Adobe Express Premium for Whitman Students
- David Sprunger
✳️ Free access!
Starting January 2025, students at Whitman will have free access to Adobe Express Premium (the upgraded version of Adobe Express)! (This is an 18 month pilot, toward the end of this time Whitman will evaluate continuing our licensing-- please see the bottom of this page for more info.)
🌿 How to access Adobe Express Premium
The first time
DO NOT choose “Continue with Google.” Instead: Type in your FULL Whitman email address (username@whitman.edu) and click “Continue.”
If you previously had an Adobe ID, you may be presented with a “Select an account” window. Choose “Company or School Account.”
Follow the Whitman login process.
After login, click on the Adobe Express icon, approximately in the middle of the screen:
On the next screen select ANY option from the “Business Reason” drop down menu, then click “Send Request”
You will receive an email that your request has been approved.
Please note: the email won’t come instantly. WCTS needs time to process the requests that come in. If you haven’t received an email within 72 hours, please check your junk mail filter, and if you still don’t see the email, contact the Helpdesk.
The email you receive will say “You’ll receive another email with links to download your apps when it’s ready to use.” Ignore that-- you will not receive another email. See the next section to learn about accessing Express Premium.
Accessing Express Premium once you have your license
You have two options:
Web browser: https://express.adobe.com. You may need to login.
Mobile app: Both the Apple and Google app stores have an app available for download and use.
✳️ What is Adobe Express Premium?
It’s a creation app that makes it easy to create graphics, videos, posters, flyer and social media posts. It also includes generative AI features to help in creating stuff. (And yes, it’s a direct competitor/alternative to Canva.)
✳️ Learn to use Adobe Express Premium
Using Adobe Express Premium purported to be pretty intuitive to learn and use. However, whether you’re brand new at this or wanting to level-up, the the internet is full of learning resources you can find and use. Here’s a very short list to get you started, but please do your own google search as well:
➡️ Super-beginners
How to use Adobe Express 2024 IGNORE the way the video’s host says to sign in; instead sign in as explained above.
➡️ How to use the Adobe Express Mobile App [Beginner's Guide]
➡️ How to use Adobe Express to Edit Videos
➡️ Full-on Guide from Adobe
https://helpx.adobe.com/express/user-guide.html
Look at the links on the left hand side of the page (or see “Show Menu” at the top of the page from a mobile device). Here are a few recommendations from that set of links to help you get started:
Create and edit videos
Create and edit images
Create and edit documents and webpages
Add effects to your designs
Share and publish
⚠️ WARNING: Don’t run out of storage space!
Express Premium stores everything you make in the Adobe Cloud. Whitman’s Adobe license has very limited storage in the Adobe Cloud. Therefore, we ask that you use routinely download copies and delete original assets you are no longer using from Express Premium as often as possible.
✳️ “18 month pilot”: What happens after that? Will students continue to have access to Adobe Express Premium?
Short answer: we don’t know yet. Access for students for these two years is being done as a test “pilot” program, and we have to see how this goes. To that end, we really want to hear from you about your experiences using Adobe Express Premium. Love it? Hate it? Indifferent? Please let us know!
We also want to hear from any of you who try out Adobe Express Premium to contrast it to other apps you might be using! How would you compare the apps? What are the strengths and weaknesses?
Email your comments to David (sprunde@whitman.edu)