Creative Suite 3 was an epic renovation of every Adobe and Macromedia product identity found throughout the desktop - installers through app icons down into system files and plugins. The primary challenge was to develop a system which would successfully merge the Macromedia and Adobe product lines, tying their new identities together to work side-by-side clearly and effectively. With a now-combined 80 ish products to take on, the stakes were raised just a bit more: instead of a dedicated design team of twelve, there was one and a little bit of help, and instead of two years time, we had a few months.

Many, many, many icons.
While the typographic system for the primary marks appeared a straightforward job, a greater challenge sat amongst the file-type and plugin icons where new graphic marks had to be designed, drawn, and generated for every single one, at five different sizes. Not shown, all the duplicates with differing mime-type flags... Photoshop alone had upwards of 100 icons.

The desktop brand experience started at the first point of contact on the machine, the installers, and carried through launch and day to day use.

While not representative of the final result, the origins of the Adobe desktop color system were informed by mapping some of the key Macromedia and Adobe apps together according to use across RGB (screen) and CMYK (print) spectrums, and then further modified to address existing color associations.

Project management: Michelle Richards, production coordination: Dina Pinza. Design and production help: Mike Levin. Management, creative direction, political air-cover: Rhett Woods, Michael Gough, Jim Christie.