Preconferences Take a deeper dive with preconference courses.

After Effects: Your Designs in Motion

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Motion communicates in a way static design often can’t, and there’s no better tool for bringing your creative ideas to life than Adobe After Effects. Join Emmy-winning motion designer and educator Kyle Hamrick on a deep dive into the fundamental concepts and techniques of motion in After Effects, where you’ll learn how to create and animate a variety of examples in this hands-on lab. You’ll walk away with tons of effective but accessible techniques you can apply to your brand or your own work right away. This all-day beginner preconference lab will take you from graphic designer to motion designer.

Kyle will teach you how to:

• Meaningfully add motion to your existing design skillset
• Comfortably navigate the After Effects interface, tools, and essential techniques
• Import and animate layered Photoshop and Illustrator artwork
• Combine images and video to create compelling multimedia animations
• Export your animations for multiple formats and use cases

Brand Promos: Post-Production Masterclass

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Join Adobe Certified trainers Karl Soulé and John Knowles for an intensive, hands-on post-production lab where you’ll tackle the ambitious challenge of building a dynamic brand promotional video from the ground up. From the first rough cut to the final export, you’ll craft a polished, campaign-ready piece that delivers precision storytelling, intentional style, and real cinematic impact.

This full-day lab places Adobe Premiere at the heart of your workflow, giving you the opportunity to harness the full power of Creative Cloud and unlock what’s creatively—and technically—possible. By the end of the lab, you’ll have a finished video and a repeatable, efficient workflow you can use on future projects. Faster execution. Consistent results. Maximum impact. You may even find it entirely transforms the way you approach editing.

You’ll learn how to:

• Create seamless cross-application workflows between Premiere Pro and After Effects using Dynamic Link—deploying motion graphics and cinematic visual effects with precision and efficiency (no unnecessary renders required)
• Build professional motion graphics templates that enforce brand consistency across every asset—because typography and design accuracy matter at every stage
• Integrate Photoshop imagery and Illustrator vectors directly into your timeline—fully controlled and production-ready
• Calibrate professional color workflows to eliminate unwanted shifts and deliver a cohesive, platform-ready visual result
• Extract, enhance, and finalize dialogue, music, and sound design into broadcast-quality audio that meets professional standards
• Source and deploy creative assets using Adobe Stock and Adobe Firefly to accelerate your production when time is short

Design a Brand with Bite

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In a world overflowing with brands, a standout, cohesive, and recognizable visual identity is essential. Join Kristy Campbell, brand identity expert and founder of Pink Pony Creative, together with senior graphic designer Ashleigh Connolly for a front row seat to their brand-building process.

In this full-day lab, you’ll use strategy, systems, and storytelling to gain a clear understanding of how to create personality-packed visual identities using the Pink Pony Process.

Join Pink Pony Creative and explore:

• An overview of their process from discovery to visual identity, with a focus on creative direction, logos, and assets.
• Logo development rooted in symbolism, with a focus on wordmarks
• Translating brand personality into distinctive assets with illustrations
• Briefly touching on designing with intention using color, typography, and layout
• Integrating AI into your workflow thoughtfully

Note: To get the most out of this lab, participants should have a solid working knowledge of Adobe Illustrator, InDesign, and Photoshop.

Design a Logo the DDC Way—in a Day

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The pace of life and work only seems to speed up, and it can be increasingly difficult to make time for ourselves. How about a day to make something for yourself? Spend a day with Aaron Draplin of Draplin Design Co. and make the logo you’ve always wanted to make — in a day! Learn the finer points of his logo-making process, from inspiration-gathering to sketching to iterations to jumping into Illustrator to bring your logo to life. All skill levels are welcome, but a working knowledge of Illustrator is recommended.

Aaron will cover:

• His logo process from start to finish
• His DDC top 20 tips, tricks, and techniques to improve Illustrator workflows and execution
• Practical alignment hacks and color refinements
• Crucial typographic tips and tricks
• File setup and handoff efficiencies
• Tactical, actionable items to improve how you make what you make, backed up by a comprehensive overview PDF
• A handy guide to use as you apply your workshop learnings to your own design work

Note: To get the most out of this lab, it is strongly advised that participants have a solid foundation of Adobe Illustrator knowledge and experience.

Document Accessibility Testing with Adobe Acrobat

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Join accessibility experts Chad Chelius and Dax Castro for this full-day lab and learn how to confidently evaluate and test PDF documents for true accessibility using Adobe Acrobat. Move beyond the Accessibility Checker and uncover what really matters inside the tags tree. You’ll learn how to inspect structure, identify barriers, and ensure your documents provide a meaningful user experience for assistive technology users.

In this hands-on preconference lab, you’ll learn how to:

• Understand and evaluate the tags tree with confidence
• Identify structural and tag-based accessibility barriers
• Correct heading, list, table, and link structures
• Apply meaningful alternative text and descriptions
• Understand real usability vs technical compliance

Illustrator Like a Pro

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As an experienced Illustrator user, you seek real control, speed, and power in the app. This hands-on lab gives you exactly that — a unique upper hand in mastering traditional skills in Illustrator without the AI.

Spend the day with veteran MAX presenter Tony Harmer, where you’ll tighten key fundamentals, then quickly move into advanced construction and object management to build, combine, and adjust artwork faster and more efficiently. Along the way, you’ll discover some of Illustrator’s under-the-hood behaviors and see how more efficient artwork makes Illustrator (and you) happy.

Tony will cover how to:

• Build artwork more intelligently using construction techniques that improve editing speed and document efficiency
• Create flexible graphic systems with structural consistency and stylistic variation
• Use layers, hierarchy, and output strategically for organization and efficiency

This is not a beginner session or a feature walkthrough — it’s a focused reset for experienced users who want to work faster, cleaner, and push their understanding of Illustrator’s tools, commands, and options.

InDesign Power Lab: Build Smarter, Faster Layouts

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Join InDesign guru Laurie Ruhlin for a dynamic, full-day, hands-on lab for intermediate to advanced users who are eager to leave inefficiency behind. Automate document layouts, unlock productivity secrets that will change the way you work, and explore features and tools you’ve always wanted to master.

You’ll craft a brand marketing piece while using these new skills that streamline layout, formatting, and output. Leave with actionable shortcuts and professional techniques you can implement immediately.

Explore with Laurie how to:

• Automate document layouts
• Boost productivity with scripts, saved presets, and CC Libraries
• Master styles for text and objects to automate formatting
• Use pro techniques for importing and transforming Illustrator and Photoshop files
• Stay on-brand and output color consistently through swatch management
• Use best practices for reliable printing and exporting

Note: To get the most out of this lab, a solid foundation in InDesign is required. Not for beginners.

Miami Live: Hands-on Photography and Mobile Editing Experience

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Experience Miami through your lens in this high-energy, immersive photography seminar led by Katrin Eismann, Seán Duggan, and Chris Ayers from the Adobe Learn and Lightroom team. Spend the day on location photographing dancers, artists, street life, details, and iconic Miami spots. You’ll work with both stills and video, using a camera or phone, while learning how visual storytelling can spark connection and creative expression anywhere. Participants should bring a fully powered mobile device with the Lightroom and Premiere mobile apps installed.

You’ll learn how to:

• Capture motion, portraits, and street scenes in dynamic environments
• Work with light, composition, and professional dancers or models
• Edit standout images using Adobe Lightroom on mobile
• Edit and share video clips using Adobe Premiere on mobile

This fast-paced, hands-on experience blends shooting, editing, and sharing in real time — so you leave with new skills, fresh inspiration, and a strong set of images from the day. Miami is our studio. Let’s explore and create!