Adobe and the mobile revolution: tablets, napkins, and the creative process

It’s been a busy month for Adobe so far.

Hot on the heels of the recent preview of Photoshop on the iPad, Adobe has today released the official Photoshop Touch SDK for tablet devices. The fact that Adobe has decided to release an SDK is exciting, since it strongly indicates that not only are we a step closer to a full-featured Photopshop app for tablets, but also full Photoshop integration into the core builds of third-party applications.

From the press release:

The Photoshop Touch SDK and a new scripting engine in Photoshop CS5 now opens the door for Android™, BlackBerry Tablet OS and iOS apps to drive and interact with Photoshop on the desktop.

YouTube Link

In addition to the SDK, Adobe also released another promo video touting the potential abilities of Photoshop Touch CS5. The video shows a lot of your typically over-beautified photography and heavily directed subjects (we get it; artists are a pensive lot), but it does make a spectacular selling point that should ring true for anyone in any creative position:

“A lot of what inspires people…doesn’t happen at their desktop. The napkin sketch, the notes that they’re taking, the ideation they’re doing with a few friends at the cafe…that’s where the creativity comes from.”

While don’t agree with what they’re *actually* saying (that being, that Photoshop is a creative solution), I do agree with what they’re eluding to; that being, that Photoshop is a powerful tool in a creative’s arsenal, and to be able to carry it around in your messenger bag (c’mon, admit it, you have a messenger bag) is at most, extremely practical and responsive, and at the very least, REALLY effin’ cool.

It’s no news to anyone that Adobe is the industry frontrunner when it comes to design and creative development software, so it makes sense that they’re actively pursuing the potential that mobile hardware offers. Recognizing this, Adobe has also launched 3 new applications: Eazel, Nav, and Color Lava, each offering a unique set of tools and design capabilities. Best of all though, they’ve built CS5 desktop compatibility into each app that allows users to port their work directly into Photoshop wirelessly, provided users have upgraded to CS5.5.

Photoshop Remote from Shawn Welch on Vimeo.

Reaction to the SDK is potentially huge, as evidenced by this app by Shawn Welch, Photoshop Remote, which launched literally since I started writing this article. This is partially a productivity app, but functions best as a live preview of what you’re working on. Imagine you’re sitting in a meeting, presenting work to a client while your designer is on a desktop elsewhere. Client wants to make a change, your designer updates the file, and boom, you’ve got a current, updated visual in real-time. Alternatively, you can make a change to the file right on the tablet, and it will be reflected on the local file, wherever it is.

All of the above apps currently have no launch date, but Photoshop Remote at least is expected to launch in May. Adobe’s apps offer a “notify me” link on the site, so if you’re super-eager to get your hands on these new tools, sign up to be the first to know when you can. I did.