Photoshop Fix's mobile adaptation

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Photoshop is a leading photo-editing and graphic-design tool. Its widespread—and long-term—popularity has resulted in its name being used as a verb to describe an image that has been manipulated. The software is suitable for a variety of users, from amateur photographers to graphic designers, and it caters to a range of technical abilities.

Until recently, Photoshop has primarily been a desktop application because its robust functionality needs the capabilities of a desktop to run it efficiently. But with Photoshop Fix—the mobile version—users can benefit from Photoshop's editing tools in a friendly mobile interface. The key that makes Photoshop Fix work on mobile lies with its limited but appropriate functionality that suits the mobile context.

Why this is really good UX:

• To make Photoshop simple and usable for a mobile device, Photoshop prioritized four features—out of many—that make up the whole Photoshop Fix experience. Each feature is accompanied by a handful of options to reduce the complexity of using the app. The result is a lightweight yet useful tool that's suitable for image editing on the go
• Photoshop Fix uses motion in their onboarding flow to engage the user and teach them how to use the app in three ways. First, motion supports usability as it manages expectations by showing the user how the app behaves. Second, the motion also shows the linear progression of events that are involved in a photo-editing task, providing a better understanding of the process. And finally, motion shows the relationships between the actions and their outcomes to help the user learn how to interact with the interface.
• By including only four steps, the onboarding flow is concise and requires little cognitive effort. The content is chunked into four separate videos that last less than 15 seconds each and do enough for the user to “get it” with minimal effort. Feedback of the user's current position is delivered through an easy-to-understand icon to show where they are and what's to come, minimizing ambiguity and encouraging the user to proceed, with the end in sight.