Adobe unveils a revolutionary UX design application at MAX

Debuted today at their own MAX conference, Adobe have just unveiled a brand new design system that could revolutionize the way we work over the next few years.

Codenamed “Project Comet”, it’s an end-to-end UX design solution flagshipped by a dedicated desktop app, and a companion mobile app. Project Comet combines wireframing, design, prototyping, and live previews all packaged in a single application.

Sarah Hunt Demos Project Comet at Adobe MAX.

In recent years Adobe have struggled to maintain their market position with the rise of agile competitors like Sketch, and Affinity. Being the first to bring a comprehensive UX design application to market, is a big coup for Adobe, and feels like an attempt to lay down a marker for the web designers of the future.

Only a few of Project Comet’s abilities have been demoed so far, but those that we have seen are jaw-dropping. The Repeat Grids features looks as if it could be one of the most significant advancements in designers’ workflow in years.

Repeat Grids in Project Comet.

A core feature is non-destructive scaling and masking that enables easy import from your finder. Via Creative Sync, Project Comet’s desktop and mobile applications will also integrate seamlessly with other Creative Cloud apps such as Photoshop and Illustrator.

Live preview in Project Comet.

As an end-to-end solution, Project Comet’s most impressive feat is its real-time updates to preview mode, that allow you to push updates to your devices for testing and demos.

Written from scratch over the past year, and without 25 years of source code to burden it, Project Comet’s workflow appears to be intuitive and its performance is staggering.

Project Comet’s incredible performance enables a huge number of artboards.

In addition to Project Comet, Adobe have announced two new mobile apps: Photoshop Fix intended for quick retouching, it includes Photoshop CC features like the Healing Brush and Liquify; and Capture CC intended for asset capture on the go, combining the capabilities of Adobe Brush, Adobe Shape, Adobe Color, and Adobe Hue, into a single package. Both apps are available for free in the Apple App Store, and the Google Play Store from today.

New touch capabilities have been introduced across the desktop range, including Photoshop, Illustrator, and Premiere Pro. Demos during the Max keynote featured both the iPad Pro and the Apple Pencil. Windows touch-screen users will be thrilled to discover that Adobe have been working with Microsoft to integrate touch interaction.

Several existing apps have also received updates: Illustrator CC has a new Shaper tool, Live Shapes, and enhanced Smart Guides; Muse CC now features freeform responsive design; Dreamweaver CC has enhanced responsive design capabilities powered by Bootstrap.

But the big news is Project Comet.

Project Comet won’t be available as a public preview release until early 2016, but from what we’ve seen so far, it will be one of the most hotly anticipated releases in years.

Ben Moss

Ben Moss has designed and coded work for award-winning startups, and global names including IBM, UBS, and the FBI. When he’s not in front of a screen he’s probably out trail-running.