Adobe Express, formerly Adobe Spark and later Creative Cloud Express, is a content creation tool developed by Adobe.[1][2][3] It is a cloud-based design platform where users can create videos, PDF documents, web pages, graphics and other digital assets. It is aimed at mainstream users, not professional graphic designers.[2]
History
There were three mobile apps that were predecessors to Adobe Express:[4]
Adobe Post for iPhone and iPad, which turned photos and text into graphics to be posted to social media or similar media
Adobe Slate for iPad, which turned photos and text into stories, such as magazine-like travel stories, photo albums, newsletters, and reports
Adobe Voice for iPhone, which let users record their own stories with their voice and then illustrate them with images
In 2016, Adobe unified these apps under the Adobe Spark brand and added a web version.[4] In 2021, the application was relaunched as Adobe Creative Cloud Express,[3] which was simplified to Adobe Express the next year.[5]
In October 2022, Adobe announced a collaboration with Wix to extend Adobe Express capabilities to Wix users.[8] Adobe has also partnered with several organizations and companies, including Etsy, Meta and Mastercard.[9]
In May 2022, American singer Taylor Gayle Rutherfurd, known professionally as GAYLE, launched a campaign in partnership with Adobe that invites fans to use and share visual templates created with Adobe Express.[10]
In May 2023, Google collaborated with Adobe to enable Gemini users to generate images via Adobe Firefly and then modify them using Express.[11][12][13]
Features
Adobe Express provides design, editing, video, animation, AI, branding, productivity, and administrative features through its Free, Premium, Teams, and Enterprise plans.[14] Additional plans are also available for students, educators, and nonprofit organizations.[15] Feature sets increase by plan type.[16][17]
Design and editing
Includes an editor to create content, including social posts, presentations, flyers, and videos with drag-and-drop functionality.[16]
Provides access to a library of static, animated, and video templates, as well as Adobe Stock content—images, fonts, videos, sound effects, and icons—for Premium and Teams users.[14]
Provides photo adjustment functionality (e.g., contrast, shadows, saturation) and effects such as duotone and tint.[18]
Includes tools for scaling campaigns, including bulk-create, resize content for multiple channels, and translate for multiple languages, within the same file.[20]
Includes tools for background removal, object insertion and removal, and GIF conversion.[14][16]
Includes tools for QR code generation, Bitly short link generation, PDF editing, and more.[21][22]
Allows for exporting to JPEG, PNG, PDF, GIF, and MP4.[23]
Video and animation
Includes tools for video editing, such as drag-and-drop placement of clips on a timeline, splitting and trimming videos, adjusting playback speed, removing video backgrounds, muting clips, recording audio or video, and synchronizing timing for multiple elements.[14][24]
Provides access to a library of templates, Adobe Stock video clips, music, and sound effects.[14]
Includes automated tools, such as Enhance Speech (background noise and echo removal), Add Captions (automatic transcription with customizable captions), and Clip Maker (creation of short clips from longer videos).[25][26]
Supports conversion of static designs into videos, with Animate All for applying motion to multiple elements, Dynamic Animation for physics-based movement, and options for in, out, and looping animations on individual elements.[16][26]
Supports download and conversion in MP4 and GIF formats.[23][24]
AI-powered capabilities
Integrates generative AI, powered by Adobe Firefly, to generate images, videos, templates, and text effects. Firefly tools are accessible across various plans—including in free tiers—for image and text effects.[16]
Includes models to generate multilayer video edits, speech enhancement, clip extraction, and AI-assisted animations.[27]
Incorporates Enterprise-level features[16] such as Content Credentials metadata, indemnification safeguards, and advanced model use, including Image Model 4 and video models.[28]
Brand management and collaboration
Premium, Teams, and Enterprise plans support multiple brand kits for logos, color palettes, fonts, graphics, and other brand elements, and include template-locking and brand control features to help maintain consistency across designs.[20]
Integrates with Creative Cloud Libraries and supports real-time coediting and commenting.[19]
Includes Content Scheduler for planning, previewing, publishing, and scheduling content to social platforms (such as TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, X, LinkedIn, and Pinterest).[30][31] Free users can connect one account per platform, while Premium and Teams users can connect up to three accounts.[14]
Analytics integration
Integrates with Metricool within Adobe Express for scheduling social content, tracking performance metrics (e.g., engagement, impressions, times), generating comparisons against competitors, and exporting reports.[30][31]
Storage and version control
Free users receive 5 gigabytes (GB) of cloud storage; Premium subscribers receive 100 GB; Teams plans offer 1 terabyte (TB) per user in pooled storage.[19] Version history retention spans 10 days (Free), 30 days (Premium), and up to 180 days (Teams).[32]
Administration and security
Teams/Enterprise plans include an admin console for license/user management, directory syncing (Azure, Google Admin), and consolidated billing.[19]
Enterprise enhancements cover integration with Adobe Experience Manager,[17] planned Adobe Workfront compatibility,[33] and privacy compliance for educational institutions. These tiers include multilingual support, admin helplines, and solutions sessions.[15][34]
