Photo from Logitech

Logitech is stepping up its game in the creative world with the launch of the MX Creative Console, a sleek $199 gadget designed to supercharge your workflow. After snapping up Finnish custom console maker Loupedeck last July, Logitech is aiming this new powerhouse at creatives who live in Adobe apps, promising to streamline the design process and potentially redefine the creative tools market.

“Digital creativity is undergoing a massive transformation, constantly evolving the way people create. The MX Creative Console is designed to help people redefine their workflow, enabling them to work smarter and faster,” said Anatoliy Polyanker, general manager of the MX Business Unit at Logitech.

The console comes in two separate parts. The dialpad has an analog roller and an aluminum dial for navigation within apps. For instance, the dial can be used for precise scrubbing through the timeline in video editing apps, and the roller to adjust zoom. It also comes with a few additional buttons you can map to actions like undo or play.

From Logitech

The main keypad looks and mostly functions similar to Elgato’s Stream Deck (not to be confused with the gaming console Steam Deck) by allowing users to map out special actions from apps into different buttons. At the bottom are two buttons that act as a pagination key for the user to have multiple sets of mappings.

Where the console shines is its deep integration with the Adobe ecosystem as well as other apps such as Apple Music, Spotify, Discord, and Zoom. Icons are dynamically displayed on the nine keys with a small LCD panel to show different actions for each app.

The functionalities for the keys and dials are customizable inside the Logitech app.  The keypad requires USB-C to connect to your computer, while the dial is battery-operated and uses Bluetooth Logitech’s separately sold Bolt dongle.

Maxim Bondar, head of global business and marketing at Logitech MX, said: “At MX, our vision is to build an advanced ecosystem for the most demanding users, for the advanced users, such as software developers, creative professionals, engineers — those people who work at the computer daily spend and eight hours a day.”

From Logitech

But at the price of $199, seasoned veterans who might already developed hand coordination for shortcuts in their favorite creative apps may find the device trivial. In comparison to Stream Deck, the MX Creative Console sways more into deep integration with Adobe Creative Cloud applications, its current plugin offerings are more limited outside of Adobe’s suite.

Still, beginners and those looking to speed up their workflows can get the product at Logitech’s website and other retailers worldwide.