While I prefer to use a dedicated camera to capture images and a laptop to edit them, I know that many social media creators prefer using their smartphones for every step of creation and sharing. Smartphone-based platforms like Instagram and TikTok understand this and have allowed users to add animations and text to postings without exiting the app.
Many creators share hacks for using these built-in features in unorthodox ways to make their posts more memorable. They understand that the more memorable their posts are, the more engagement they generate.
Adobe Express, introduced a decade ago under a different name, allows users to create flyers, logos, invitations, banners, posters, and the like. In 2023, the program began to utilize Adobe’s Firefly generative AI technology, allowing users to create artwork, photographs, and graphics from scratch.
To illustrate how generative AI can create photographs from text-based instructions, I entered the prompt, "Dark-skinned African American woman in her 20s with natural hair and nice teeth, smiling." For the output, I selected Photo rather than Graphic or Art. The program quickly generated several options, including the image displayed below.
While the program currently doesn’t produce photos that would be mistaken for a straight-out-of-camera image, the results are nevertheless impressive. The images can be used commercially, which makes Express valuable for small businesses wishing to market their services without spending large sums on setting up a photo shoot. The program’s ability to create photographs from simple text prompts interests me the most, but Adobe Express truly shines when used to create art. For example, a creator seeking to design a logo and artistic representation of a car for a car detailing business would likely be very pleased with the results the program can generate in just a few minutes.
The desktop version of Express incorporating AI has been available for almost a year. Those wishing to use a smartphone rather than a desktop or laptop computer have been unable to access the program. That will change today with the launch of the mobile version of Adobe Express, which is available on iOS and Android platforms. Like the desktop version, the mobile version is powered by Adobe Firefly generative AI. It appears to offer all of the features of the desktop version, including the aforementioned Text to Image, Generative Fill, and Text to Template. In addition, AI can insert, remove, and replace people or objects. The app includes templates for flyers, logos, cards, invitations, business cards, and more. There are templates for platform-specific creations, such as Instagram posts, YouTube thumbnails, and Facebook posts.
The integration between Adobe Creative Cloud programs such as Lightroom and Photoshop will be of interest to photographers. Images saved in a Lightroom Collection can be accessed in the Express App.
The Adobe Express mobile app can also be used to create explainer videos that feature an animated character speaking a script that the creator records into the program. Like the desktop version, the mobile app can also create designs that are static on one platform but animated on another.
If a design is created using a template for a specific social media platform, the design can easily be modified for other platforms. Collaborators can be invited to modify designs. Designs can be posted directly from the app to TikTok, Facebook, X, Pinterest, and Instagram. A Content Scheduler allows for the scheduling of these postings. Integrating various Adobe programs alongside the social media platforms allows a user to stay within the Adobe ecosystem from when she imports the images into Lightroom to the point where she shares the final creation with her followers.
The mobile app features over 100,000 templates and many features not mentioned in this article. However, the learning curve isn’t too steep, and I created rudimentary but impressive designs without reading instructions or watching tutorial videos.
Android users can download the new Adobe Express mobile app from the Google Play store, and iOS users can download it from The App Store.
