I’ll be headed to Los Angeles in mid-October for Adobe Max, my third time there. Over the last several years, the conference has grown like crazy, including the addition of a lot of photo-related programming. In each of the years I’ve attended the conference, I walked away with a much better understanding of the emerging media landscape.
Here is a highlight video from 2017. It gives you a peek at the type of content at Adobe Max.
There is a fascinating mix of programming at Max. There are breakout presentations, workshops, pre-conference multi-day workshops, and plenary sessions. The big plenary sessions are the ones that were most interesting to me, including inspirational talks from Annie Griffiths, and Jonathan Adler.
If you are interested in where Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning is going, Max provides a showcase for Adobe’s massive undertaking, Sensei. Sensei is purpose-built for the creative, marketing and communication industries, and it is poised to have far-ranging effects on the way visual media is created and deployed.
The Sneaks are a look at experimental development efforts, including products that are still on the drawing board. Always fun and popular, and hosted by a people like Nick Offerman or Kumail Nanjiani.
As you can see, there is a lot of the content available on free video channels. So why go? Like all good conferences, the value is frequently found in the personal connections you make rather than strictly in the programming. And in the best conferences, you open your mind with new programming at the same time you are making connections with new people.
There’s also a pretty good party at the end of the thing, usually including good live music, a ton of great food and drink, along with other fun and games.
Max is not cheap – list price is $1595, and the discounted price of $1295 is only available until July 31. I have still not cracked the code to get a presenter slot at Max, but this year I’m going as a TA. I’ll help out someone’s classes, learn, and meet new people. If you are looking for a hint of what the future of media will bring, I suggest you give Max a try.