Adobe gets Creative with new design tools

By Alistair Dabbs

Posted on 29 Sep 2003 at 12:53

Contrary to what you might have been led to believe, your next Adobe upgrade won't have a number. At least, if you use any of Adobe's key design applications, you'll be ditching those incremental figures for a simple 'CS'. No more sixes and sevens; the order of tomorrow is the Creative Suite.

The Creative Suite comprises brand-new versions of Adobe's Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign and GoLive, with the addition of Acrobat 6 Professional for completeness. With the exception of Acrobat, which was released earlier this year, the big four programs enjoy a 'CS' brand in place of a number to represent Adobe's refreshed commitment to product integration.

The Creative Suite is no mere interface makeover: it's the result of a refocusing on each program's unique purpose within the overall design workflow. So while each upgraded program offers its own new features, there's unparalleled common support for their native file formats across the suite.

Instead of trying to force one program to do everything, you're encouraged to buy the suite and use the most appropriate program for each task.

Integration is also enhanced through a new piece of software called Version Cue. This is a proprietary file manager with multi-version saving and multi-user protection that brings together all the disparate elements you're working on in Creative Suite applications. Version Cue is essentially an instant workgroup server for non-techies with a heap of special media management functions.

While Adobe has taken great pains to bring development of the six programs together for a combined launch date, you're still offered the freedom of buying Photoshop CS, Illustrator CS, InDesign CS, GoLive CS and, of course, Acrobat 6 Professional individually if you prefer.

Products bought on their own like this won't include Version Cue, but may well be the cheapest option if your design tasks are limited to a specific program. As an added incentive to buy the full set instead, Adobe is also making available a cheaper Standard Edition of Creative Suite that omits GoLive CS and Acrobat 6 Professional.

Whichever edition you choose, Creative Suite is a compelling bargain, as it's less than half the price of buying the component programs individually. Print designers looking to move to InDesign should note that the entire Creative Suite Premium Edition is cheaper than a single copy of QuarkXPress 6. Whether you're already sold on the CS concept or not, read on to discover more about the delights Creative Suite has in store.

Although Adobe insists the Creative Suite is 'not just a collection', it's the obvious successor to Adobe's previous multi-program themed packs: the Design Collection, the Publishing Collection and the Web Collection. These were based around Photoshop and Illustrator, plus a choice between InDesign, Acrobat and GoLive according to theme. Only PageMaker and Adobe's video applications have failed to make it to the Creative Suite.

Prices are as follows:

• Adobe Creative Suite Premium Edition £949 (£1115 inc VAT); upgrade from any Adobe Collection £565 (£663 inc VAT).
• Adobe Creative Suite Standard Edition £775 (£910 inc VAT); upgrade from any Adobe Collection £409 (£480 inc VAT).
• Photoshop CS £515 (£605 inc VAT); upgrade £125 (£146 inc VAT).
• Illustrator CS £435 (£511 inc VAT); upgrade £139 (£163 inc VAT).
• InDesign CS £609 (£715 inc VAT); upgrade £139 (£163 inc VAT).
• GoLive CS £335 (£393 inc VAT); upgrade £139 (£163 inc VAT).