How do you normally exchange files with clients for review? Do you send them a PDF and then email or chat back and forth about changes? Do they send you a printed copy full of margin notes and squiggly lines? Adobe has another way they'd like you to consider: Adobe CS Review. Get an overview of how Adobe CS Review works then give it a try. Although it's part of Adobe Creative Suite 5 (a complimentary 12-month trial), you can take it for a test drive even if you don't have CS5 using JPG, JPEG, PNG, or Flash files to see how it might fit into your review process.
This Adobe CS Review article was contributed by Adobe/Rich Lee
Adobe CS Review: Simplified Creative Reviews with Creative Suite 5 Integration
Working with feedback is an essential and sometimes cumbersome part of the creative process. Managing reviews adds to the pressures of meeting deadlines and satisfying clients, and is often work in itself. Getting the project done right means creative professionals of nearly all types and sizes need to work with feedback from clients, whether they're team members or external. Although many creative professionals and client managers have devised their own processes, almost every project has its share of confusion and labor when it comes to managing reviews.
Adobe's solution for creative reviews
Adobe CS Review was launched as a part of Adobe CS Live, a new suite of online services, earlier this year. CS Review is an easy to use and innovative tool for streamlining the creative review process. Unlike other solutions, reviews can be initiated and shared directly from Adobe Creative Suite 5 software. Reviewers can make comments directly on images, page layouts, and videos from any popular browser with the CS Review web client. Comments and replies are tracked and managed by CS Review, and are viewable in real-time back in the Creative Suite application - letting creative pros take action on feedback within the context of their project.
The problem with typical reviews
Designers and video editors have told us that gathering feedback on their projects is a time consuming and disjointed process, with high likelihood for miscommunication and errors. Here's a common scenario where a designer is working on the first round of a website comp in Photoshop, and wants to get their customer's feedback.
- Typically the designer exports the file as a PDF or low quality .JPEG for reviewers who don't have Photoshop.
- Next, the designer or client manager emails the file to reviewers.
- Reviewers look at the comp, making comments and requesting changes (this is where the "fun" begins).
- Feedback starts to come in different forms, such as emails, annotated PDFs, verbal exchanges over the phone, and even faxed printouts.
- The designer and account manager try to consolidate all of the feedback, which is scattered, out of context and redundant.
- Back in Photoshop, some of the edits are successfully implemented, while others are missed completely. Many of the comments are unclear or open for interpretation.
- This cycle repeats itself for each version of the comp, leading to more headaches.
Many creative professionals can relate to this, and often accept it as being part of the job. However, we have a solution that revolutionizes and simplifies the process, avoiding unnecessary headaches.
CS Review to the rescue
CS Review is the easiest way to share, comment, and take action on feedback for your creative work. Designers can initiate a review¹ from an image they're working on in Photoshop or Illustrator, or a page layout in InDesign. And now, video pros can start a review from Premiere Pro, a new integration that was recently released. There are essentially four steps to use CS Review. Let's take a look at how it simplifies the entire review process, using a web comp from Photoshop CS5 as an example.
1. Start a new review from Adobe Creative Suite 5 software
Simply click "Create new review" from the CS Live drop-down menu. This will open the CS Review panel, which lets you name the review and upload the comp to one of your Workspaces on the CS Review/Acrobat.com server.
Start a new review from the CS Review panel.
2. Share your review with others
Now it's time to invite others to review the comp. Simply click on "Share" in the CS Review panel, and you'll be taken to the CS Review web client. Here you can invite either individuals with their email addresses, or members of a shared workspace. An email will be sent to each invitee, with a link directly to your review (reviewers will need an Adobe ID to participate).
Invite others, set their permissions, and customize the email invitation.
3. Participants add comments in the CS Review web client
The comp is now viewable with just a browser, without needing any other software. Comments and replies are added in real-time and are automatically saved. The interface is intuitive and easy to use, requiring no training.
Comments can be added on any part of the image, to make reference points crystal clear.
4. Gather and take action on comments, back in CS5
One of the best features of CS Review is the ability to see all of the comments from a review back in the originating CS5 application. This eliminates the need to gather comments from emails, printouts or other sources. But best of all, comments are viewed within the context of the project - preventing miscommunication or missing any feedback.
Comments from the review of this image are now viewable directly in Photoshop.
Experience the difference with CS Review
CS Review was created to alleviate the pain points creative professionals encounter when conducting creative reviews. Customers spend a lot of time in Creative Suite software, so it made sense to be able to kick off reviews and track the comments back within the application. We know that reviewers are not always tech-savvy, so we've made the CS Review web client easy to use for people of all skill levels.
Even if you don't have Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, or Premiere Pro CS5, you can still try CS Review. CS Review lets you upload images (.JPG, .JPEG, .PNG) or Flash videos directly on the web, so you can still create a review and share it with others. This is great way to see how the basic functionality of CS Review works.
Try CS Review today at www.adobe.com/go/csreview. As a part of the Adobe CS Live family of online services, you'll receive 12 months of complimentary access². For more information about CS Live, please visit www.adobe.com/go/cslive.
¹A review can include more than one file or file type - for example you can have a review that contains .PSD, .AI, and video files.
² CS Live is complimentary for 12 months when you register your Creative Suite 5 product or sign up online before April 30, 2011.
Learn more about Adobe Creative Suite 5 for Mac and Windows.