Comp in Action with: Sascha Mombartz (on an iPhone!)
It’s time to rethink just how much digital design you can make happen on that smartphone in your pocket.
Mobile devices are becoming legitimate tools for professional design work. Currently, that touch-based revolution is largely tablet-based, but we know that not everyone has an iPad or Surface Pro (yet!). Smartphones, however? Those are ubiquitous. And there are seriously cool projects you can start and complete using nothing but that iPhone in your back pocket.
Meet Sascha Mombartz: A New York-based artist, designer, and founder of the multi-disciplinary firm Office for Visual Affairs, where he brainstorms branding and user experience projects for start-ups. He’s the kind of guy who loves making new things, trying new things, and discovering new things, both on- and offline.
Sascha is well-versed in the Adobe Creative Cloud desktop software, but was less familiar with the mobile apps. We wanted to see what he could come up with as a Comp newbie, experimenting with the app using nothing but an iPhone during those times of the day (and night) when it’s normal to futz around online, but maybe not so normal to do cloud-connected design work: on his commute; at the doctor’s office; in a cafe. Comp was designed to facilitate quick ideation, which makes it ideal for this kind of on-the-go action — taking advantage of those in-between moments when you might sketch ideas on a scrap of paper, but would be so much more effective if all your digital assets were at your fingertips.
In the span of a week, he conceived and realized MAND: a mobile site for a DIY, IRL mobile stand made entirely on his mobile phone.
The straightforward layout was wireframed with Adobe Comp CC.
Images were captured with an iPhone camera (and dude wasn’t kidding around; when he needed a shot of the phone itself, Sascha used a mirror!), then edited with Adobe PS Express.
And all text was written and edited on Google Docs. When it was time to turn it into a website, he sent the PSD file directly from Comp to be turned into HTML for the site.
The site itself is a step-by-step guide to make your very own MAND — and you can check out the process below.
“What Comp does is kind of magical in a way,” he says. “You just wouldn’t expect to be able to do all this on your phone.” — Sascha Mombartz
But Sascha also admits to a bit of a learning curve. “What I thought was interesting was doing this project on a mobile device lent itself to making sure it was good for mobile devices — but in practice pulling it together was kind of hard sometimes.”
Some issues were more specific than others:
- Color selection can be an overwhelming labyrinth
- Text layers are numbered instead of lettered like in Photoshop
- There wasn’t a preview mode
Ultimately, the process allowed him to get comfortable with Comp — how it’s similar to Photoshop CC, InDesign CC, and Illustrator CC, but also how it’s different — and how it connects to the other Adobe mobile apps. Now, equipped with that knowledge, he can use the app as it was designed: Always ready for a curious mind.
We’ve got more Comp in Action stories coming up — hang tight!
Comp is free (!) for Creative Cloud subscribers* — download it now for your iPhone or iPad. Not yet a Creative Cloud member? Sign up for a FREE Adobe ID today and try out the latest CC apps too.
*Android users, we’ve just released a beta version of the app! Click here to become part of the pre-release program.
Check out our growing visual gallery for how-tos and at-a-glance guidance on navigating Comp.
Want to be the first to try out the latest Comp releases? Join our beta program for early access to new features, and collaborate with the Comp team in real-time on Slack to design and develop future updates. If you’re interested, fill out this short survey, and we’ll be in touch soon.
