Adobe Creative Cloud
Scaling Activation Globally for Adobe Creative Cloud
Multi-channel activation strategy across 8 markets, improving feature usage and conversion through personalized educational content
Closing the Activation Gap
Adobe's global trial-to-paid funnel was suffering from a clear Activation Gap. Users weren't reaching their "Aha! Moment" early enough.
With Creative Cloud's steep learning curve, new users often stalled before completing their first meaningful action. The Growth Design Team validated a core hypothesis in the U.S.—but the model needed to scale globally.
Product Designer for Growth, Content Strategist & Product Manager
6-month project as part of Adobe's Product Growth team, in collaboration with the Localization team
Multi-Channel Growth Strategy
My Growth Design Process
HYPOTHESIS
Educational content at trial start increases feature adoption
EXPERIMENT
A/B test with 10% of trial users across multi-channel touchpoints
MEASUREMENT
Achieved 22% lift in trial-to-paid conversion with statistical significance
ITERATION
Scaled globally across 8 markets with localized content
This iterative growth methodology allowed me to move from a validated hypothesis in one market to a scalable, global activation system—balancing speed of experimentation with operational rigor.
Designing the Experiment
I helped run a rigorous A/B test on a controlled segment to isolate the impact of personalized educational content on feature usage and trial-to-paid conversion.
Building the Multi-Channel Activation Journey
I designed a 7-day content experience across:
This included:
Rapid Prototyping + Content Delivery
Using Unbounce, I built the entire learning flow (8 tutorial pages + main landing page) for fast iteration and rapid experimentation.
Global Scaling
Once the domestic A/B test proved successful, I led the full international rollout across eight markets, including Japanese, French, and Chinese.
Measurable Impact at Scale
Tutorial Pages Designed & Built
E-mail Designs
Learn Illustrator from a pro
Creative Cloud Desktop App Touts
In-app promotional content designed to drive tutorial engagement
Create a logo
Copywriting
Conversion-focused copy crafted for emails, notifications, landing pages, and in-app promotions
Multi-channel messaging strategy across toast notifications, panel notifications, and email campaigns
UX Process & Wireframing
Whiteboarding sessions and wireframe iterations that shaped the tutorial experience architecture
Whiteboard exercises mapping persona-specific content flows
Persona-driven navigation with video-based learning paths
Step-by-step instructional design for feature adoption
These wireframes informed the entire information architecture—from persona-based navigation to the progressive tutorial experience that guided users toward their first meaningful success.
Localization
After achieving a 22% lift proving our hypothesis increased trial engagements, I was placed in charge of building and managing the entire localization process
Multilingual Persona Matrix
Persona-specific content adapted across 8 languages including English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Russian, and more
The Challenge
Once we validated our hypothesis in the U.S. market, the next step was to scale globally. This meant translating all copy across eight different languages and rebuilding the entire test experience for each market—a massive undertaking that required meticulous coordination across multiple teams and systems.
Quality Assurance Process
I developed a rigorous QA workflow with native language speakers at Adobe to verify translation accuracy and cultural appropriateness before deployment
Translation verification instructions
Video subtitle verification workflow
This was a huge project that required operational excellence to maintain quality at scale. Due to the varying character widths across languages—for example, Korean characters are much wider than English—I had to manually reformat tutorials, adjusting spacing and alignment to maintain visual consistency across all touchpoints.
Growth-Design Principles
This project reinforced several core growth-design principles:
Educational content reduces time-to-value
For complex products like Creative Cloud
Persona-specific guidance boosts engagement
Especially critical in global markets
Localization ≠ Translation
It's cultural adaptation
Multi-channel content must feel cohesive
Motivational, and behavior-driven
Designing for scale matters
Just as much as experiment speed
This project helped shape me into a product designer who blends growth thinking, behavior design, and operational strategy — especially in fast-moving global contexts.
This case study proves something critical:
Global growth at scale requires both strategic design and operational excellence—not just one or the other.
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📩 andi@andixd.com