It seems like Adobe has finally understood the power of iOS and its creative users, which can be seen from the company’s effort to publish all kinds of creativity-related applications. Even though Adobe’s apps have been present in the iOS App Store for a couple of years now, the newest wave of apps are not aimed at professionals, but at an average consumer instead. I see these apps as an effort to advertise much more complex desktop applications, which is why they are free of charge, even though they come with certainties to them.
Adobe Voice
In this article, we will be looking at Adobe Voice, which isn’t exactly a new app. This application was launched two years ago, and until now was available only on the iPad. However, version 2.0 finally brought an overhauled interface, numerous new features, and expanded the presence of this app onto iPhones. This is why I decided to take this app for a test and compare it some of the most popular storytelling apps available in the iOS App Store.
The Basics
Adobe Voice is an application that is designed to allow users to craft presentations and narrative stories that can be easily shared online. What is probably the most important thing about this app is that it isn’t designed for professional designers, but instead it is designed for an average user. I am not saying that designers shouldn’t use this app, but it’s clear the target audience are those individuals that don’t have the time or need to learn complex photo, video, and animation tools.
The application guides you through each step of creating a unique video presentation, filled with audio-visual elements such as images, icons, and most importantly – your own voice. The opening pane will show you what the app is capable of doing. I recommend taking a look at these videos, so you can see what kind of projects you can produce. Once you decide to start your own project, you can choose the kind of presentation you want to make: Promote an Idea, Tell What Happened, Show and Tell Personal Growth and more. You can also start from scratch as well.
Tools & Functionality
The main part of every Adobe Voice project is your voice. You start out by recording the narrative. As with any other elements that you place inside your presentation, you will be guided on how to speak towards providing the best possible message. After that, you can play around with animations, typography, images, and music. The app brings its own content for all of these content categories, but you are free to use your own content as well. This app is designed to assist you in every step towards creating the video, so it suggests different content types and easily integrates different dynamic elements.
What I like about Adobe Voice is that it offers numerous professionally designed templates, but it doesn’t restrict users from playing around with them. This way you can experiment with different themes, colors, fonts, and music. Switching between different themes can be done at any time. In addition, there are 25,000 royalty-free icons. You can choose from millions of royalty-free photos thanks to Flickr’s Creative Commons and Pixabay Public Domain. On the other hand, you can protect your original content as well.
As I said earlier, you can use your own content as well and you are encouraged to do so. In other words, there is a lot of preloaded content that can be used, but you are actually in charge of all of the elements like the background, colors, layouts, and fonts. The app is very flexible when it comes to adjusting different elements and readjusting the whole structure when you move or delete something. Even if you copy an existing presentation frame-by-frame, your content will look the way it should.
In the same manner, you can try out different themes while working on a video, which won’t affect your content. Surprisingly enough, the app is very fast and well-optimized so you preview different themes on-the-go, without waiting for new settings to take effect. Even if you’re unsatisfied with the offered themes, Voice’s Theme Lab lets you customize themes by changing background and type colors and fonts.
Exporting & Sharing
Once you’re done, you can upload your video to various social networks or you can post it to your own website. In addition, you can send your video presentation by email or iMessage. It can be also saved to the Camera Roll as well or uploaded to YouTube.
Technically speaking, the app offers high-end output which consists of H.264 HD video and HTML5, which I am sure if going to be liked by the professionals as well.
The app also uses Adobe’s Creative Cloud, so you can continue working on your project on some other devices or using your computer. This is why you will be required to sign-up for an Adobe ID.
Shortcomings
Just like the rest of Adobe’s apps, this one is also trying to self-advertise, so you cannot remove the Adobe credit at the end, which I find annoying. I would rather see this app priced at $2-$5, so I can use it freely without advertising the company that published the app.
There is also another strange thing that I am having a hard time understanding. Adobe Voice can be used only in portrait mode. This is not the case with versions for other iOS devices, but I believe that the app would fit better in a different screen orientation. A landscape orientation would definitely allow for more customization.
Other than these two issues, I haven’t experienced anything negative or annoying about this app. It is clearly well optimized and works without any issues. Adobe has once again shown that it knows how to create reliable apps.
The Conclusion
I believe that Adobe Voice is the application that you need to use if you’re creating a modern presentation. I see various great uses for this app, and I am sure it’ll find its way to millions of users.
If you have something to say to the world, but you’re having a hard time visualizing your message, then Adobe Voice can be of great assistance.
[vsw id=”I6f0XMOHzoM” source=”youtube” width=”735″ height=”400″ autoplay=”no”]
