The Creative Kick Off is Here 🎉

​​The Creative Kick Off is Here 🎉

Hello ACE Community! ✨

New school year, new energy — and this one comes with a stacked lineup of Guided Activities to help you and your students kick things off in Adobe Express. We're calling it The Creative Kick Off, and it's a whole playlist built for the first weeks of school: icebreakers, "get to know you" projects, and a few playful character-building activities that make a great first impression for your classroom community.  👉 adobe.ly/creativekickoffB2S

New & Refreshed Guided Activities:

 🎬 Customize an Animated Introduction (New!)

Students build a personalized "Meet Me" profile in a layered, scrapbook-style collage — combining text, photos, stickers, and design elements to tell their story, then bring it to life with animation and their own voice. It's personal storytelling with a creative twist, and a fantastic showcase piece for a Classroom Gallery.

Design Focus: Personal storytelling through layered, scrapbook-inspired composition.
Skills: Generating images, stickers and icons, layering and composition, recording and animating.
➡️ Try it here: adobe.ly/animatedintroB2S  

🖐️ Design a Class Culture Poster

Students design a poster that captures the values, characteristics, and identity of your classroom community — think bold, typography-driven statements like "We Are Inclusive, Creative, Resourceful..." This one's a great whole-class kickoff: build it together and hang the result as a visual reminder of who you are as a group all year long.

Design Focus: Bold typography and visual hierarchy to emphasize key words and shared values.
Skills: Typography, color and contrast, layout and alignment.
➡️ Try it here: adobe.ly/classposterB2S 

🎨 Design an All-About-Me Graphic (Updated!)

A classic reimagined — students build a visually engaging all-about-me graphic using images, icons, and creative design to introduce themselves. It's the perfect low-stakes way to learn names, interests, and a few surprising facts about the people sitting around them.

Design Focus: Layout, color, typography, and visual hierarchy to organize personal info in a way that's clear, balanced, and uniquely them.
Skills: Customizing templates, editing text and images, applying design elements and styles.
➡️ Try it here: adobe.ly/aboutmeB2S

📚 Create a Book Cover (Updated!)

Students design a professional-looking book cover for a story of their choosing — real or invented — capturing its theme, genre, and mood through imagery and typography. A fun one to pair with an "about the author" bio for a quick creative-writing tie-in.

Design Focus: Visual storytelling through title treatment, imagery, color, and composition.
Skills: Generating images, typography, background generation, layout and composition.
➡️ Try it here: adobe.ly/bookcoverB2S  

🏆 Design an Action Figure (Updated!)

Students create a collectible action-figure card that celebrates their personality, interests, achievements, and goals for the year ahead. It's silly, it's personal, and it's a great way to get even reluctant students excited about a "getting to know you" project.

Design Focus: Character design and mixed-media layouts combining AI-generated imagery, typography, and personal storytelling.
Skills: Generating images, design elements and stickers, backgrounds, character creation.
➡️ Try it here: adobe.ly/actionfigureB2S  

Why This Matters

The first weeks of school set the tone for everything that follows. When students start the year by creating — not just filling out a form or listening to rules — they:

• Build comfort with Adobe Express tools before diving into curricular projects
• Practice sharing their identity and interests with intention and creative confidence
• Get a low-stakes, high-engagement way to connect with classmates and teachers
• Walk away with something they made, not just something they filled out

A strong creative kickoff isn't just a nice-to-have — it's the foundation for a year of confident, engaged creators.
 

Plus, Returning Favorites 🔁

Additionally, The Creative Kick Off playlist adobe.ly/creativekickoffB2S has fan-favorite activities included too — Personalize a name tent, Design a vibe check poster, Design a book bento box, Create a one-word wallpaper, Create your community quilt, Create a portrait masterpiece, and Assemble your starter pack! 

Classroom Idea Sparks for Back to School

Beyond the Guided Activities, here are a few remixable ideas to spark something in your classroom during these first few weeks:

Building Classroom Community

• Design a Classroom Norms Poster: Students co-create a visual guide to the agreements and expectations that will shape your classroom culture.
• Create a "Meet the Teacher" Video: Introduce yourself to students and families with a short, welcoming video made in Adobe Express.
• Build a Name Tent or Locker Tag: A quick personalization project that doubles as a functional classroom tool from day one.

National Read a Book Day (September 6) & Library Kickoff

• Design a "What I'm Reading" Shelf Talker: Students recommend a favorite book to their classmates with a punchy, designed graphic.
• Create a Reading Goals Poster: Students set and visualize a personal reading goal for the semester or year.

Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept 15–Oct 15)

• Design a Changemaker Spotlight: Students research and celebrate a Hispanic or Latino changemaker in art, science, activism, or their own community.
• Build a Cultural Story Carousel: Students design a social-style carousel sharing a personal story, tradition, or heritage connection.

Join the Conversation 🗣️

We'd love to see The Creative Kick Off come to life in your classrooms! Share what your students are creating!

Jump in by sharing:

• Which new or refreshed activity you tried first
• Student creations from any of the new activities (or the returning favorites!)
• How you're using these to build classroom community in the first weeks of school
• Any remixes or twists you added to make an activity your own

Whether you're diving into new activities, bringing back an old favorite, or building your own back-to-school spin, your work helps inspire educators across our global community. 

💌 Connect further and bring a colleague along too! It’s always #BetterTogether in the ACE Community: http://adobe.ly/joinaceleader 

Here's to a fresh start, a full playlist, and a whole year of creative momentum ahead! 🎉

With creative joy,
Your ACE Community Team ❤️