How to: Adobe Creative Cloud

You’re already paying for it. You might as well use it. 

In the spring 2019 semester, the University of New Mexico finalized a deal with Adobe that granted students access to the Adobe Creative Cloud, which includes Photoshop, Premiere (Pro and Rush) and the entire Adobe line-up. 

The new service comes from the new “mandatory IT technology fee” of $50. The fee came as a way to keep the lights on for IT, and to sweeten the pot (or make it worthwhile and prevent students from revolting, depending on your disposition about such things). Through this agreement with Adobe, UNM became a “Creative Campus.” 

At UNM Main Campus and the Health Sciences Center students can use the Creative cloud whenever they want. Here’s how to get started. 

Step one: Go to adobe.com/creativecloud.html

Get there by popping in that link, or going to the myunm launch page and click the big creative campus link upfront. That (for some reason) will take you to another UNM page with another “How to get creative cloud” step-list but without all the sass littered in this article. 

Click the adobe.com/creativecloud.html link in step two. 

Step two: Sign in to Creative Cloud with your UNM netID

Don’t get tricked into buying it again! It’s colorful website allures an aspiring designer’s disposable income like a moth to a flame or a millennial to Area 51. Instead, find and click the “Sign in” button in the upper right-hand corner. Use your UNM netID (aka the same username and password for Lobomail and Blackboard Learn) to sign in. Once you enter your username, you’ll be jumped to a UNM sign-in page. There, you'll be reminded of the dangers of phishing.

Step three: Download and install

Look for the red box labeled “Creative Cloud.” Under that is your download link for the app manager. Installation took me about 30 minutes on UNM internet ( I wonder if the IT fee will fix that.) From there, I downloaded InDesign which took another 30 minutes. I had to sign-in a few more times and update the manager but otherwise, everything went smooth. There are lots of tutorials online and within Adobe to get you started with the software. 

Justin Garcia is the editor in chief of the Daily Lobo. He can be contacted at editorinchief@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @Just516garc.