[IxDA Discuss] Is a Flash-intro to a personal portfolio still good/relevant?
Let's assume that you've done the proper work to provide a Skip Intro button. Let's further assume that you've done at least the minimum to make your content accessible to people without the Flash player. The question I ask, then, is: does having a Flash intro to a personal site, which may include one's portfolio or resume, make sense in today's job market and design environment? Or does this brand the designer as someone stuck in the last decade? As usual, I suspect the answer is it depends; what I'm really interested in is exploring issues around how we present ourselves in online presences and the Flash-intro or Flash-site is a method I still see from time to time, though not nearly as much as I used to. Best regards, --Alan Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Is a Flash-intro to a personal portfolio still good/relevant?
I pretty much operate under the rule of thumb that a flash intro is never a good idea. If you absolutely have to have something even remotely like one, design it as a flash embed on your index page. Basically, give your audience one less click to get into the real substance of the site rather than the opportunity to blow it off. I guess what I'm saying is, it's not a question of whether it makes sense in today's job or design market, it's a question of usability. Put your content front and center. -MIKE D On Wed, May 21, 2008 at 8:32 AM, Alan Wexelblat [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Let's assume that you've done the proper work to provide a Skip Intro button. Let's further assume that you've done at least the minimum to make your content accessible to people without the Flash player. The question I ask, then, is: does having a Flash intro to a personal site, which may include one's portfolio or resume, make sense in today's job market and design environment? Or does this brand the designer as someone stuck in the last decade? As usual, I suspect the answer is it depends; what I'm really interested in is exploring issues around how we present ourselves in online presences and the Flash-intro or Flash-site is a method I still see from time to time, though not nearly as much as I used to. Best regards, --Alan Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help -- Michael Dunn FoolishStudios www.foolishstudios.com Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Is a Flash-intro to a personal portfolio still good/relevant?
In general, I do not like Flash intros or splash pages. Not it depends. In my mind, if you do a Flash-site, your whole web site should be contained within that flash movie, if you can work with a good programmer, the technology allows you to do that. Attention Adobe Flex. Having say that, I also think that if a particular page/section of your website embeds a Flash movie, it is OK. For example, a photographer's web site can take advantage of a flash movie to present their portfolio, as a way to protect the images from being stolen, and keep the rest of the web site as HTML/CSS/JS. The splash page is dead, long live the splash page! Enrique Sallent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=29277 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Is a Flash-intro to a personal portfolio still good/relevant?
it does depends. if youve a long loading time, god forbid, youd better distract them with something decent. or hire a better programmer. if youre an animator, why not? usability, schmusability, you're there to entertain. people hear flash intro and go all negative and dark, but if youre waiting for a fantastic experience, then the wait should be just as enjoyable. some of the best sites ive seen have leveraged the annoyance of a loading bar to produce a highly entertaining and fun experience. i would think about the context of your site and whether you can use the loading to your advantage to highlight your talents, if not, i would drop it if you can. Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Is a Flash-intro to a personal portfolio still good/relevant?
Alan, I've lately come around to the idea that designers' sites can still be effective in Flash. Most of us don't really need to worry about SEO since we're getting business though referrals, not cold visits, and it does give you a chance to show off a little more. But what I disagree with is a Flash introduction that has no relationship to the rest of the site. Especially if all it does is animate your name or some goofy tagline or waste my time loading the navigation in a sexy way. If you have a strong concept for the site and your Flash intro reinforces that concept in an extremely effective way, that is cool. And rare. Most people coming to my site are just idle visitors or people who got there by mistake. I don't care about them. The people I do care about are qualified referrals -- people who heard about me from a friend or business associate. These are folks who need a designer and are checking the site to vet me before making a call. All my site needs to do is convince them to call me. (Insert caveats about the lame-ass state of my current website here...) I'm guessing a snazzy Flash intro will convince the people who want one for THEIR site. But everyone else is going to be wondering, Yeah, but has he got any experience designing for MY type of project? My advice: skip the eye candy and cut to the chase. After all, isn't that what you'd advise clients to do? On May 21, 2008, at 9:32 AM, Alan Wexelblat wrote: Let's assume that you've done the proper work to provide a Skip Intro button. Let's further assume that you've done at least the minimum to make your content accessible to people without the Flash player. The question I ask, then, is: does having a Flash intro to a personal site, which may include one's portfolio or resume, make sense in today's job market and design environment? Or does this brand the designer as someone stuck in the last decade? As usual, I suspect the answer is it depends; what I'm really interested in is exploring issues around how we present ourselves in online presences and the Flash-intro or Flash-site is a method I still see from time to time, though not nearly as much as I used to. Best regards, --Alan Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help -- Kim + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + Kim Bieler Graphic Design www.kbgd.com www.stargazertees.com c. 240-476-3129 + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Is a Flash-intro to a personal portfolio still good/relevant?
Personally, I am not a big fan of Flash intros. Ultimately, it depends on who your audience is. I like a pdf portfolio that I can print off and take with me, markup, then follow up with. I, as a client, will not wait long for Flash intros and will leave if the loading time is taking too long, or if it is not entirely functional. I was on a site the other day and it took 20 seconds to load their Flash page over an 8Mbps connection. The load time is a killer. If I were to use Flash, I would have a static page that would link to various Flash demos/presentations that are more specifically targeted to a certain topic or project. This will also help reduce load time and file size. What you are selling is yourself, so (1) think of how you would like to be seen by others and (2) picture yourself as the one who is sitting across the table. This should be a good thread to follow. -- Mario Bourque mariobourque.com / [EMAIL PROTECTED] On Wed, May 21, 2008 at 9:32 AM, Alan Wexelblat [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Let's assume that you've done the proper work to provide a Skip Intro button. Let's further assume that you've done at least the minimum to make your content accessible to people without the Flash player. The question I ask, then, is: does having a Flash intro to a personal site, which may include one's portfolio or resume, make sense in today's job market and design environment? Or does this brand the designer as someone stuck in the last decade? As usual, I suspect the answer is it depends; what I'm really interested in is exploring issues around how we present ourselves in online presences and the Flash-intro or Flash-site is a method I still see from time to time, though not nearly as much as I used to. Best regards, --Alan Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
