Adobe Max 2023 Recap: Social Media Track

Adobe Max is the type of event that leaves you exhausted but so full of creativity you could burst. I’ll admit I’m a bit late to write this recap, as this took place in early October, but I’ve been looking forward to reflecting on my experience since I returned to reality. Thanks to my stellar employer, Grova Creative, I was able to enjoy all that Adobe Max 2023 had to offer—and let me tell you, I’m incredibly grateful for that.  This was my first time attending a creative conference of this magnitude, this distance from home, and this level of creative genius; it was an absolute dream. Keep reading for my Adobe Max 2023 recap!

Creative Park 

First off, I have to take a moment for the Creative Park. After the first keynote on Day One, I entered the Creative Park for the first time—and, wow! It was the central gathering place featuring immersive environments, shopping opportunities, and activities for moments of free time. Any time I had a minute to spare, I explored sponsor and vendor booths and enjoyed all the park had to offer! I played with puppies, did origami, and even spent time in a relaxation room on the last day. My haul of goodies from Max included prints, stickers, enamel pins, jewelry, a custom screen-printed tee, and so much more. 

Day One

I entered Adobe Max Day One with a very ambitious plan that I tried to stick to and ultimately failed; it turns out you need to trust people when they say, “Don’t sign up for every class even though you want to.” Day one began with a powerful opening keynote featuring familiar faces in the Adobe world. Each keynote speaker focused on a different aspect of recent Adobe products, features, and innovations, including Firefly, Photoshop, Lightroom, Illustrator, Premiere Pro, Frame.io, Express, and more. 

Next, I attended my first session held by David Rager and Sami Aziz from NASA’s creative team, which featured expert insights into their strategy behind creating & producing the Artemis campaign. The two also touched on their thought processes behind the creative elements designed for the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover which was fascinating. Then, I popped into a Firefly Speed Dating session, which broke down how to use the new feature, generative fill. My third and final session held by Wix was all about collaboration and creative freedom. Shira Nathan and Sivan Fiterman from the Wix creative team divulged their strategies for various brand projects, emphasizing the importance of teamwork. 

Day Two

Day Two began with another Inspiration Keynote by incredible members of the creative community, Aaron Draplin, Karen X Cheng, Walker Noble, and Oak Felder! This keynote was one of my favorite sessions of the conference. Aaron kicked off the keynote with a powerful presentation on making an impact and helping your peers while finding success in a creative discipline. Next, Karen spoke about ways to fight the algorithm’s effects on your creative ability and motivation. One of the defense mechanisms she recommended to combat this that stood out to me was “1 for me, 1 for the algorithm.” Then, Walker took the stage with a presentation titled “Why Not Me?” He shared a quote that resonated with me: “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” Finally, Oak took the stand and focused on the idea of “Playing” it Forward—he touched on the process of creating music with Alessia Cara that made a real impact on people. 

Throughout the day, I attended two very different sessions: one by Adobe and the other by Adam J. Kurtz. My first session, Advanced Techniques in Premiere Pro, was a hands-on lab exploring pro tips for editing videos in Premiere Pro. My second session by AdamJK was something I was looking forward to upon signing up for Max. Adam absolutely delivered during his session, and I left the room with a sore stomach from laughing so hard. He was a delight, and speaking with him individually after the session was incredible. At this point, it was time to head to the hotel and change before the ever-so-anticipated MAX BASH!

MAX BASH was like a mini Disney World designed for adults in the creative industry. With endless photo ops, art installations, food & drink options, and fun freebies, there was fun for everyone! Rev Run and DJ Ruckus took the stage for a set full of oldies but goodies, and we danced the night away before exploring Downtown LA a tiny bit. 

Day Three

After dragging myself out of bed for Day Three, I found my way to my first session by Red Bull called How Red Bull Went Remote: Rethinking Event Post-production! It was fascinating to see how the Red Bull production team collaborated in unique ways and thought outside the box during and post-pandemic. 

My final session of the trip was all about boosting creativity with AI-powered content creation. This session was super helpful because it broke down how to craft specific prompts for AI to produce the best results. Turns out there’s a lot of thought that goes into AI prompts! And after this session, my Adobe Max experience came to a bittersweet end. 

Takeaways

My first-ever Adobe Max experience was one I will never forget. Spending a week in a new city with my amazing coworker while immersing ourselves in creativity was cathartic, to say the least. Something about being entirely surrounded by like-minded people almost recharges your creative battery. If I could do a monthly Adobe Max trip, I would in a heartbeat. I want to sincerely thank my employer, Grova Creative, for investing in my growth in such a meaningful way. Let’s just say that Adobe Max 2024 can’t come fast enough!