Adobe Creative Cloud Licensing

Spring 2026

Our Adobe Creative Cloud licensing agreement is changing. Please see below for more information.

What is changing?

The entire Smith community now has access to Adobe Express Premium, a cloud-based design tool. The new licensing includes student access from personal devices plus access to premium features previously available only with a full Creative Cloud license. See our Adobe Express page for more info and features.

Effective May 26, 2026, we are establishing Adobe Express Premium and Acrobat Pro (including Distiller) as the standard license for all faculty and staff. This change allows us to manage resources effectively while expanding access to modern design tools for the entire Smith community.

What is staying the same?

Shared device access: Adobe Creative Cloud will continue to be available on designated computers across campus, including in labs, library study spaces, and shared department areas.

Access to Acrobat Pro remains the same. 

Adobe Express Premium

Available to the Smith community, Adobe Express Premium is a cloud-based visual content creation and design tool. You can access features on both campus computers and your personal devices and access thousands of templates and Adobe Stock images. For more information, see Adobe Express.

About Adobe Express

While not a direct replacement for the professional capabilities of Illustrator, Photoshop, or InDesign, Adobe Express enables you to easily create announcements, newsletters, posters, and flyers, and perform photo/video editing in an easier-to-use interface. Premium access includes access to thousands of templates, Adobe Stock images, and fonts. 

No longer a simple design tool, Adobe Express Premium now offers features that match those found in professional Adobe apps such as Illustrator and Photoshop. 

An easy-to-navigate, user-friendly dashboard and controls let users quickly perform more complex actions, such as background removal, image resizing, and text effects. Drag-and-drop and instant auto-captioning make creating and editing videos quick and simple.

To learn more before making a decision regarding your need for Creative Cloud:

• Sign in: Visit express.adobe.com and sign in with your Smith email.

• Learn: Access Adobe’s quick videos and articles from the Learn tab inside the app

• Ask Questions: Join us for Adobe Express Fridays, drop-in online sessions offered by the Learning, Research & Technology team. See the Adobe Express page for date and sign-up information.

We are here to help! For questions and assistance, see Request Help.