Adobe’s Project Concept: A Browser-Based Mood-Boarding Tool
Adobe faces competition from subscription-free apps and AI image generators, but it always seems to have something up its sleeve to stay on top. The creative tech giant has been adding a slew of AI-powered tools to its legacy programs, from Photoshop to Premiere Pro, but gen AI is now being put at the centre of an entirely new product, Project Concept.
A Browser-Based Mood-Boarding Tool
First announced at Adobe MAX in October, Adobe Project Concept is a browser-based mood-boarding tool that provides a flexible infinite canvas for ideation. I was given a demonstration this week as the program enters private beta. And what I can say it that it should make it easier to get the ideas in your head onto a screen.
AI-Powered Remixing and Generation
Danielle Morimoto, Group Design Manager for Generative AI with Adobe’s Machine Intelligence and New Technologies team, showed me examples of how mood boards can be built in the web app by mixing original assets, free Adobe Content and AI image generation as desired. You can drag and drop images where you want, rearrange them and then edit them or remix them using generative AI all in the same platform.
Eyedropper Tool for Granular Control
An eyedropper tool allows you to pick characteristics like shape, texture and atmosphere from a source image and combine them with a text prompt to influence the output when you click ‘generate’, much like the eyedropper in Photoshop, but for more than just colour. In the demo, the eyedropper identified “concentric spirals” as one salient feature in the background of a source image, and the AI applied a similar pattern to the output.
Streamlined Proof of Concept Stage
I think Project Concept has a lot of potential to streamline the proof of concept stage for creatives, coming after the initial idea but before work on the final product. I like how the non-linear flexibility recognises the sometimes messy play and iteration in the creative process. As a mood-boarding tool, it could serve for pretty much anything from photography to branding and product design and save hours of time scouring the web for the right references.
Multimedia Integration and Future Developments
At the moment, Concept only supports still images, but the idea is to make it multimedia, and that’s when it could really come into its own. Allowing video and motion references to be combined with photos, sketches and colour swatches all in the same place would reflect the more cross-discipline approach that many creative teams now work in. It’s really for the creatives testing the product to work out the many different ways it could be used.
Conclusion
Project Concept has a lot of potential to streamline the creative process, and its integration with other Adobe apps could make it a valuable tool for creatives. Whether it will be added to the standard Adobe Creative Cloud All-Apps suite or available as a standalone tool remains to be seen.
FAQs
Q: What is Project Concept?
A: Project Concept is a browser-based mood-boarding tool that provides a flexible infinite canvas for ideation.
Q: What is the purpose of the eyedropper tool?
A: The eyedropper tool allows you to pick characteristics like shape, texture and atmosphere from a source image and combine them with a text prompt to influence the output when you click ‘generate’.
Q: What is the future of Project Concept?
A: Adobe plans to add multimedia integration, allowing video and motion references to be combined with photos, sketches and colour swatches all in the same place.
Q: Will Project Concept be added to the standard Adobe Creative Cloud All-Apps suite?
A: The decision has not been announced, but it could be available as a standalone tool or integrated with other Adobe apps.
Q: Can I sign up for the waiting list?
A: Yes, you can learn more and sign up for the waiting list on Adobe’s website.
