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This Creative Console Streamlined My Workflow—Here’s How

Logitech is no stranger to building great peripherals, largely in the form of its best-in-the-business MX Master mice and well-designed keyboards. One of its latest productivity accessories, the Logitech MX Creative Console, is built specifically for creatives to get a little more control over the tools they use daily. That includes music producers, graphic designers, photographers and more. I fit into a few of those categories—I have a background in music production, and regularly edit photos for reviews and videos for my own channels.

After using it for a while now, I can see what makes this new device so useful. It’s certainly not for everyone, but once I got used to how it operates, it sped up my workflow to help streamline my productivity.

Logitech MX Creative Console

The Logitech MX Creative Console is actually two devices, which I quite liked. The result is that is that I could more easily control scrolling, zooming and other functions with one hand (I used my right hand), and shortcuts on the MX Creative Keypad with the other. Think of the Creative Dialpad like a mouse, and the Creative Keypad like a keyboard.

When you’re not using an app with specific functions set up, the device isn’t totally useless. It can also be programmed to control certain functions on your computer. There are media controls, a quick button to open a Finder window and even a screenshot button. Going further, I found these buttons can be customized, so if there are buttons you would prefer to have easy access to, you can program them through the Logi Options+ app.

Of course, when I used apps that you have actual functions mapped to, I really unlocked the power of the Creative Console. I’ve been mostly using the Creative Console in Photoshop, which is what I use to edit thumbnails for videos. In Photoshop, I had quick access to certain basic functions like the lasso tool and the free transform tool. A press of the brush tool button opened a second page of functions, including changing the angle of the tool, the size of the tool and more.

In Photoshop, the Dialpad can control different functions depending on what I selected. If I was changing the brush size, I used the dial, for example. The Dialpad also controls the level of zoom with the scroll wheel on the top right, which I found handy. It also controls the buttons on the top left of the Dialpad, and I could easily undo and redo functions.

One of my favorite things about the device is that it also offers the ability to create custom controls for apps. For example, I use ClickUp to manage all my work, and I was able to add different controls to create new tasks, jump to my Dashboards and more. It would have benefitted from real deep official integration, but this level of customizability helps plug any gaps for apps that aren’t fully supported yet.

The Creative Console isn’t for every creative user though—at least not yet. It works with a specific set of apps, however Adobe says that it’s expanding on that set of apps. A notable omission at launch is Lightroom CC (though it does support Lightroom Classic). That said, I can still customize my own controls for the device, really making it a great go-to tool for me or anyone willing to spend a little time setting the device up. Plus, Logitech is constantly working on expanding official support with its own marketplace, so I expect more additions, including third-party applications, in the future.

So should you buy the Logitech Creative Console? Well, that depends. I personally liked adding it to my setup because it helped boost my productivity. I no longer had to hunt down functions; I tapped the Keypad, turned the Dialpad and finished tasks smoothly. If you like the idea of creating custom shortcuts or leveraging existing shortcuts for the apps and services that you use every day, then you might benefit from the device. Keep in mind that you’ll have to get used to the fact that it’s there, and at the beginning, force yourself to use it instead of reaching for the keyboard shortcuts you’re probably used to. If you don’t mind that, then the Logitech Creative Console is absolutely worth the cash.

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