It's been just over half a year since Adobe announced their very own stock image service, Adobe Stock. And in that time, there have been significant updates, plus a load of new images added to their library.
Just after its release, our design team made the move over to Adobe Stock from the service they were previously using. While changing the tools you use day-in, day-out, is never without its wobbles, they managed to transition from Adobe Creative Suite to Creative Cloud and remain relatively unscathed, so as Adobe Stock plugs directly into CC apps, and uses a familiar Adobe interface, it was a doddle. Now they've had a while to get to grips with all the functionality and features, we thought we'd ask for their verdict on Adobe Stock, how it ties into their daily design workflow and whether they'd recommend making the move from any other stock service. Read on to find out their thoughts.
What's new in Adobe Stock?
First of all, it's worth pointing out some of the new updates since Adobe Stock's release. The library of assets is constantly growing, with 5 million new images and videos being added already (taking the tally from 40 million to 45 million). Adobe have also introduced Pooled Images, whereby if any member in your team purchases an Adobe Stock licence, all the images that the user then buys will automatically be shared with your creative team.
Our design team's verdict
So what do our delectable designers think of Adobe Stock, six months on? And would they suggest making the move from your current service? We collared a few to pick their brains on everything from the layout of preview images to search options and prices...
Xenia: "The first major bonus for me is that Adobe Stock makes it really easy and quick to search for images and add them to your library straight from Photoshop. The imagery is constantly being updated too. The difference is obvious from just a few months ago when I searched for “tablet device” to now – there are more of them, and the quality of the images, taking composition and content into consideration, has improved greatly (as opposed to the sometimes cheesy ones you can come across!).
"Another thing I like is the simple pricing. Other photo stock sites use credits, meaning you have to figure out how much a credit is worth and, as each photo can have different credit values, it can get confusing. But Adobe Stock just has a simple, flat price plan. For us the ten images a month plan is perfect – at £19.99 it works out at really good value, and you can even roll over unused images for up to a year. It’s easy to manage the subscription too, as it's through the same Admin Console we use for our Creative Cloud for teams licences."
Liana: "There are now more options on the search tools drop-down menu, which is great. I especially like the extra long landscape size option on the orientation search tools, which is very useful if you're looking to use images as headers or backgrounds on websites, for example. The only drawback at the moment, and this really is a minor quibble, is that you can’t uncheck a box – you have to clear them all, which means having to enter all the options again.
"The way the images are laid out is great too, as you get larger thumbnails because of the way that they’re stacked. The hover options are intuitive and 'Find Similar' option is also really handy. I quite like how it expands on the page when you click on an image, rather than taking you to a new page, as I often end up with loads of windows open."
Thierry: "I find Adobe Stock really useful for mocking up how a project (especially brochures or magazine layouts) can look by placing in preview images without having to leave the application. If an image is then going to be used for print, I can simply click to purchase and the image in my project is updated to the highest quality available."
Simon: "I really like how I can access Adobe Stock in the same place as Typekit, up in the toolbar. And once you're browsing, the interface feels cleaner and simpler than other libraries I've used. It's actually really nice to just have assets in Libraries ready to drag into any of the apps."
Want to know more about Adobe Stock? Give us a call on 03332 409 251 or email sales@Jigsaw24.com. For all the latest news, follow @WeAreJigsaw24 on Twitter or ‘Like’ us on Facebook.