If you love Adobe software and are passionate about creativity, you should absolutely consider attending this event!
When I originally started writing this post I somehow turned it into a full blown, obsessively organized essay. There is so much I want to say, so I’ll try to keep it simple. I should also say that I’ve grown up in life using Adobe software, so I am bias, but not unconscious to the other rather useful programs/apps out there.
My first experience at Adobe MAX (May of 2013) was in Los Angeles, CA. I had the opportunity to attend the conference, and the company I was working with at the time helped facilitate that. I attended Adobe MAX this year on my own terms, representing Brokenreality Inc. from New York. It truly felt good to be there for myself, on my own dime. Both times the experience was overwhelmingly positive and I truly felt as if I had found an oasis of creatively driven people.
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- Entrance to conference
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- My badge
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- Entering the venue
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- Awesome signage
My goal for this year was to find great speakers and really listen to what they had to say. I mixed in a little workshop stuff too… But I needed to absorb the creative essence of those around me, and not stare at another computer screen. I do enough of that as it is.
Opening day is very exciting. We all hustle to the Nokia Theatre and wait like kids at christmas, waiting for the doors to open. Finding seats is a welcoming experience. Unless you have already found a group to socialize with, you need to try and make friends quick. And everyone there is equally humble to be there, so it’s all good.
After the opening ceremony was done, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella was on stage talking about how Adobe and Microsoft will be partnering together to help amplify the abilities of all of the creatives in the audience by giving each attendee a FREE Microsoft Surface Pro 3. Say what? Yeah, it’s awesome and I’m still playing with it. A topic for another post in the future I’m sure. Then, they continued to share how they were going to collaborate by showing this video:
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- Opening ceremony
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- Awesome wall graffitti
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- Making my mark
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- Free Surface Pro 3
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- Ink and Slide
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- Had to visit these guys
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- Awesome wall of interactivity
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- Weird Al
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- Joseph Gordon Levitt
The sessions I chose to attend were unbelievably awesome. I had to fill 3 days with activities. Here’s the list of sessions I attended.
Day 1:
- General Session: Creativity on the Cutting-Edge
- The Crazy Ones: How to Be a Leader Who Inspires Creativity and Innovation
- What You Should Know Before Going Vector
Day 2:
- General Session: Community Inspires Creativity
- Creating Photo-Real Characters and Creature Concepts in Photoshop
- Evolution of Interactivity and Motion on the Web
- How to Tap into Your Creative Voice and Make Work That Matters
- MAX Sneak Peeks
- MAX Bash (Party & Live Kings of Leon Show)
Day 3:
- Responsive Web Made Easy: From Photoshop to Edge Reflow
- Bringing out the Best in Every Image
- Going from Design to Code
- Your Design Vision: From PSD to Responsive Web
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- James Victore
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- Aaron Blaise Creature Art
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- Aaron Blaise Creature Art
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- MAX Bash
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- MAX Bash
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- MAX Bash
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- MAX Bash
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- MAX Bash
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- MAX Bash
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- Walking to my next session
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- Responsive web design lab
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- Leaving Adobe MAX
So my days were FILLED with all sorts of inspiration and information. Some of the sessions were posted online here: http://max.adobe.com/sessions/max-online/
Again, if you’re a creative professional and use Adobe software, you should experience this all first hand to get the real impact.
I’ll see you next year Adobe MAX… this you can be sure of :)