Miscellaneous Thoughts, Observations, Tips .....

Flash Powered Web Sites

2009-09-20T13:46:00.007-05:00

Adobe's Flash software has a huge presence on the web. The reasons for using Flash are compelling. To begin with, FlashPlayer is the the most accepted multimedia internet plug-in found on the web and has the highest number of installations. Advanced streaming video content delivery, such as what is found today on YouTube, Hulu, etc. is a big sell point. From its' inception, Flash has always provided a means to produce and deliver engaging animated presentations.

I learned to author in Flash over ten years ago. At that time, I saw Flash as a means of deploying visual emphasis to the main message. My primary goal was to provide small amounts of high quality animation to web pages, being careful not to override the main message (and remembering the "golden rule" of design .... Form Follows Function).

An interesting trend has emerged over the years where entire web sites became based entirely on Flash technology. I still have reservations about designing a web site in this manner, and will list my concerns:

Load times can be excruciatingly long. Even with a broadband hookup, I sometimes find myself waiting 30-60 seconds for an opening page to load. Takes me back to the 14.4 baud analog modem days.
Flash source code is often kept in the hands of the designer, and not the client. If a simple revision is needed, the client is dependent on the designer. If the designer becomes unavailable, the client is stuck. If the designer disappears, the web site has to be re-engineered, adding unnecessary cost. By comparison, any competent web designer can oftentimes modify a previously designed HTML-based site or page with little difficulty or fanfare.
Flash-based sites are extremely complex and labor intensive. Translation = more expensive than a conventional web site to produce.
Unlike HTML based pages, text cannot be selected and copied via a browser, nor can graphics be downloaded. If one is using the web for research, Flash sites present special hurdles when trying to compile data.
Flash sites are not easily search engine optimized, unless their entire textual content is embedded within the Flash code. It's not simple, nor is it elegant.
Flash Players become obsolete with maddening frequency, requiring constant upgrading every few months. Newer content can't be played on older players. In contrast, ten year old web browsers can still read most straight HTML content currently being developed, with few exceptions.

I continue to use small amounts of Flash content on most of my client's sites in the form of animations and video feeds. Importantly, I author these graphics to be compatible with most of the older versions of Flash ... and still easily read by the newest versions. Compatibility rules!

In many ways, there's no subsitute for what Flash provides. But, for me to design a site entirely in Flash? This jury is still out ...

Typefaces/Sizes For The Web ....

2009-09-18T15:50:00.019-05:00

I've been around type most of my life. When I was young, I often watched my father create typefaces by hand. He was the consummate calligrapher, and his talents were sought after by firms all over the country. As an established type and logotype designer, his lessons to me remained clear ... type was intended to be read, with little to no need for interpretation.

So .... it never ceases to amaze me when I see what a mish-mash the use of type has descended to on web pages. Web pages are seemingly being produced by individuals who use high resolution screens and possess 20/20 vision .... plus appear to have little knowledge how to use type effectively to reach the broadest possible audience.

Peeves ....

• Authors who place type on dark, gradient, or bitmapped image text blocks, reversed out in white or other hard to read color (how natural-reading is that?).

• Small type. Come on .... many of us have corrective lenses, maybe even bi or tri focals. Small type was originally designed to maximize the use of trees/paper, reduce printing costs, or hide the truth in legal documents. With the speed of the internet and the ability to display vast amounts of text in near-time, virtual page display space is practically free (and saves trees!). Why not use that space effectively with font sizes that can be read by all without the need of a magnifier?

• Choice of typefaces. Using decorative or script typefaces as body copy is laborious to read. They were designed to be used as headlines, not text.

Here's a good rule of thumb. Small amounts of text copy .... sans-serif faces such as Arial, Trebuchet, Verdana, or Helvetica all work well. Continuous and long stretches of text, Century Schoolbook, Times, and Palatino have proven themselves over the past century as easy-to-read text. Need examples? Look at magazines and books, and see what typefaces those publishers are using. The selected fonts are there for a reason .... maximum legibility.

OK .... am off the soapbox. Discussion is welcomed!

Video In Print?

2009-09-18T13:13:00.004-05:00

Came upon this story ... a company has developed and launched a thin screen LCD that can be embedded into a printed page. Here's the link ...

The device is designed to handle the rigors of binding and shipping, and has a one hour battery life. Additionally, the battery is rechargeable and the flash memory can be flushed and reloaded with new content via a USB interface.

At this point, expense is fairly high at approx. $13/unit, but that cost could come down dramatically if the new medium takes hold. Applications could be numerous .... from business cards, greeting cards, inexpensive POP displays, children's books, user manuals, and so on.

Just when you thought you'd seen everything!

Using Content Management / Blog Software

2009-09-18T12:49:00.003-05:00

Group authoring of web pages has been a fairly daunting task in the past. Authors and editors oftentimes do not possess basic web design experience and/or skill levels, which can be problematic.

Over the past few years, have had clients approach me wanting to assume greater roles in the content management of their site. Many of these clients had no HTML / CSS / Javascript experience, let alone the experience to quickly learn Dreamweaver, Front Page .... or run a full-blown open source CMS system such as WordPress, Drupa, or Joomla. With all the above web authoring software, learning curves can be fairly steep, especially when considering the architecture that might exist within a large web site.

After reading user reviews, I recommended to a couple of my clients that they set-up a 'Blogger' account, hosted by Google. Designed for the novice user, their experience with Blogger has been very positive. From creating web pages to formatting type, inserting and positioning photos, or adding hyperlinks ... the tools provided are very straightforward and intuitive. Knowledge of HTML coding is not necessary, unless the user wishes to become more sophisticated with their pages.

Using "innerframe" tags, I am able to embed authored content into their existing sites. Because the content is dynamic and updated continuously, whatever a client creates or edits is immediately refreshed and available on their main site, and with no further assistance required of me.

The system works well, as you can see in this example.