flash of fancy

Check out the case study for Firstborn’s 2010 Mustang customizer.

The customizer application for Ford’s 2010 Mustang came out some time ago. Besides all the hundreds of options, a visitor could choose any color (up to 16 milion) for the car. That for me was the best part; I wasn’t limited to the 9 colors that Ford choose as the colors for 2010. It was and is a car customizing application that got it right.

I myself customized half a dozen Mustangs. It was a great way to interact with and experience the brand. But, like most internet stuff it’s ephemeral and I forgot about it. Yesterday, I found it again and was reminded how cool it was then and how cool it is now.

As part of Firstborn’s case study they provided a Flash demo of the process they used to colorize the cars. It alone is fun to play with and demonstrates how much went into providing that feature.

http://www.firstbornmultimedia.com/#/our-portfolio/1058/case-study/

Ran across these posts after a long day writing code. It made me laugh.

while( this.numChildren ) this.removeChildAt(0); //child removal machine

this.parent.removeChild( this ); // remove thyself

this.parent.getChildIndex( this ); //index of thyself :)

From Ted Patrick via Twitter

Just finished up a site that required some work integrating Fancybox with Flash. When I first set out, I checked out some forums for some information; I got a little here and a little there. One thing kept popping up was that people were having problems calling FancyBox from Flash using AS3. So, here I present a working demo of Fancybox being called from Flash using AS3.

Please note, the demo requires Flash CS3 and some understanding of Flash and ActionScript 3. If you need help because you don’t understand there are plenty of books around, I recommend Colin Moock’s excellent Essential ActionScript 3.

Download the Demo

I’ll try to answer questions as best I can, but I’m not expert at using jQuery or FancyBox. You should probably address those type of questions to them.

I like the HTML5 vs. Flash discussion. It’s fun to read both sides of the argument and frustrating to watch comments turn into flame wars. I have been working with Flash for over 10 years. I love that it allows me to create a great experience without all the hassles of worrying about whether it will work on such and such browser.

Here are what I think are two, somewhat even, discussions about HTML5 and Flash and some of the obstacles HTML5 has to overcome before it can be widely adopted.

http://gizmodo.com/5461711/giz-explains-why-html5-isnt-going-to-save-the-internet
http://www.gskinner.com/blog/archives/2010/02/my_thoughts_on.html

HTML5 has some great promise to be sure. But without consistent implementation across all browsers, it won’t make any difference; widespread adoption by developers will slow to a crawl. In my dream world all browsers would render content exactly the same and support the same standards. You know, like a TV. Then we, as content creators, could put more energy into just making great experiences. And the browser makers could coax us into use their browser with  great features that make our browsing lives simpler and our experiences better.

There will never be one perfect answer. It comes down to using the best tool for the job. The only people that really care about HTML5 vs. Flash are geeks like us; everybody else just wants it to work.

52weeksofux:

After years of speculation, Apple finally released a tablet computer yesterday called the iPad. There was fanfare! There was rejoicing!

There was also much criticism: everything from it doesn’t have a camera or USB port to it doesn’t support Flash or HDMI out to it doesn’t let you multi-task. In 24 hours we have dozens of reasons why the iPad will fail in the marketplace.

But what if the iPad simply isn’t for the people who are critiquing it? What if the experience the Apple designers have in mind isn’t the one the tech writers and bloggers have been dreaming about for a half-decade? What if you, early-adopter geek fanperson, aren’t actually the target audience?

Humans suffer from a subjective viewpoint. We see the universe with us at the center of it. It’s almost impossible to gauge anything outside of our own desires…when we size up a new gadget such as the iPad we consider first and foremost: “What good is it TO ME?”.

User experience designers, however, cannot long suffer this fate. We must design (and hopefully critique other designs) from a more objective viewpoint.

As our initial subjective viewpoint fades, we might consider the iPad anew. Judging from the videos and early reviews, it makes many common activities very easy such as email, watching videos, and sharing photos. So let’s ask: “Who out there, what market, is this attractive to?”

The iPad is attractive to people for whom a laptop is overkill. Many spouses, parents, siblings, and children in our lives do not use computers in the same way we do. They are likely the primary audience for this device…the people who don’t need single pixel precision but can get by on single finger precision. They may use the iPad in the kitchen, the living room, the bedroom, even the bathroom. But they probably won’t use it in the office…

As designers and critics we must get out of our own head. Subjectivity is a crude lens through which great, audience-appropriate design cannot see.