We know you’ve heard of the popular software company Adobe, but have you ever heard of Adobe Spark? Spark is an online and mobile design app that easily allows all skill levels to create and share impactful visual stories.
Adobe Spark gives you the option to create three story formats, which lets you express your ideas in the following ways:
- Spark Page lets you create beautiful and attention-grabbing web pages
- Spark Post lets you create captivating social graphics in seconds
- Spark Video allows you to turn your story into an entertaining and animated narrated video
We’re going to take you through the basics of how to use Adobe Spark, so you can start bringing your ideas to life in no time.
1. Login
The Adobe Spark Starter Plan are free to use on spark.adobe.com as well as on any Spark mobile apps. The full version of Adobe Spark is a paid service in addition to the starter plan that allows you to create branded stories with your own logo, colors and fonts.
By selecting ‘Start now’ you can begin your Adobe Spark journey by signing up or logging in with a variety of different platforms, including Google, Facebook and Apple.
2. Create a Graphic
There are a number of ways to go ahead and start creating your first graphic. Once logged in, you can easily select ‘create a project’, or choose the type of project you would like to create from the main page. Your recent projects will also conveniently be saved in the same location, so you are able to locate them quickly and easily.
Templates
Underneath Recent Projects, you’ll be able to find templates. These are available in order to make creating content even easier, and can give you some fresh inspiration right off the bat.
After you’ve selected your template, click on Edit this Template in order to proceed. As soon as the template loads, it will automatically save a copy into your projects on your main page, which you can name by double clicking beside Projects at the top of your screen.
Text
Once you’ve selected your template, it’s time to start editing. By simply clicking on the text box, you can open up the option available to modify your text. This populates a new navigation bar to the right of your template. You can now add or modify your text as appropriate using the many options available.
Here, you can choose from various font options in order to switch up your font to suit your personal preference. Don’t like the size? Once selected, you can easily make the text bigger or smaller by clicking and dragging, until you reach the size that you prefer.
Underneath the text option you will find color options, where you can easily change the color of your highlighted text.
Shapes
The shapes option is a great way to make your text stand out just that little bit more! Simply select your text and move down to the shapes menu, where you will be able to select the shape that you prefer. If you wish to take away your shape selection, the No Shape icon will easily remove it.
Images and Objects
Looking to move around additional images and objects on your page? You can easily select an image by clicking on it. From here, you can resize, tilt, duplicate and delete it, as well as alter the opacity and color.
Filters
Looking to quickly and easily apply a filter? All you need to do is select an image and click on the filters icon underneath Image. You will also have the option to enhance your photo or apply a blur effect.
Add More Images
If you’re looking to add more images to your graphic, you can select the add arrow and click on Upload Photo. From here, you have the option of uploading the photo directly from your computer, importing from outside sources such as your Google Drive or iCloud, or finding free photos via Adobe Spark.
From here, you will be prompted to either Add to Collage or Move Freely. Adding to collage will insert your photo directly into your template, in preset proportions that can be changed later, while ‘move freely’ will allow you to move your photo wherever you like within your graphic. No matter which you select, you will be able to easily change to the other option later.
You still have the option of adding additional images to your collage, as well as adjusting the layout, scale and zoom.
Resize
With the resize feature, you are able to resize your graphic to suit different forms of social media, or click custom, to insert the exact size you are looking for.
Save
Once you are finished creating your graphic, you can download it by clicking Download in the top right corner of the screen. Choose if you want to download the graphic as a PNG, JPG, or PDF and click Start download. If you wish to directly publish the graphic or share it, click the Share button also in the top right corner. You can choose to invite someone or publish it.
You can also invite people to work on your graphic if it’s still a work in progress by adding emails and sending invitations.
3. Create a Video
Adobe Spark is typically used for video clips that you will create with videos, text, photos, and voice over. While there are many different ways to start your video project, we are going to return to your home screen and select Slideshow.
Add a Title
First, you will be prompted to create a title for your video. This doesn’t have to be your final title and you always have the option of skip this step and come back later to add it.
Choose a Template
From here, you can swipe through the available templates to find one that fits, or you can choose to Start from Scratch creating your own style.
When you select Video, you can choose a video from your computer, typically a .mp4 or .mv4 video format.
Before you insert your video, you have the option of trimming your video, as well as after you insert it. In order to trim your video, drag the left and right panels found on the bottom of the screen to choose the beginning and end of the video. Once you save your video, the video that you trimmed will be inserted onto your title page.
If you’re looking to trim your video after you insert it into the slideshow, simply click the video screen and select the pencil icon that will appear in the upper right-hand corner. From here, you can trim your video, as well as zoom in or adjust the clip volume.
Adding Voice Over
A voice over can be a great tool to explain what’s going on in your video and provide explanation. Once you select the red microphone button, it’s important to make sure that you’re selecting Allow when the request appears to let Adobe Spark have access to your microphone, otherwise it will not work.
Click and hold the orange microphone icon on the bottom middle of the screen to record your voice over. Speak in a normal conversational voice or whatever works for you. Release the button to stop the voice over record. You can listen over your voice over and re-record if necessary.
Adding Music to Your Video
Adding background music to your video is a great way to make your slideshow just that little bit more entertaining and professional. You can find the Music tab on the upper right, where there is a list of music soundtracks to add to your video.
Scroll through the list in order to find a music selection that you like. You can click on the various music options in order to preview them. Once you find the soundtrack you want to use, you can click on Add My Music, and the track will be added to your video. Unless edited to do otherwise, the music will loop throughout your entire video.
Adding a Photo to Your Video
If you wish to choose a background picture for your slide, click on the + button on the left side of the title page in order to insert a new slide.
When you click Photo, a list of options are given in order for you to select where to get the photo.
When you select the option to find photos, you can select from a variety of photos in the picture gallery of Adobe Spark, which are copyright free for use in your Spark page, post, or video. You can also pull photos from your Creative Cloud, Lightroom, Dropbox and Google Photos accounts. You can also simply drag and drop your photo right into the slide.
Adding Text
Adding text is just as easy as adding photos, and can be added as an overlay to either a video or photos. Once you click on the T icon, a cursor appears and you are ready to type. The more you type, the smaller the letters get.
Choosing a Layout
Along with the choice of template, you can further choose how the scene will look through choosing a Layout. Below are the four layout options available:
- Full Screen: The full screen may be either a Video or Photo
- Split Screen
- Caption
- Title and Text
You also have the option here of creating a visual theme which allows you to quickly add changes to color and text.
If you wish to resize your screen, you’ll find your resize option next to theme in this panel, where you can readjust to widescreen or square.
Preview Your Video
Now that you have added all your pictures, text, videos, etc. to your video, it is time to preview it to make sure it’s ready to go.
You’ll find the Preview button at the top of your video, which will allow you to see the video before publishing and sharing it with others. If you do decide that you need to make some tweaks, you can close the preview window and make your changes.
Share Your Video
Once you’re happy with your video, you can share it with whoever you like. In order to do so, you can click on the Share button at the top of the video. You also have the option to download your finished product directly to your computer.
4. Create a Website
There are several ways in order to start a web page with Adobe Spark. You can start a new project either by clicking on the blue plus button or through using a template. The Spark browser version, which is compatible with all of the Adobe Spark apps, choose a Page template, or to start on a blank page, choose Create a Web Page.
All Spark projects are saved in a cloud-based format, so you can work on your project on your computer and continue it in the mobile app.
Add a Title
Right away, you will be prompted to add your title, as well as a subtitle, which can both be changed later.
Add Your Content
You will immediately be prompted with an option to add a photo, where you will again be able to import a photo, choosing from a variety of different sources.
You can add content to a page using the plus icon, using these different options:
- Photo: Use this to add a single photo, which you can alter to any shape and size.
- Text: Add text boxes here (not including captions).
- Button: Add a link to another website with a graphic.
- Video: Videos can be added here through links such as YouTube, Vimeo, and a Spark Video link.
- Photo grid: This adds a grouping of photos.
- Slideshow: Slideshows have an effect that lets them fade out and you can add photos or text on top of the images, or you can leave them blank.
Themes
Similar to creating graphics and videos, you have the option to insert beautiful ready-made themes into your website, which can automatically assist with making your webpage look more professional.
5. Finish and Share
Once you are completely finished with editing, hit the Present or the Preview button to see the look of your finalized website.
If you’re happy with the finished product, you can click the share button to get a custom link to share. You’ll be able to embed the Spark Page in another webpage and share the page on social media platforms.
Are You Ready to Create?
We hope that you’ve enjoyed learning about how simple and effective Adobe Spark is to use! While this is a tool that’s particularly useful for educational purposes, it’s truly useful for anyone of any skill level. If you’re looking for a simple and straightforward way to create graphics, webpages, or edit videos, you will find Adobe Spark to be a fantastic resource.
