RE: FLASH: What drives the process- great design or great code?

[JGL]

Tom-


You drive some very good points and I, for one, believe that this is a very

important topic.


This industry exploded from nothingness into vast opportunity, companies

'needing' to be on the WEB, and quite frankly resulting in a scrambling to

post a site.


Availability of 'good developers' is still scarce. Probably will be for

quite a while. The skills required to create a properly designed Internet

presentation are not commonly bundled into a single entity. There are few

exceptions - we have seen these and recognize them. Michael Dunn has shown

that a good designer and become a programmer. Can a programmer become a good

designer?


WEB design/development remains to be a 'one-person' show for most of what

exist on the Internet.


As with any case of skill - it depends on individual apptitude. We are all

not 'born designers' or 'coders'. Rarely, some acquire the skills to be

both.


Companies creating WEB software are driven to create more design

flexibility. Example-Varying font style is a 'new' advancement on the WEB.

Couldn't do that before - except with clunky work-arounds.


There is still a lot that needs to be done that allows for more flexibility.

Even a good designer/programmer has to work with the limitations of the

web - sometimes 'good enough' takes front seat after trying for hours to

make it fit proper design parameters.


In the near future I believe that collaboration (designer/coder) will

prevail. It will parallel any industry where technology and design co-exist.

A cinemetographer doesn't necessarilly run the camera but instructs the

camera person how, where, what to film.


>Have we become so enamored with the technology of Flash that solid design

takes a back seat?

I think your frustration is the exposure to all of the experimentation going

on . . . yes everyone is learning Flash and putting forth an effort to

capture others opinions of their efforts - efforts in Flash technique.


>according to Saffo, maybe we don't need designers.

Good design will always be TOPS! It is what's effective and people/companies

etc. will want it. We will provide it. Those of us that don't - won't

continue to work in this industry! That's just the way it has been and will

be forever . . .:)


>pimply faced 15 year olds

watch it pal, they are taking your advice - trust me . . . and they know

coding - you're teaching them design. They are the future 'one person shows'

. .


>That is why designers need to eliminate the word 'interface' from their

vocabulary and think in terms of interaction."

It's true - but it STILL is an interface . . . .


>I suspect we are starting to see the first glimmerings of Saffo's

predictions on this list.

Again, I think you are seeing experimentation effort. Your glimpses of what

you are exposed to on this list isn't the Internet. It is an attempt to

create the skills that develop the Internet.


>My question: , " Is there a point where collaboration between the coders

and the designers will find equilibrium or are we heading for a business

where the code drives the design?"

You know - IMHO, the coders aren't us - we're designers - the coders are

Macromedia, adobe etc. Granted, the designers need to learn certain amounts

of code to design for the web. But the coders (Macromedia, adobe etc.) are

creating the tools for the designers. They're heading the demands of the

designers . . . if they don't, someone else will.


I am sure everyone knows the importance of learning 'Good Design'. Either

you suceed or don't. Tom, your willingness to teach us your design skills is

great. From a student perspective, an angry frustrated teacher is not

effective. Anyway, isn't design somewhat subjective? I personally wasn't

impressed with http://www.volumeone.com/ - you were :) (the tops of letters

being chopped off makes me feel uneasy) I could go on as to other reasons

why I wasn't impressed with that site but that's irrelevant other than it

just shows me that design is not set in stone . . . your intended audience

is.



JGL

dEsignthenet






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