Overview

With Adobe CS4 about 6 months old now, have you made the upgrade yet? Are you willing to spend that much on an upgrade? Will you be pulling your hair out or enjoying the ride? If you find yourself going bald over the decision, here are few tips that might help you out.

Wait Till The Right Time

Learn the new software when you don’t have a project due. Nothing’s worse than trying to learn something when you have a deadline on a project. Use your old software until you feel comfortable, then make the jump to the new version. It’s a good idea to play around with the 30 day trial versions before making the big purchase.

Find Something To Like

Let one or two new features in the new suite inspire you and focus on what you can do with those features. The creative energy you get from this can drive you to go deeper into other aspects of the software. The newer suite has a bunch of tweaks with the workspace that go a long way toward speeding up your workflow. You’ll grow to appreciate them.

Invent Your Own Projects

Come up with projects that you want to do that will utilize the new features that Adobe has implemented. Few things are better than seeing a new concept materialize in a way that couldn’t be done before. When designing for experimentation as opposed to a specific project, you are free to experiment and create without limitations. If you’re strapped for creative ideas search for a good tutorial to use as a starting point.

Watch Training Videos

One of the freebies that Adobe offers as a part of registering their software is a subscription to Lynda.com. Sign up with them for a free month and let them walk you through the new features on video. Many of us our visual learners, so watching a video may be much more beneficial than reading documentation.

Share The Word

Focus on the things you like about the new upgrade and talk/blog about them. This keeps you active and looking at things in a positive light. Many times teaching is a great learning tool in itself. You force yourself to know a topic well enough to teach someone else.

Conclusion

If the jump to the new Creative Suite leaves you finding more hair around your design area than on your head, hopefully this article helps you out.

Honestly, there was a time when I automatically looked forward to the next version of the Adobe Suite and all the new features. Now I find that maintaining enthusiasm for upgrades has become much more of a challenge. If you find yourself in the same boat, maybe some of these ideas will do the trick.