centurion will show how Creative Cloud Libraries and Bridge CC can simplify your creative and production processes. Discover how to create new libraries, add assets, reuse them across multiple applications and collaborate with your peers. Learn how Bridge CC accelerates workflows and allows you to organize, process, batch edit, and publish all the files and assets you need for your creative projects wherever they are stored.
Join Hina and Fernando in this exciting session to learn:
From mobile to desktop, from application to application, and from creative to creative — Creative Cloud makes accessing and sharing your ideas and assets friction-free. This exciting day- and- a- half, project-based, hands-on session explores how Creative Cloud can make your work more efficient, and more inspired.
Learn what’s new in Creative Cloud and incorporate your learning into a hands-on creative project. We’ll dive into Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, the Creative mobile apps, and more. Apply the built-in Creative Cloud integrations to get your work done. Turn your ideas and inspirations into production-ready content and incorporate beautiful Adobe Stock assets. And with Creative Cloud your desktop and mobile devices are connected, so you can do great work anywhere.
Patti Sokol