Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Using Adobe Express (2025)
If you're looking for a content creation tool that’s easy to use, packed with powerful features, and made for real people (not just designers), Adobe Express might be your new favourite. Whether you’re a small business owner, content creator, or freelancer, this guide walks you through how to get started, step by step.
I’ll show you how to create your first new project, explore time-saving quick actions, build brand kits, and even schedule your content. Everything I show here is based on how I use Adobe Express to run my own brand, so you’ll see real-world examples you can follow.
🎥 Prefer to watch? Check out the full video walkthrough
📍 Want to try it out? Get a 30-day Adobe Express Pro free trial
Table of Contents
Homepage Overview and Starting a New Design
Quick Actions: Save Time with Smart Tools
Import Files from Canva, Photoshop & More
Your Stuff: Keeping Organized
Projects: Collaborating with Clients
Favorites, Libraries and Brand Kits
Templates, Adobe Stock, and Visual Assets
Content Scheduler: Plan & Post Across Channels
Learn Area and Add-ons
Editing a Template: Full Walkthrough
Working with Text, Layouts and AI Effects
Advanced Features: Pages, Resize, Translate
Export and Schedule Your Design
Homepage Overview and Starting a New Design
After logging in to Adobe Express (available via iOS app, Android app, or web), you’ll land on a clean, simple dashboard.
At the top left is the Adobe Express logo — click this any time to get back home.
Under the logo, you will see the large “+” button. You can click this to begin a new project.
You’ll see:
Presets for social media posts, stories, posters, YouTube thumbnails, and web pages
A custom size option
An easy way to upload your own media
Adobe Express keeps the layout clean and fast — ideal if you’re switching from Canva or just getting started.
Quick Actions: Save Time with Smart Tools
Scroll down to find the Quick Actions panel. This is seriously underrated, but one of the most valuable areas to get started with your content creation needs. For creators on both the free plan and the premium plan.
Here’s what you can do in just a few clicks:
Remove background (works on both images and videos)
Convert files (e.g. PDF to JPG or SVG to PNG)
Trim, combine, and crop video files
Clip Maker (create short video from longer form video)
Edit a PDF file
Resize content for different platforms
Generate QR codes
Generate profile pictures
Create GIFs or collages
Caption or convert short videos
Generate similar content (with AI)
These tools help you move fast and make the most of your creative potential, especially helpful if you create content for multiple social media channels.
Import Files from Canva, Photoshop & More
If you already have designs made in other apps, you can easily bring them in.
Adobe Express lets you import from Canva, Google Drive, Microsoft PowerPoint, or Adobe tools like Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign.
What’s great is that files like PSDs will keep their layers when imported, making it ideal if you are working with a graphic designer or anyone working with others.
Your Stuff: Keeping Organized
Everything you create is stored in the Your Stuff section. This is where Adobe Express really helps you stay organized:
Create folders and new pages
Drag and drop files and designs
Nest folders within folders
Upload media and video clips for future use
Manage content for different teams or projects
You can even move files between folders using the three-dot menu. It’s simple but very powerful.
Projects: Collaborating with Clients
Need to work with a client, but don’t want to add them to your team or vice versa. The Projects feature is designed to make collaboration smooth:
Share a project folder without needing to be on the same paid plan
Add branded assets, templates, and designs
Share a calendar within the project and schedule content for clients
Work on content together and access a shared timeline
This is one of the most useful enterprise support features without needing a full team license.
Libraries and Favorites
You can save time by favoriting your most-used content:
Click the heart icon on any of the professionally designed templates, stock images, or designs
Find them under the favorites tab for quick reuse
In the libraries section, you can collect assets, fonts, and colour palettes. An excellent option for theme-based content or managing seasonal campaigns.
Set Up a Brand Kit in Adobe Express
One of the best ways to stay consistent with your designs is by creating a Brand Kit in Adobe Express.
Whether you're a content creator, small business owner, or part of a team, setting up your branding inside Adobe Express helps save time and maintain a professional look across all your social media posts, flyers, videos, and even web pages.
To get started, click on the Brands tab in the left-hand menu. From here, you can create a new brand kit and start by uploading:
Your logos (in multiple formats or colorways)
A custom color palette
Your chosen brand fonts
Reusable images or icons — also known as visual assets
You can create more than one brand kit, which is especially useful if you’re managing multiple clients or content series.
Once your brand kit is ready, it can be applied to any design you work on — instantly updating templates with your fonts, colors, and logos.
It’s one of the most powerful premium features in Adobe Express and a huge time-saver for creators and Small Business Owners alike.
Brand Kits are available on both the free version and premium plan, but with the premium plan, you can create and manage multiple kits. Making it ideal for growing brands or anyone working with team members.
Templates, Adobe Stock, and Visual Assets
Click the Templates tab and search for anything — “coffee shop,” “event flyer,” “Instagram Reel.”
From there, you can filter:
By size (e.g. Portrait for Instagram Stories)
By the free version, premium features, or AI-generated
By image orientation or whether people are shown
As a Premium member, you’ll also have access to Adobe Stock images and video clips, which are high-quality, licensed assets included in both free and premium plans. Be sure to check out the Adobe Stock licensing rules around using Adobe Stock images in your designs.
These visual assets are far better than what you’ll find on other design platforms and sites, and are safe to use commercially.
Content Scheduler: Plan & Post Across Channels
The built-in Scheduler in Adobe Express is the best I have used. It lets you plan and publish to your connected social accounts — no extra tools needed.
Here’s what’s included:
Support for Instagram, Facebook, X (Twitter), Pinterest, LinkedIn etc.
Create drafts or a schedule for the future
Suggested Post Ideas
Generate captions using AI
Add alt text and first comments
Preview your posts for each platform
Use multiple shared calendars if you're managing more than one brand
You can also monitor performance with built-in analytics via Metricool, all within Adobe Express.
There’s also a new feature that allows you to preview your grid in Adobe Express. You can include or exclude any draft posts you have and switch between multiple accounts.
Learn Area and Add-ons
The Learn tab is full of online learning modules, tutorials, and quick wins — perfect for anyone wanting to checkout a quick tutorial (but obviously I’m here also)
The Add-ons section lets you enhance Express with extras. My favorites include:
Image Splitter (great for seamless carousels)
Gradient generator
Social previewer
TT Symphony Assist (TikTok integration)
It’s all optional — just install the tools that suit your workflow.
Editing a Template: Full Walkthrough
Once you open a template, here’s how to work inside the editor:
Rename your file
Add a new page or multiple pages in different sizes
Upload your content or use Adobe Stock
Drag in images, video, audio, icons, and text layouts
Access your brand kits, templates, or free libraries
You can also bring in content from another project or design — ideal for making campaign bundles or multi-format social media assets.
Working with Text, Layouts and AI Effects
With text selected, you can:
Choose fonts from your brand
Use layout presets to keep spacing tidy
Add AI-powered text effects (like chrome, neon, or coffee beans!)
Add shadows, shapes, and dynamic resizing
Switch colours using your brand kit palette
Text effects are still editable — which means no locked layers or flattened graphics. You can also use the Generate Text Effect feature for creative flair.
Advanced Features: Pages, Resize, Translate
A few more powerful features worth noting:
Resize: Easily duplicate your design to new dimensions (e.g. Pinterest or YouTube)
Page animations: Add motion to your entire design or individual elements
No Fill background: Create transparent PNGs
Translate: Convert your text into another language in seconds — perfect for global campaigns
Quick Replace: Swap text or images across multiple pages with ease
These are what I’d call the advanced features that really set Adobe Express apart.
Export and Schedule Your Design
When your design is ready, hit the Share button. From here you can:
Download as JPG, PNG (with transparent background), or PDF
Share directly to the Scheduler
Post as a reel, story, or standard post
Preview your post
Save to drafts or publish immediately
Everything you need to go from idea to published post is inside Adobe Express — no switching apps.
Final Thoughts
If you're ready to create more and stress less, Adobe Express gives you the tools to do just that. It combines the power of Creative Cloud with a beginner-friendly setup made for creators, designers, and small businesses.
With free libraries, quick actions, a powerful mobile app, and features like generative AI, brand kits, and Adobe Stock, this tool really is built for modern content creators.
🔗 Want to give it a go? Start your free trial here
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