14 years ago I got my hands on Photoshop for the first time. It was just the beginning of a long relationship with Adobe.

Eventually I started using Flash, Dreamweaver, After Effects and Premiere. I only abandoned Corel for Illustrator in 2008, and I started using InDesign 3 years ago.

As other designers can confirm, these applications are the basis of most of the work we do. And yet they are full of flaws and conflicting interfaces. Adobe is the master of inconsistency.

Year after year I have waited for Adobe to harmonize their software. When they started promoting the Adobe Suites I assumed they would redesign all applications using the same rules. But all they did was rebrand the software and offer everything as a package.

Interface

Each Adobe application has a completely different interface. Colors, buttons, windows, icons: everything changes.

It feels like you are using programs from different developers.

Click the images to enlarge.

Shortcuts

This is where it gets really frustrating. Instead of harmonizing the shortcuts and controls, each application evolved in a different path.

Switching between applications is a logic challenge.

For instance, scrolling the mouse wheel over the timeline in Premiere scrolls your video from left to right. The same action in After Effects scroll your layers up and down. Here are some examples:

Zoom

• After Effects, Photoshop, Illustrator: ALT + Wheel
• Premiere: ALT + Wheel Reversed (it’s the opposite of all the other apps)

Pan

• After Effects: Space / Middle Button
• Premiere: H
• Photoshop, Illustrator: Space

Eraser

• Photoshop: E
• Illustrator: Shift + E

Rectangle Tool

• Photoshop: U
• After Effects: Q
• Illustrator: M

Pen Tool

• Photoshop, Illustrator: P
• After Effects: G

Start again

Why market a “Suite” of applications when they are so inconsistent? How can such famous and useful programs have so many divergences, year after year?

Adobe never had the courage to start fresh. New applications, such as Lightroom, are modern and dynamic. Old ones, like Photoshop, still carry years of useless details and archaic features.

Even smaller or mobile apps like Exposure and Instagram are attracting more users than Photoshop.

Adobe needs to go back to the drawing boards and revitalize their software with innovative features, not just upgrades. Destroy the old models and revolutionize the industry with competent, consistent and progressive applications. It’s about time.