The Designer Tools LandscapeAndy Hood

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AKQA

• The 3 main areas:– Technology– Creative– Delivery

AKQA

• The 3 main areas:– Technology– Creative– Delivery

• Creative Development– sits between Creative

& Technology

AKQA

• Creative Development– Rich front-end technology– Works closely with designers to

implement graphic look & feel– Works closely with technology team to

integrate front-end with server-side components

AKQA

• If you work in design, or in server-side technology, then the development of rich user experiences impacts you

The Old Designer Tools Landscape

• Everything is Flash!– Applications– Websites– Cd-roms– Screensavers– …and the rest

The New Designer Tools Landscape

• Flash• Flex• AJAX• Laszlo• WinFX

Flash

• Traditionally, an animation based environment

• Good for exploratory navigation, complex animations, transitions, innovative use of video

• Still the choice for “experience websites”

• Axe Clickmore, PG Tips World Cup game

Flex

• Created for RIA development• Targets Flash Player (9)• Provides various components that

makes capabilities such as web services, remote objects, drag & drop, charting etc, simple to develop

• Layout defined in MXML• Reduced development timescales for

RIA’s

AJAX / ATLAS

• Asynchronous JavaScript And XML• Is a group of web development

technologies combined to allow developers to create interactive web apps

• Minimises page re-loading• Google Maps

OpenLaszlo

• RIA focussed• Targets Flash Player• Coming soon – deploy to DHTML• Uses LZX programming language,

similar to XAML or MXML• Pandora, Laszlo Mail

WinFX

• … is a set of API’s included as part of Windows Vista O/S, and can be downloaded for Windows XP

• …includes the Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF)

• On the desktop, there is no ‘player’ for WinFX applications

WPF

• …utilises the power of Direct3D• …is vector based• …allows true 3D models to be

integrated seamlessly into applications

• …uses XAML mark-up language to describe rich graphic elements

WinFX applications can run as standalone applications installed

locally on a PC or as browser-based applications running thru Internet

Explorer, (WPF/E)

Expression Graphic Designer

• Vector & bitmap graphics editor• Live effects• Export as XAML

Expression Interactive Designer

• The tool you use to build applications on the Windows Presentation Foundation

• True 3D animation, camera control, texture mapping

• Video (including HD), can render on any surface

• Full range of UI components

Expression Interactive Designer

• Code in C#, VB or XAML• Open EID projects in Visual Studio• Seamless workflow between creative,

front-end & server-side technology teams

The Designer Tools Landscape

• Evaluate each project on it’s merits and requirements

The Designer Tools Landscape

• Evaluate each project on it’s merits and requirements

• Become familiar with each tool available

AKQA Books For…

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