ClemsonGC students get Behind-the-Scenes tour at AdobeMAX

November 20, 2019

ClemsonGC students and faculty meet up with alumni to tour behind the scenes tour at AdobeMAX. Left to right: Mr. Stevens, Emily Smith, Julia Pruitt, Emily Algary, Bethany Wheeler, Dr. Walker, and alumni and Adobe employee Alexa Rickard

Written by Julia Pruitt, class of 2021

On November 3 through November 7, four Clemson Graphic Communications students and two faculty members had the experience of a lifetime at AdobeMAX in Los Angeles, CA. Adobe hosts The Creativity Conference every year, and this year, Julia Pruitt, Emily Algary, Emily Smith, Bethany Wheeler, Dr. Erica Walker, and Mr. Daryl Stevens had the opportunity to experience the magic. It was mostly hosted in the Los Angeles Conference Center with events in the Microsoft Theater, the Regal Theater, the Marriott Hotel, and the Staples Center and gave the attendees some time on either ends of the conference to explore the city. This three day conference consisted of hundreds of people gathering to perfect their skills, feast on inspiration, learn from other designers, and explore what’s next for creatives and the world of Adobe.

Through keynote speakers from Adobe Executives to Billie Eilish and 300+ available inspirational and instructive sessions, labs, and workshops, the students were flooded with ideas, information, and skills. As the conference was many times described as “drinking from a firehose”, the Graphic Communications students and professors were able to hear and learn from incredible graphic designers, art and creative directors, illustrators, video, film, and motion graphics professionals, photographers, technology and business strategists, and Adobe Creative Cloud partners.

Also, AdobeMAX allowed the students and professors to meet with ClemsonGC alumni who were attending the conference with their businesses. This was a unique opportunity for the students to see what life after graduation is like and for the professors to see where their work with students is being implemented. Meeting up with alumni and current Adobe employee Alexa Rickard was even more special as they were able to take a behind-the-scenes tour of the main keynote stage. This exclusive look into the equipment, work, and people behind the production of AdobeMAX was truly remarkable.

Along with the scheduled sessions, AdobeMAX offered networking experience through the Community Pavilion with many sponsors represented such as Pantone and HP, lunches and meet-ups with other students, educators, professionals, and Adobe employees, and the MAX Bash. Adobe gave extensive insight into user tips and new updates on their existing programs such as Illustrator, Photoshop, Premier Pro, and After Effects, but they also introduced new programs and features in the Sneaks session.

The AdobeMAX Creative Conference offered the Graphic Communications students an amazing experience to learn so much about the programs they use every day, meet other designers and creative professionals from around the world, and expand their understanding and inspiration to take back to the classroom and into their future careers!