Adobe’s collection of creative software is an industry-leading package that’s utilized by creatives in almost every industry. Designers, Animators, and Video Editors alike rely on Adobe’s products every day. Learning even just one of these programs will provide you with a technical literacy that makes it easier to learn more programs later. These skills are the first step to landing a job in any creative career path.
The most popular Adobe program, Photoshop, is requisite for nearly every visual creative. Photoshop is a photo editor that can also be used for graphic design. It’s used by Web Designers to create design comprehensives that tell developers how to layout and visually style websites. Graphic Designers and Digital Designers use Photoshop to edit photos, create graphics, and more. A Design Director can use it to communicate their ideas in a visual way.
While 3D Animators and 2D Animators use Photoshop to edit individual frames of their animations, adjust lighting and camera angles, and create stills for covers. Animators also use After Effects, a Video Editor to compile their animations and to add effects to videos with animation.
After Effects is also used by Motion Graphics Designers who create animated graphics and special effects for video. Those videos are usually edited by a Video Editor who is overseen by a Video Manager. Both Video Editors and Video Managers also use After Effects to edit videos, add effects, and change lighting.
In addition to After Effects, video and animation professionals rely on Premiere Pro to edit and compile their videos and animations. Premiere Pro is used by big film studios, small indie films, Youtube creators, and animators alike. Jobs that rely heavily on Premiere Pro include 2D Animator, 3D Animator, Motion Graphics Designer, Video Editor, and Video Manager.
Adobe products aren’t just used to design graphics, videos, and animations. They’re also used to style user experiences and websites. AdobeXD is used by User Experience Designers and Web Designers to show how they’d like their website or app to look through interactive prototypes. Sometimes AdobeXD is also used by Design Directors, Designers, and Digital Designers.
Nearly every kind of Visual Designer from tech to marketing use Illustrator on a daily basis. It’s used by Digital Designers, Visual Designer, and Graphic Designers to make graphics, logos, infographics, and more. Design Directors and Designers use it for those same purposes along with creating design comprehensives. A UI Designer, Web Designer, or UX Researcher uses Illustrator to create buttons, graphics, logos, icons, and other components of their website or app so that it looks and feels the exact way that they imagined.
Adobe Career Options
Here are a few career paths for which you’ll likely need Adobe skills in order to succeed. We also include additional info about their average salaries, their day-to-day responsibilities, and a link to learn more about each career.
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Designer
Indeed.com Avg. Salary
$78K / year
Glassdoor Avg. Salary
$94K / year
Designers work in a wide variety of industries and specialize in just as many mediums. Most designers create digital assets, but some designers work with hand-drawn sketches and illustrations. They start with an understanding of the best design principles and functional aesthetics. Common fields for designers include web, apps, print, fashion, animation, advertising, and UX design.
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Digital Designer
Indeed.com Avg. Salary
$105K / year
Glassdoor Avg. Salary
$74K / year
Digital Designers make graphics, animations, and other visual effects. Depending on their preference, a Digital Designer might choose to niche down to work exclusively on pre-print, web, or digital marketing. These niches that the Digital Designer is designing websites, applications, advertisements, or publications.
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Design Director
Indeed.com Avg. Salary
$152K / year
Glassdoor Avg. Salary
$150K / year
A Design Director leads a team of creative professionals who curate the look and feel of a product or project through the production of visual strategies. They work on projects like magazines, movies, advertisements, video games, or websites. Design Directors can work in industries such as interior design, retail, marketing, architecture, and entertainment.