October 31, 2023: Steve Jackson Games Attends Adobe Max

Hey there, I'm Meredith Placko, the CEO of Steve Jackson Games, and I guess it's about time to write a DI post! Three of our production staff and I took an unforgettable journey to Adobe Max 2023, and it was nothing short of amazing!

Imagine a massive creative playground filled with like-minded individuals – designers, artists, and creators galore. The atmosphere was electric, and the enthusiasm was contagious. I couldn't help but feel inspired from the moment we walked in. 

Our mission? To dive headfirst into the world of Adobe's latest software. As a company deeply rooted in creativity, the prospect of learning new techniques and tools was thrilling. We eagerly soaked up the wisdom shared in the captivating keynote presentations, delved into hands-on workshops, and immersed ourselves in practical labs.

While Adobe's big talking point of the show was Generative AI, it was really the quality-of-life upgrades across the whole Creative Suite that really stood out to me, like Photoshop's Generative Fill and Generative Expand features. Generative Fill, in particular, blew us away with its ability to intelligently generate image content to fill gaps or expand areas seamlessly. The updated software now offers advanced AI-driven filters, making image enhancement and retouching a breeze. These tools are game-changers, promising to supercharge our design capabilities and creativity.

And speaking of game-changers, Adobe Express 2023 introduced an array of exciting new features that showed us a new path forward to working together across marketing and production departments. The inclusion of intelligent layout suggestions and the ability to generate customized templates will streamline our workflow like never before. Our team is eager to leverage these new features to efficiently create visually stunning social media graphics.

Of course, this leads to a larger discussion about where machine learning should live in the world of creatives, and specifically here – but that is for another post! Suffice it to say, the ability to spend more time being creative while keeping our artists employed, and most importantly, leading the discussion where AI stands in the creative process, is important to me.

On a more personal note, I was really grateful for the chance to spend time with the folks that make up our production department. Since most of us work from home, I haven't gotten to really know a lot of our staff since I came on board. Zoom meetings are efficient, sure, but face-to-face time really helps you gel as a team. It was really nice to have the week with (almost) everyone to find better paths of working together!

-- Meredith Placko