In May 2008, Microsoft announced the general availability of Expression Studio 2, the second version of its tool aimed specifically at web and multimedia developers and designers. Then a few days later, Expression Studio 2 
was available for MSDN subscribers and now finally after a period of almost 3 months of general availability of Expression Studio 2, this week it was released to MSDNAA (Microsoft Developers Network Academic Alliance) subscribed academic organizations.
Check your academic organization’s local MSDNAA site to download it or if you cant access the download then ask your school/college administrator to enable the download of Expression Studio 2.
The suite includes the following products:
Expression Web: A professional design tool to create modern, standards-based sites which deliver superior quality on the Web.
Expression Blend: The professional design tool to create engaging, Web- connected, user experiences for Windows.
Expression Design: A professional illustration and graphic design tool that lets you build compelling elements for both Web and desktop application user interfaces.
Expression Media: A professional asset management tool to visually catalog and organize all your digital assets for effortless retrieval and presentation.
The new version fully supports Visual Studio 2008 and it brings more than 100 new features and includes Microsoft Silverlight 2 support across all the applications. The retail price of the whole suite is $700 but the individual products in the suite can also be purchased separately for prices ranging between $200 and $500.
