On May 19th Adobe launched a new suite of apps called Adobe Spark. The combination of tools allows you to quickly and efficiently create beautiful graphics whether on your mobile device or your laptop.
It’s a powerful suite of tools that I’m just starting to scratch the surface on but I’m already in love with one particular component.
That component is the Adobe Spark Post app that you can download from the iOS app store.
In this article, you’ll get a sneak peek at the interface and some of the key functionality. Also, I share a hack for the app that you will not want to miss at the end of the article.
What I was looking for
My initial search was for an app that would allow me to simply add text to images so I could boost my Instagram game. I downloaded a number of apps and tried them out but they all left me feeling disappointed.
Then I came across the Adobe Spark Post app and knew it was worth a try.
I’m a huge fan (and user) of the entire Adobe Creative Cloud suite of applications and love the direction the company it taking by being an innovator and leader in the creative space.
So, I happily downloaded the app and gave it a go. I was not disappointed.
The Adobe Spark Post App
As soon as you launch the app you are provided with a few options.
The categories section allows you to browse some prebuilt designs that make your picture editing process go much faster and gives you some ideas based on what the topic is.
You can also select some of the featured design palettes to get you up and running quickly.
When you are ready to start editing your own image, simply click the big green plus button and select a source image and then you’ll be taken to the sizing options.
Here is where it gets pretty powerful and is very much like Canva. You have the option to select the size of the image you want to create based on the function.
If you want to create an Instagram image, select Instagram and you’ll get a square image.
If you want to create a social media header, swipe left and you’ll find all sorts of header sizes pre-built. So, in theory, you could design your social media account headers right from your phone.
Included sizes:
Social Post
- Facebook Ad
- Blog Post
Social Profile
- Facebook cover
- Twitter header
- LinkedIn cover
- YouTube thumbnail
- Etsy cover
Ratios
- Square
- 2:1
- 3:4
- 3:1
- 3:2
- 4:3
- 16:9
- 2:3
- 1:2
Once you’ve selected the size you want, you are taken to the image editor interface.
The cool thing here is the text color palette is automatically pulled from the colors in your source image. That means your text will already go well with the colors of the image. Awesome!
You’ll then have quite a few options for designing amazing visual content for your social media channels.
Beyond text editing, you also have the ability to add multiple layers, edit the photo by adding filters, and even adding animation.
Animation is one of the best features because you’re now able to bring your visual content to life. Adobe Spark Post has multiple video transition options that you can preview to make sure your image pops.
Once you are done adding all of the special sauce to your image, you simply need to save it to your camera roll and get ready to release it to all of your fans.
You can then jump over to the targeted social media platform and add your image! Easy!
Image sync and edit across platforms
One more cool thing to mention before ending this article is the ability to sync and edit your images across platforms.
All images you’ve created on your phone can be edited on your laptop via a browser interface and vice versa.
Here is the same image I created on my phone opened in the browser for editing.
I’m not sure I’m ready to use the browser interface as I’m a big fan of Canva, but it is something to check out. Also, if I need to make a change to an image and I don’t have my phone, then I can always pull it up in the browser.
Best hack for the app
Now, if you noticed, there is a small watermark in the bottom right corner of images created with the app. Like most people, I hate to have branding on my images.
I understand the need, but I still hate it.
But, Adobe gives us a little hook up here.
You can actually easily remove the watermark by simply sharing the app with someone you know.
If you don’t want to send a notification email to someone you know, you could always send it to another one of your own email addresses and be covered!
