Clemson Libraries; External Affairs

Continuing a creative tradition

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Clemson University and Adobe continue to lead the creative way with the Adobe Digital Studio


Research, innovation and creativity define the Clemson University experience, and the partnerships with like-minded individuals, companies and corporations enhance those experiences. 

Since 2014, Clemson has partnered with Adobe in a variety of ways with the most impactful example of this pairing coming in the form of the Adobe Digital Studio at the R.M. Cooper Library on campus. This creative, collaborative space has served as a hub of ingenuity for Clemson students, faculty and staff for more than five years, and it will now continue for the next five years and, perhaps, beyond. 

Working closely with Clemson University’s External Affairs’ Office of Corporate Sponsorships and Strategic Initiative and the Development and Alumni Relations division, the University and Adobe announced that Adobe will continue to hold naming rights to the Adobe Digital Studio through 2025. This means significant upgrades to equipment, furniture and the layout of the Digital Studio to go along with continued access to Creative Cloud for all the University’s students, faculty and staff. 

The Adobe Digital Studio is a symbol of the Adobe Creative Campus program that Clemson is a founding member of. It’s a place where we highlight the fact that the digital and academic worlds are intertwined, and we showcase how Adobe Creative Cloud can be used in an educational setting.

CHRIS COX, DEAN OF LIBRARIES AT CLEMSON UNIVERSITY

According to Kelsey Sheaffer, director of the Adobe Digital Studio, this new Adobe investment will be the beginning of an even more collaborative space and create an environment where what students build in an Adobe program can be brought to life almost immediately. 

That starts with upgrades to the audio and video studios within the Digital Studio, a place where examples of Adobe creations can be on full display and where other campus Makerspaces find a home within the Digital Studio.

Approximately 1,000,000 library visitors, including students, faculty, staff, community members and tour groups are exposed to the Adobe Digital Studio each year.

“Innovative spaces are not ones that should be siloed, because when you are creating something, you are moving between tools quickly and seamlessly,” Sheaffer says. “I love this idea of things being co-located and expanding the creativity and digital literacy of our students in one creative ecosystem.”

The goal, Sheaffer said, is to show everyone that there is an Adobe program that will enhance their technical skills as well as their employability in the future. As the world around us grows more and more digital spaces and employers require creativity at every level, a place like the Digital Studio can offer expert advice and consistent points of contact to answer all questions about the more than two dozen Creative Cloud programs and apps, ranging from graphic design and video editing to podcast recording, animation and web or app design.

The Adobe Digital Studio upgrades will include the following areas:

  • Video studio
  • Audio studio
  • Computer workstations
  • Visualization (wall upgrades)
  • Furniture
  • Programming
  • Training and workshop areas
  • Advanced media equipment
  • Podcast recording upgrades
  • Visualization lab for augmented and virtual reality
  • Collaboration screens

Digital Studio student intern, Carese Brown, is one of those experts and says that the approachability of the space and access to the array of specialized equipment and programs makes this partnership something special for Clemson. It builds confidence in a, sometimes intimidating, program and a comfort in doing something that a student or instructor might not have tried before.

“This space is something different for everyone,” Brown says. “Some want it for a quiet, reflective, creative space. Others use it as a group student space or collaborative space. Being able to offer something different that works for so many people is a huge advantage.”

Brown and Sheaffer both agree that they want everyone to come in, experience the space and the people, and ask all the questions they can think of. Not only can they help with specifics of a project, but they are happy to help find the right program for that project.

It’s a one-of-a-kind space and something that really started with Clemson, according to Karen Steele, head of North America education enterprise sales with Adobe.

“There came a time, about a decade ago, that it became important for Adobe to understand where the strategic plans of universities and college merged with technology and how that related to student outcomes,” Steele says. “And when we held advisory board meetings among a few universities around the country, Clemson was a lead voice in those meetings.”

That lead voice led to the creation of the first, and only, Adobe Digital Studio. It has also led Adobe to work with more than 50 other Creative Campuses across the country and around the world.

Updates to the Adobe Digital Studio at Cooper Library have begun and will continue through the 2021-2022 academic year and summer 2022. Sheaffer said there will be clear improvements through the Fall semester and those will continue to be seen during the Spring semester as well. Currently, a Fall 2022 goal has been set for all upgrades to be installed. 

Adobe invites Clemson to an advisory meeting regarding the technological needs of universities and colleges. 

2011

Adobe invites Clemson to an advisory meeting regarding the technological needs of universities and colleges. 

Clemson University announces Creative Cloud and Adobe Digital Studio partnership offering dozens of Adobe programs to students, faculty and staff for free and creating a space where those programs can be learned.

2014

Clemson University announces Creative Cloud and Adobe Digital Studio partnership offering dozens of Adobe programs to students, faculty and staff for free and creating a space where those programs can be learned.

The Adobe Digital Studio opens. 

2015

The Adobe Digital Studio opens. 

Clemson University and Adobe agree to continued naming rights of the Digital Studio through 2025. 

2021

Clemson University and Adobe agree to continued naming rights of the Digital Studio through 2025. 

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