Adobe Capture

Adobe Capture is a mobile app available on iOS and Android for all devices. It allows you to create design elements using the camera, which are automatically saved to Creative Cloud. Turn photos and images into color themes, gradients, 3D materials, brushes, patterns, and vector shapes. Additionally Capture can recognize typefaces from Adobe Fonts which you can save as character styles. Find your cloud elements in applications either in the Libraries panel, or integrated into creative tools.

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Case Study

Product

Adobe Capture

Feature

Pattern Builder

Persona

Creatives who want to easily create seamless repeating patterns using their iPad

My Role

As the Senior Product Manager on the Capture team, Pattern Builder was the first vision which I drove from the initial concept to launch. I guided the idea through executive buy-in, and worked with the product designer to expand the product vision from a simple grid layout tool to a customizable pattern design platform. I partnered with user researchers to refine the experience for frictionless creation for all skill levels.

Vision

Market analysis identified the need for a mobile pattern design tool aimed at surface designers and new creatives. Capture already provided simple patterns from the camera, but users were looking for a solution where they could combine other creative elements such as vector shapes and color themes to make seamless repeats.

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Evolution

Initially the vision was to create a cross-surface, cross-OS tool, but user research helped to refine the scope to iPads where the application could utilize the hardware capabilities of Apple's native Pencil. For MVP the scope was further narrowed to allow creation capabilities using only vector elements created in Capture.

Focusing on the iPad enabled a deep integration with Adobe Fresco, letting users bring their vector and raster artwork from Fresco into Capture. This integration required an aligned rollout with both applications, and dedicated time to shepard the feature through the Fresco prerelease program.

Outcome

Pattern Builder's MVP release was in December 2019.

Introducing the December Release of Adobe Capture

Pattern Builder integration with Adobe Fresco was release in February 2021

Press

Adobe Capture for iOS and Android brings full-color vector shapes to mobile, pattern builder for tablets - 9to5 Mac

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Learnings

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A key learning from this project was the importance of being strict about the scope of a project.
The user research process on this feature illustrated the value of knowing which feedback to iterate on immediately, versus prioritizing for the future.
As one of my first projects involving a direct integration in another application, I learned about collaborating and advocating for my product's needs with another product team.
Pattern Builder required an evolution of Adobe Capture's core purpose on it's secondary surface of tablets. On the phone Capture is camera driven, which is the primary strength of smaller mobile devices. For tablets, the larger real estate provided better opportunities for touch based creation experiences. This process of evolving an application's core purpose taught me a great deal about ecosystem positioning and validation.