State of Play: Adobe Creative Cloud in 2023

Why This Matters

If you’ve worked in design longer than five minutes, odds are you’ve tripped over an Adobe logo or two. For years, Adobe Creative Cloud has sat at the heart of the creative industry: Photoshop for the photo wizards, Illustrator for the precision obsessives, InDesign for anyone still wrestling with 68-page brochures and wondering where their youth went. The suite has been non-negotiable for most agencies, studios, freelancers and design students.

But it’s 2023. The world is different. Now, the subscription pops up on your credit card bill with all the joy of a mysterious car park charge. Meanwhile, Affinity Suite is quietly making a name for itself, costing less than a yearly Adobe coffee budget, and Canva has given everyone’s mum the ability to design a Facebook event poster without phoning you first. Toss in the rapid development of AI art tools (DALL-E, Midjourney and their ilk), and you have a confusing mix of choice, uncertainty, and FOMO.

So, the question I hear from Pixelhaze students is: do you really need to keep paying for Adobe? Is it still essential, or has the crown slipped? Does it even matter if you’ve only just learned what a mask is? The honest answer is that keeping Adobe purely out of habit can drain your bank account, slow your adoption of new tech, and even box you into old workflows that leave you behind.

If you’re a freelancer, small studio, educator or just trying to keep your side hustle in the black, fascination with what’s “industry standard” can waste hours or even days in trial, error, and flipping between help forums. It’s time and money that could be better spent actually creating, or finally fixing that one dodgy biscuit tin in the kitchen.

Common Pitfalls

Here’s what usually goes pear-shaped when designers look at their Creative Cloud subscription and contemplate jumping ship:

1. Paying for Adobe "just in case."
It’s the digital equivalent of that gym membership you haven’t used since pre-lockdown, except this one costs more and can’t be justified by the faint hope you’ll get fit “next month.” Designers cling to the suite for occasional jobs that, frankly, could be handled just as well elsewhere.

2. Overestimating the alternative learning curve.
Many assume switching from Adobe will mean months of pain, lost productivity, and sobbing into YouTube tutorial playlists. In reality, a half-day of poking around Affinity or Canva is often all it takes, especially for bread-and-butter jobs.

3. Believing Adobe guarantees the best work.
Tools don’t make talent. I’ve seen professional-grade work pop out of Canva and client disasters emerge from Photoshop. The portfolio is what counts.

4. Underestimating the AI tidal wave.
AI image generation and automation have rapidly advanced and now influence the design field significantly. Ignoring these shifts leaves you flat-footed while everyone else speeds up.

5. Forgetting about collaboration headaches.
If your clients or team still use Adobe, sending .afdesign files will make you very unpopular on a Monday morning.

It’s easy to slip into any of these pitfalls. The key is knowing where you actually stand, then acting on facts instead of relying purely on industry habit.

Step-by-Step Fix

Step 1: Audit Your Workflow… Ruthlessly

Take a week and jot down everything you create. Be honest. Are you actually compositing sci-fi battle scenes in Photoshop, or cropping 15 headshots for a local rotary calendar? Is your life one continuous trawl through complex vector art, or are you rearranging text and icons for web banners?

Example:
Emily, a self-employed illustrator, tracked her time over a fortnight. She realised that apart from two tricky gig posters (okay, Illustrator’s mesh tool did save the day), most work was handled in Procreate, with final layouts in Canva. Her reliance on Adobe turned out to be once or twice a month.

Step 2: Map Your Real Needs to the Software Market

Armed with your audit, stack up where each of your tasks sits. Simple image crops, social posts, and basic typographic design? Canva or Affinity are likely to be more than enough. Precise print brochures using pre-press features are a good fit for Adobe.

Comparison example:

• Affinity Photo/Designer/Publisher: One-off purchase, covers nearly everything a mid-to-advanced designer needs, but may lack some extras like extensive plugin support or Adobe’s preflight tools.
• Canva: Extremely fast for basic layouts, social graphics, sharing editable files with non-designers, and includes its “Magic” AI tools now.
• Adobe Creative Cloud: Remains first choice for heavy multi-disciplinary workflows, industry compatibility, and features that become second nature after years with the software.

Step 3: Find Your Team’s or Client’s Comfort Zone

If you work alone, this is simple. If it’s you and three others, or you’re handing over files to clients or agencies, beware: switching tools affects everyone’s productivity, not just yours.

Real story:
A North Wales marketing agency I coached tried jumping to Affinity across the board. Design work sped up, but two of their main clients (both US-based) refused the new files and demanded .psd files instead. The team ended up exporting back to Photoshop anyway, and the experiment stopped there.

Step 4: Experiment with AI, Don’t Fear It

The pace of AI-generated art, background removal, and layout automation has increased rapidly in what feels like a single year. These tools are now essential to understand.

Practical example:
Sarah, a freelance designer, recently generated half a campaign’s worth of concept art in DALL-E to speed up Art Director approval before even opening Photoshop. Time saved: hours. Money saved: who’s counting?

• DALL-E, Midjourney, Firefly: Generate original images, backgrounds, sketches on demand
• Canva’s Magic tools: One-click copywriting, resizes, and some layout automation
• Adobe’s Sensei (AI): Content aware fill, background removal, neural filters, and more on the way

Step 5: Watch the Industry, Keep Perspective

It’s easy to read trend pieces like this, panic, and believe that everyone is switching to a different platform overnight. That’s not happening. Adobe, Affinity, Canva and now AI tools are all in use, often at the same time.

Rather than relying on hearsay, check trade publications, design forums, LinkedIn groups, or what’s happening on Twitter/X. Watch where serious professionals are actually moving, not just the loudest opinions. Common patterns appear: cost matters, but so do long-term stability, compatibility, and support.

Step 6: Mix and Match as Needed

You don’t need to stick to a single solution. Many agencies use Affinity for most jobs, Canva for quick prototyping and layout, and turn to Adobe for rare, complex print projects or challenging animation. If the work gets done, the client signs off, and your life is easier, your workflow is working.

What Most People Miss

Here’s something often ignored: familiarity is a hidden cost. We get attached to tools because we know what button to press, what menu to curse at, and how to work around its quirks. That comfort zone, though, can gradually drain your growth, absorb budget you could spend elsewhere, and prevent you from taking on projects your competitors are already automating or delivering faster.

Nostalgia for “industry standard” tools is understandable, but the real advantage goes to those who choose based on the job at hand rather than outdated convention.

The Bigger Picture

Choosing to move away from “Adobe by default” means saving more than just money. Here’s what actually changes:

1. You reclaim time.
No more endless updates, troubleshooting or scouring obscure forums for plugin fixes.

2. Your toolkit becomes yours.
You use what works for your needs, instead of relying only on tradition.

3. You stay nimble.
The design industry is changing quickly. The next AI disruptor or free tool may already be in beta. If you’re used to switching between platforms, you’ll adapt faster than others.

4. Money goes where it matters.
Your annual Adobe bill could pay for a new laptop, training, or even a holiday. Spending less on subscriptions gives you more scope for skill upgrades, better coffee, or help on larger projects.

The biggest benefit is building a workflow that stays resilient. Trends change, but smart, creative people using the right tools always stay relevant.

Wrap-Up

Adobe Creative Cloud remains a strong, reliable suite. For certain clients, industries, or advanced workflows, it is unrivalled. However, the landscape for creatives has changed for good. With more affordable alternatives and groundbreaking AI tools, it’s now a real option to rethink how you use—or if you even need—Adobe.

The most important habits are to audit honestly, experiment boldly, and maintain curiosity about what’s next. If you end up keeping that subscription, at least you’ll understand your reasons.

Want access to more structured systems, in-depth guides and practical design conversations?
“Want more helpful systems like this? Join Pixelhaze Academy for free at https://www.pixelhaze.academy/membership.”