What is Adobe?

Founded in 1982, Adobe has evolved into a collection of over 20 creative applications, including Photoshop (its flagship product), Illustrator, and InDesign. Adobe users can create various projects, from photo editing to logo and web design. In this overview, you'll learn more about what Adobe is, what it can do, who uses it, and how to learn how to add this skill to your professional toolbox.

What Can You Do with Adobe?

Adobe Creative Cloud is a one-stop shop for all creative projects, and several applications are industry leaders for creative software. Adobe has over 20 applications, though typically, when referring to Adobe Creative Cloud, people think of the top five most popular; After Effects, Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop, and Premiere Pro. However, Adobe Creative Cloud has much more to explore. 

Adobe offers applications to fit every project, from allowing users to view and edit PDF files to designing and publishing web pages. The top five applications allow users to edit photos and videos, create visual effects and motion graphics, and create page layouts, typography, and illustrations. With other programs like Adobe Spark, users can create social media or web content directly from their computer or phone. Dreamweaver allows users to publish web pages with a simplified code engine. Adobe Aero focuses on the world of augmented reality. There are endless possibilities for creating with Adobe Creative Cloud.

How Do You Download Adobe Apps? How Much Does it Cost?

To use Adobe applications, you must first download Adobe Creative Cloud—the software that houses all Adobe apps and services. You can download Creative Cloud using the free trial and test out any applications that interest you. However, a subscription is required to continue using these applications after trial. Users can subscribe to individual applications like Photoshop or Illustrator for a lower monthly cost. An Adobe Creative Cloud subscription costs more, but users receive access to all of the Adobe applications. 

Once you choose the free trial or a subscription, you must install Creative Cloud on your computer or device. The creative cloud interface displays all the applications for you to install individually. You may need to ensure that your device has enough space to install each application. Once you start using the programs, you can economize drive space by saving your work to the Cloud rather than your device. 

As mentioned above, users have different subscription options to gain access to the applications they want to use. Subscriptions range from $5 to $55 a month. However, if you’re new to Adobe, take advantage of the free trials to determine which programs you’re sure to use before committing to a higher total cost. 

What Are the Benefits of Learning Adobe?

Businesses use print, web, and video advertisements to capture our attention and tempt us into paying for a product or service. Companies need to hire individuals who know how to create these images, graphics, and videos. Knowing how to generate such products is a lucrative skill to have on any resume. Adobe applications like Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign are in-demand skills that can prepare you for several career opportunities. Career possibilities include Graphic Designer, Digital Designer, Digital Marketer, User Experience (UX), User Interface (UI) Designer, or Motion Graphics Designer. Each of these creative careers offers competitive salaries and can often provide remote working opportunities.

Learning Adobe Creative Cloud applications allows you to build a foundation of design skills, diversifying your creative talents and opening more doors for different creative career paths. Suppose your professional aspirations change and you want to take on more or different Adobe applications. You will then have a foundation of skills to build upon, which can help you in other career areas.

Read more about why you should learn Adobe.

Adobe Careers

Becoming proficient in Adobe Creative Cloud opens the door to several exciting career opportunities, such as:

• Graphic Design: Graphic Designers create images or graphics using text, colors, and animation to develop media for both digital and physical forms that communicate branding, advertising, and marketing. Typically, these images are produced with Photoshop and Illustrator; however, Graphic Designers also use InDesign, making Adobe Creative Cloud a vital part of their skill set. Graphic Designers can seek out freelance work, or they can choose to work for individual companies. Usually, their work appears as logos, social media campaigns, brochures, and advertisements. 

• Digital Design: Digital Design and Graphic Design share similar elements, so the career paths overlap. But since Digital Designers specialize in dynamic designs, additional career options include web design, applications, advertisements, and publications. They use multiple Adobe Creative Cloud programs, including Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator, to produce animations and other visual effects. 

• User Experience/ User Interface (UX/UI) Design: UX and UI Designers help create a website’s interactivity aspects. UX Designers focus on usability as opposed to visual design. They often create wireframes and prototypes and perform user testing. UI designers create a website’s visual look and feel. For these positions, you will work primarily with Photoshop or Adobe XD. 

• Digital Marketing: Digital Marketers with Adobe Creative Cloud training will use aspects of graphic design and digital design to produce online content for clients that promotes their products or services, including social media and email marketing. Digital Marketers use similar programs to Graphic Designers. This career path is more specialized than graphic and digital design, as marketing training is also required. 

• Motion Graphics Design: Motion Graphics Designers work with visual effects and animation, using programs like After Effects, Premiere Pro, and Cinema 4D to create animated artwork for various projects ranging from film to tech devices to video games to web applications.  

Investing in an Adobe Creative Cloud course or bootcamp can fast-track you to a new career. Noble Desktop offers an Adobe Creative Cloud Bootcamp that guides students through multiple programs they will use throughout their careers.

How to Learn Adobe

When learning Adobe, you may feel like you need the structure of a class to help you succeed. Noble Desktop provides several options to help you find the right course. Students who prefer in-person learning can use the Classes Near Me tool to locate in-person Adobe Creative Cloud classes in their area. If you prefer a virtual learning environment, check out Noble Desktop's live online Adobe classes instead. 

Regardless of your skill level, there are options to fit your schedule. If you have a busy, jam-packed schedule, a full class may not work. On-demand Adobe classes might be better. Several of these introductory courses are free, as they are brief overviews introducing students to key functions of the applications. You can learn at your own pace, even if you want to learn individual Adobe applications simultaneously. Some courses require a subscription to the hosting platform, while others have a base fee for access. Providers for on-demand options include LinkedIn Learning, Shaw Academy, and Udemy. 

Video demonstrations are another option to consider when first learning these applications. Noble Desktop provides an entire YouTube playlist of in-depth Adobe Creative Cloud tutorials. These videos cover topics like the top five popular applications and design elements. You may also look into Noble's free seminars to find courses related to Adobe, like the Intro to Adobe Creative Cloud training. These introductory courses teach students how to get started with Adobe Creative Cloud and what each app does.

Read the full guide on how to learn Adobe.

A Brief History of Adobe

Adobe began in the 1980s as a printing, publishing, and graphics software developer. Adobe’s PostScript printer language helped establish the desktop publishing industry. Xerox initially declined to bring this technology to life, which led its developers–John Warnock and Charles Geschke–to leave the company and start their own business, which they called Adobe. 

Adobe launched Illustrator as its first application in 1987, followed by Photoshop three years later. Photoshop became the first commercial application to embrace external developers to make new features through plug-ins. Since then, Adobe has become the leading software for creative individuals and the industry standard in several creative careers. They have continued to grow and expand, with over 20 programs in the Creative Cloud.

Comparable Applications

Adobe is not the only company with creative applications. Several companies offer programs that perform similar tasks to those of Adobe applications. 

Affinity Photo is a popular program that gives Photoshop a run for its money. Affinity Photo users can access the entire application for a flat rate, which appeals to those who do not wish to pay a monthly fee. However, this also means that users must rebuy the program once the second version becomes available. The two applications are quite similar, yet Photoshop offers more tools, features, and functionality than Affinity Photo. And given that Photoshop is the industry standard, it’s a better option for those looking to become creative professionals. Affinity Photo doesn’t have Photoshop’s extensive functionality and features, so it is easier to learn, which may appeal more to hobbyists. 

While several companies would like to compete with Adobe, none offer a collection of software like Creative Cloud. Adobe Creative Cloud sets Adobe apart from the other creative software companies. 

Key Insights

Adobe Creative Cloud comprises over 20 applications, enabling seemingly endless creative possibilities. Users must install Creative Cloud on their devices to use any Adobe applications and then subscribe to the applications they wish to use after a free trial. 

Learning Adobe can be a great way to enhance your career, as several applications are impressive on a creative resume. Potential professions for those with Adobe on their resumes include Graphic Design, UI Design, and Digital Marketing, to name a few. 

Other companies offer programs similar to Adobe applications; however, none are on par with Adobe. Adobe is the gold standard across industries and continues to update and improve all its applications to grow and enhance their use and capabilities.

Learn Adobe with Hands-on Training at Noble Desktop

Noble Desktop provides several Adobe Creative Cloud Classes that meet any schedule or learning style. Participants have the option to attend in-person courses at Noble's campus in Manhattan, or they can opt to take courses virtually from anywhere in the world. Each option has students working closely with expert instructors in small groups. Noble also provides a free retake option within one year, allowing students additional time and opportunities to hone their skills without paying for another course. 

Learning Adobe Creative Cloud can be daunting; however, the Intro to Adobe CC Bootcamp is available for students who want to learn only a few applications quickly. This course covers several Adobe applications, introducing students to Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Premiere Pro, and After Effects. Students use each application to work through real-world exercises and projects. For those with a little more time on their hands who want in-depth training on more programs, the longer Adobe Creative Cloud Bootcamp devotes more time to work with each application. 

Additional options are available for those looking for more career-oriented learning. The Graphic Design Certificate dives into Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign, while covering concepts surrounding the graphic design career. For more training on using Adobe programs to design web or mobile interfaces, there is the UI Design Certificate. As part of this course, you will work closely with Photoshop and Illustrator. In addition to learning the programs for your field of interest, you will develop a portfolio to send to potential employers.