Adobe Express Template Guidance

Importance

Adobe Express is a free design software (similar to Canva) available to all campus employees, students, faculty and staff. We have created various on-brand templates to get you started. This guide will break down some of the key features you will need to edit the existing templates.

Target Audience 

  • Non-design MarCom Professionals
  • Design
  • Marketing
  • Social Media

Instructions

  1. Getting started:
    1. To request access to the Adobe Express brand and templates, email branding@illinois.edu.
    2. Go to express.adobe.com, log in with your NetID and password and use the menu on the left side to navigate to “Brands.”
    3. Select “Illinois Brand for Adobe Express” to view the brand assets.
      • “Illinois Brand — Paid Ads” contains advertising-specific templates.
  2. Using our templates:
    1. Select “View all” to see all available templates.
    2. Select the template you want to use and “Start a new file.” This will create a new working file and open the editor.
      • Where is this saved?
        • If you selected a template from the brand “Illinois Brand for Adobe Express, ” it will automatically save to “Your stuff, ” which can be found on the side menu.
        • If you selected a template from “Illinois Brand — Paid Ads, ” it will automatically save to that project. Your stuff > Projects > Illinois Paid Ad Templates
      • To move this file, exit the editor and hover over the file, then select the three dotes in the top right corner. Select “Move” and determine your desired location.

        Screenshot of the options displayed, Move, Copy to, Download, Report abuse, and Delete
      • To rename this file, either select the three dots and click “Rename” or within the editor, replace the title in the top left corner.
        Screenshot of adobe file | Number Graphic Template - November 08, 2024 at 13.12.40 cloud icon
  3. Editing text:
    1. Select the text you’d like to change and type in your desired title, subtitle, CTA, etc.
    2. Select Brand > Fonts to change typefaces but stay within the branded fonts.
    3. When text is selected, use the panel on the left when adding personalized text.
      Screenshot of adobe text editing panel
  4. Changing photos:
    1. Select the image from the right-hand layers panel, right click the image on the graphic and select “Replace” to swap it out.
      Screenshot of adobe right-hand layers panel with the options Replace shorthand ^R, Copy, Paste, Duplicate, Delete
    2. Use the white dots in the corners to adjust the size and placement of the photo.
  5. Add university logos and assets:
    1. Select “Brand” from the side menu.
    2. Navigate to “Logos” and select the colorway that best suits your design and follows the brand guidelines.

Best Practices

Accessibility

As you will likely be exporting these designs as an image file (.png or .jgp) it’s important to ensure your designs are clear, readable, and designed well, as reading order and alt text won’t be able to be included or displayed.

Font size

Make sure the font size is large enough to be easily readable. Small text may become unclear or hard to read, so aim for a size that ensures legibility at all screen sizes.

Color Contrast

It’s important to keep text legible by maintaining proper color contrast. Visit the Brand CDN where we showcase the best color-combos of Illini Blue and Illini Orange backgrounds. You can also check if your text is accessible with our interactive Illinois Brand colors contrast checker tool. If you have text placed over an image, you can check color contrast by using this image and text color accessibility tool by Andrew Brandwood – Lead Digital User Experience Developer.

High quality images

Ensure images are clear and sharp by using high-resolution files (at least 150 dpi for print, 72 dpi for web). Use the Illinois Image Database for high quality photos taken by our campus photographers.

Simplicity

  • Avoid clutter by prioritizing essential elements and maintaining a clean layout.
  • Keep your text short and straightforward.
  • Try to keep headlines to under 5 words.
  • Have a clear Call To Action.

Tips and Tricks

Use our templates as a starting point! Please feel free to remix these designs to best suit your needs. These are not strict templates and are intended to be flexible.

Additional Resources

Adobe Express Workshop

Watch the Adobe Express Workshop for a more in-depth look and walk-through of this software.

Designer Listserv

Log into the University of Illinois mailing lists site using your campus login. You can browse through the index of lists to find the Illinois Graphic Designers or search for designers-l. Request access to the list. Requests are typically approved within a day. All workshops and events will be emailed to this listserv.

Design on Campus Teams Space

Access the Design on Campus Teams space. This community is for campus designers to get updates to brand standards, share events and inspiration, get feedback, ask questions about vendors and post job opportunities.

Campus Creative Cloud Library

To help you implement the visual elements of the brand, we’ve created a Creative Cloud library for campus design assets. This library has the colors, logos and graphic elements pre-loaded, so you can easily drag and drop into your designs. To request access to the CC Library, email branding@illinois.edu.

Contact

Cassidy Marcum, Graphic Design Specialist, cmarcu5@illinois.edu