Hosted by tech enthusiast David McClelland, Creative Day will feature a mix of industry luminaries, influencers and our very own global evangelists, including Rufus Deuchler, Paul Trani, Jason Levine, as well as our UK experts, Richard Curtis, Iona Walters, Rupert Knowles and Niels Stevens. Each will take to the stage – together with inspirational creatives – throughout Creative Day and cover all that’s hot in Adobe Creative Cloud.

Creative Day will be packed with lively debates, exclusive demonstrations and inspirational case studies – all broadcast online at www.adobecreativedays.com/uk from 9.45am. Plus, we’re giving 400 lucky people the chance to be in the live audience – just register here to take part in person.

Liz Wilkins, senior marketing manager for Digital Media at Adobe, said: “The UK creative industry is one of the most exciting and dynamic sectors to work in. Creative Day will be a fantastic chance for creatives to come together, exchange ideas, hear from luminaries and and learn about the very latest in Creative Cloud”.

David McClelland who is hosting the event said: “I’m thrilled to be working with Adobe on the London leg of the Creative Days World Tour and am particularly excited about being able to share my Adobe Creative Cloud  experience with a live audience, as well as with tens of thousands watching online”.

Follow the conversation on Twitter – #CreativeDays.

Find out more about how Adobe’s Creative Suite software was used to create this brilliant tribute to Python Graham Chapman in this video.

Adobe Terms & Conditions for #PythonGiveaway Twitter competition

1. Only open to UK residents aged 18 years or over, who are following @AdobeUK on Twitter
2. To take part in the prize draw, go to www.twitter.com/AdobeUK, follow the Twitter feed and retweet the #PythonGiveaway tweet sent on Friday 15^th February 2013
3. The prize draw excludes Adobe employees, their families, agencies, or anyone professionally connected with the promotion
4. No purchase necessary. The competition will be open from 10am Friday 15^th February 2013 (GMT) and will close at 5pm Friday 15^th February 2013 (GMT) (the “Promotion Period”)
5. Any entries outside of the Promotion Period will not be counted
6. 30 prize winners will be chosen at random by an independent party during the Promotion Period
7. The Prize: Each of the winners will receive a copy of A Liar’s Autobiography book and a customised A Liar’s Autobiography tote bag
8. No entries from agents, third parties, organised groups or applications automatically generated by computers will be accepted. No incomplete or corrupted entries will be accepted. Any entries not in accordance with the entry instructions will be rejected. Any entries containing offensive or inappropriate content will be removed
9. All prize winner[s] will be contacted by 5pm (GMT) Monday 18^th February 2013
10. No cash or other alternative in part or full will be offered in lieu of the specified prizes. Prizes are not transferable
11. By entering participants will be deemed to have accepted and be bound by the rules. All entry instructions form part of these Terms and Conditions
12. In the event of unforeseen circumstances the Promoters reserve the right to offer alternative prizes of equal or greater value
13. The promoter reserves the right to amend, alter or terminate this promotion at any time due to circumstances beyond its control
14. The promoter’s decision is binding in all matters
15. Winners must respond to notification of their prize within 24 hours otherwise the right to claim the prize will be lost and the promoter reserves the right to re-award the prize(s)
16. A list of winners (name and county) will be made available on request to those enclosing a stamped self-addressed envelope to Adobe Systems Ltd, PR Team, Market St, Maidenhead, West Berkshire SL6 8AD
17. The promoter can accept no responsibility for, and reserves the right to refuse, entries which are corrupt, incomplete or fail to arrive by the closing date
18. These rules are governed by English law and subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English Courts
19. Twitter, Inc. is not a sponsor of this contest and bears no responsibility or liability for the administration, operation, judging, or conduct of the contest, or for the fulfilment of prizes associated with this promotion
20. Promoter & Data Controller: Adobe Systems Ltd, Market St, Maidenhead, West Berkshire SL6 8AD. Do not send entries to this address

Pouring over the digital catalogue on your tablet or smartphone leaves you in no doubt as to why John Lewis is the UK’s favourite retailer. Created with Adobe Digital Publishing Suite every page truly stands out.

And it doesn’t just have to be window shopping. The free digital Christmas Annual, available on iPad, iPhone, Android devices and Kindle Fire, allows you to click on the products that catch your eye and it takes you to the product page on the website; everything really is just a swipe away.

Of course, it doesn’t stop there. Included in the special Christmas Edition are a host of other interactive experiences, which are perfectly brought to life with Adobe’s digital publishing capabilities.

As well as seeing the very best of John Lewis products you’ll also discover 3D teddy bears that you can view from every angle, gift ideas from top newspaper writers and features on festive style, all illustrated with stunning photography that was made to be viewed on your tablet or smartphone.

With 5-star reviews and thousands of downloads resulting in the John Lewis digital Christmas Annual shooting up the charts, make sure you get some festive inspiration at your fingertips and access the app for your devices now.

To download the iPad and iPhone app click here, Android here and for Kindle Fire users search for John Lewis in the Kindle Newsstand.

Happy Christmas!

- HD videos – stunning videos of world-exclusive features
- HD galleries – ability to experience their favourite supercar from every angle, with extra images
- Interactive content wheel – navigate to the latest news, hottest car reviews and the Top Gear Garage
- Facebook and Twitter – ability to join live-populating feeds to interact with other readers
- Entertainment – fire up the engines of the cover stars by tapping them on-screen
- Hidden content – tap to reveal additional content within features
- Buyers’ guide – read all the essentials for every new car available

The first interactive digital edition is Top Gear’s Awards issue in which the exceptional new cars of 2012 are recognised and receive a Top Gear Magazine Car of the Year Award.  It is available now for download from the iTunes Store.

While these struggles are well-recognised, we wanted to try and actually quantify their impact on organisations.  It was with this in mind that we partnered with IDC to build a better understanding of office and IT workers’ needs and challenges in the modern day workplace and the financial impact this has on organisations in terms of bottom line. 

The results were surprising: we all know time is being wasted, but the cost of that wasted time reaches an eye-watering, €11,700 per information worker annually! This was calculated by looking at things like the challenges related to personal productivity – such as searching for, but not finding, documents; inefficiencies in collaboration between individuals and companies, and barriers to working on new platforms such as mobile and tablet.

For businesses, the key to closing the gap is to recognise that it is a set of compounding issues: lots of little things that add up to a big impact on employee productivity, and ultimately, the bottom line. The features that we’ve introduced in Acrobat XI – shipping today – equip office workers and IT departments with document collaboration tools that not only increase efficiency through the document creation, management and distribution process, and protect sensitive information, even when documents travel outside of the document management system and corporate firewall. 

Our infographic below highlights some of the other findings from IDC’s whitepaper, and below that you can check out an overview of the all the new features of Acrobat XI to see how it’ll allow you to work smarter, not harder.  

Adobe Acrobat XI, new and improved features include:

• Edit PDF files, modify paragraphs, images, and objects by simply clicking and dragging using the new, intuitive Edit Text and Images tool. Arrange and visually merge select content and multiple documents into one organised PDF file, while retaining source file integrity.
• Improved protection of all PDF files created from Microsoft PowerPoint, Word, and Excel to help prevent copying, editing, or printing without permission.
• Speed up document and web contract approvals (from weeks to hours) with electronic signatures using the integrated Adobe EchoSign electronic signature service. Simplify forms creation, distribution and results analysis using the included Adobe FormsCentral desktop app.
• Work with PDF files across tablets and smartphones in touch-friendly Adobe Reader to annotate and add comments, as well as fill in, sign and save forms.
• Save PDF documents as PowerPoint, Word or Excel files or reuse parts of or entire PDF files as Microsoft Office documents and web pages without retyping or need to reformat.

The new and improved IT features and functionality now enable IT professionals to:

• Standardise on an easy to use, full-featured, consistent and trusted PDF Reader now with full support for iPads and Android tablets.
• Integrate Adobe Acrobat XI seamlessly with Microsoft Office and Microsoft SharePoint, enabling users to do more with PDF in an Office or SharePoint environment.
• Streamline deployment and maintenance with free Adobe tools to aid configuration and installation, as well as enhanced support for Microsoft SCCM/SCUP and Apple Remote Desktop.
• Help mitigate risk and protect systems and data with industry-leading security technology, in addition to the Adobe PDF Whitelist Framework, allowing selective enablement of JavaScript for both Windows and Mac OS.
• Easily deliver multi-step PDF file preparation and security measures using the Action Wizard to help ensure organisational consistency.

It’s an animated tribute to the late Graham Chapman which tells his life story (both real and fantasy) in 17 different animation styles by 14 different studios, with Adobe Creative Suite Production Premium instrumental in the production process.

Check out this video to learn about the making of the film and the filmmakers’ experiences using the latest versions products including Adobe Premiere Pro, After Effects, Flash Professional, and Photoshop Extended.

One of the highlights for us will be the reveal of Adobe Anywhere for video – a modern, collaborative workflow platform that will give teams using our professional video tools – such as Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects – the ability to work together across virtually any network, using shared media. They’re products that together with the rest of our Creative Suite Production Premium and Creative Cloud, are being using by a number of the leading broadcasters and global news agencies, including the Associated Press, Bloomberg and CNN.

We’re also announcing several new collaborations with broadcast solution partners at the show who will support integrated workflows with our video tools. These include media asset management and graphics companies who are leading in the broadcast news and sports sectors – such as Chyron, Dalet, EVS and Vizr.

Not only that, but anyone with Final Cut Pro or Avid who fancies switching to Adobe CS6 Production Premium or Creative Cloud, can take advantage of a promotion we’re currently running offering up to 40% off! You can find all the information on the Adobe website.

If you’re at the show, be sure to pay us a visit. We’ll be at the Adobe booth in Hall 7, Booth 7.G27 in the RAI Exhibition and Congress Centre. For anyone that didn’t make it to Amsterdam, we’ll be keeping everyone up to speed on the show from here.

Let us know what you think of this year’s show and are most excited about seeing!

It’s just over a month now until Create the Web London!

The event is a fantastic opportunity to learn about the latest tools and techniques for creating content for the modern web. You’ll also find out how Adobe is helping shape the future of the web and get a sneak peak at new tools, technologies and services for web designers and developers. Topics covered will include HTML5, CSS3, motion graphics, web development and more.

This free, full day event held in London on 2^nd October is filling up fast, so if you don’t want to miss out make sure you register here today.

Here’s a lowdown of what to expect: 

10:00 – Keynote/General Session

In the opening keynote, Adobe will layout its commitment to the web as the primary platform of the future, and will announce and demonstrate new tools and technologies that enable web designers and developers to create the experiences that push the boundaries of what is possible on the web.

10:30 – A Journey Through the Graphical Web

Vincent Hardy (Director of Engineering, Web Platform)

This presentation will walk us through the quest towards a more graphical web with an immersive presentation of the key features (and characters) that are, have been or will be available to the create graphical content on the web. The goal of this playful presentation is to inspire and show the vision of a web with a wide graphical creative surface.

11:15 An introduction to the modern Web for the creative professional

HTML5 and CSS3 introduce new features that expand the creative capabilities of the web. In this session, you will get an introduction to some of the newest and most expressive features in HTML5 and CSS3, as well as an overview of what new features are coming in the future.

1:00 Move the Web : Introduction to Motion Graphics on the Web

Mike Chambers (Director of Developer Advocacy)

Discover all the ways that animation is coming to the modern web. Hear about how to make use of CSS3 transitions and animation, JavaScript libraries that can help with animation, and suggestions for best practices around creating animations with web technologies.

1:30 Adobe Edge Animate: Creating the interactive web

Lee Brimelow (Developer Evangelist)

Adobe Edge Animate is a tool for creating web animations with HTML, JavaScript, and CSS. In this session you’ll see how you can start using Edge Animate to create animations that run on browsers and mobile devices.

2:15 – Brackets: Code the Web

Adam Lehman (Sr. Product Manager, Interactive Development)

Brackets is an open source code editor that challenges the status quo with innovations like inline Quick Editing and live browser connectivity built with HTML, JavaScript, and CSS. This session will provide an overview of Brackets and demonstrate how to hack on the project so you can customize and extend it to meet your needs.

2:45 - PhoneGap & Shadow: Building & Testing Mobile Apps with Web Standards

Every web developer needs to think about a mobile strategy when it comes to deploying content. This session will take a look at new APIs in HTML5 that make the most of mobile device features, how to test and debug content with tools like Adobe “Shadow”, and workflows for creating mobile applications from web technologies with PhoneGap and PhoneGap Build.

3:35 - CreateJS: Creating Rich, Interactive Experiences for HTML5

Grant Skinner (CEO / Technical Director gskinner.com)

CreateJS is a suite of JavaScript libraries for building expressive content that targets HTML5 Canvas. Find out how to use libraries that let you easily manipulate content on top of HTML5 Canvas, manipulate sound, animate content, and manage loading of assets.

4:15 - Design Responsively: Creating a Site that Works Across Screens

Responsive design is forcing designers and developers to think about their content differently.  The huge variation of screen sizes and device capabilities is enabling a whole new level of experiences.  In this session you’ll learn the principles of responsive design and get a sneak peak at what Adobe’s been working on.

Look forward to seeing you there, and make sure you follow the conversation on Twitter with #CreateTheWeb.

The new support for built-in contact forms allows you to easily add, configure, and style contact forms within your website designs. By using this new feature, you no longer have to embed HTML code from 3rd-party online form providers. This is just the beginning of work the Muse product team is doing to bring more extensive content management capabilities directly into the product through tighter integration with our site hosting platform, Adobe Business Catalyst. This video shows how easy it is to work with contact forms.

We’ve also added the ability to add and link to downloadable files of any type including .pdf, .zip, .dmg, & .exe, as well as support for HTML5 animations created with Adobe Edge. There’s more, so be sure to read the release notes to find out all the new goodies in this updated version of Muse.

If you already have Muse installed, just open the app and click “Install Now” on the updater screen to get these new features. If you have yet to try it, download it here on Creative Cloud.

Article by Anke Schnedler, marketing manager, Adobe Systems

In a fast-paced industry with a huge digital output and major security implications, the need for a robust document management system is not just important, it’s critical. For busy law professionals the ability to easily access, share and work on documents is par for the course: when it works, no one notices, but when it goes wrong, all eyes fall on the IT manager.

As we all know, solicitors, lawyers and barristers have always spent a serious amount of time assembling cases, filling in forms, and compiling letters, briefs and presentations. They then need to exchange these documents with clients, outside counsel and the courts and need a trusted method to control access to, and limit distribution of, confidential information.

As courts implement new electronic filing systems, IT departments need to support staff by equipping them with document collaboration tools that not only increase efficiency through the review and repagination process, but enable them to protect sensitive information, even when documents travel outside of the document management system and corporate firewall. Also key is the ability to have searchable solutions that archive and maintain an audit trail of emails and their attachments.

As a result, many firms are looking at their current document management solutions and cost effectively standardising them across their business. Herbert Smith LLP, a law firm headquartered in London which advises clients from its network of offices across Asia, Europe and the Middle East, is a great example of a firm that is boosting efficiencies, managing and protecting sensitive information and in turn offering an improved client service. Its aim was to revamp many of its administrative, document-based processes in order to drive efficiency across the organisation.

Using Adobe Acrobat, they were able to assemble case documents efficiently, redact sensitive information securely, improve collaboration across legal teams and complete forms electronically. In addition to reliably redacting sensitive content from case documents, the firm’s staff can now encrypt and password protect PDF files that are delivered to outside teams, helping better safeguard sensitive case details. Indeed, document controls and security rules ensure that only those with permission can access documents and control who opens, views, prints, copies, and modifies files – both inside and outside the firewall.

For further information on how Adobe is helping Herbert Smith LLP prepare, protect, and deliver professional communications in PDF click here.