Flash Design, Cutting Edge Web Design

 

Flash design is a type of web design that employs multimedia technologies to create and develop web pages. Multimedia technologies refer to technologies that cross over into different medias such as text, sound, and videos. Flash design is mostly used in creating animation, advertisements, web page components, integrated web page videos, and in developing rich Internet applications. The term “rich Internet applications” refers to web applications that have both traditional desktop features and functionality.

 

Containing a scripting language called Actionscript, flash design manipulates vector and raster graphics and supports bi-directional audio and video streaming. Websites that have been developed by flash design can be found on most common web browsers.

ActionScript is based on ECMAScript. Its various uses primarily come from website and software development involving flash design. A few database applications also utilize it (an example being Alpha Five). Originally, ActionScript’s design allowed it control over simple 2D vector animations. Newer versions of flash design with ActionScript have added streaming video and audio media to websites. This creates more functionality, which allows for the creation and addition of Web-based games and rich Internet applications.

Earlier versions of flash design focused mainly on animation due to having few interactivity features and limited scripting capability. Usage of ActionScript in flash design has resulted in much more interactivity. The ActionScript programming creates almost all the flash design interactivity features such as buttons, test entry fields, and pick lists.

Due to the importance of this programming language to flash design, several updated versions of ActionScript have been developed. These are ActionScript 2.0 and ActionScript 3.0.

ActionScript 2.0 saves time with flash design by scripting some features rather than animating them, thus typically enabling higher edit ability. ActionScript 3.0 allows for more control and code reusability while building complex flash design applications. This is a benefit of it being an object oriented programming language. Due to this approach, ActionScript 3.0 allows for the implementation of more formal software engineering methods. Formal software engineering methods are mathematically based methods of developing, specifying, and verifying software.

Several criticisms have been made about websites that have used flash design.

Usability concerns are among the main flash design criticisms. Many normal HTML conventions, like selecting text, scrollbars, form control, and right clicking act differently after flash design. However, it could be argued that this poor usability comes from incorrect implementation of the flash design features rather than because of the flash design features themselves.

Another criticism comes from web pages that make heavy use of flash design features. Such web pages can cause difficulties for users with older or even outdated hardware who cannot install or use a Flash player. Also, flash elements tend to have a lot of graphics and sound, which makes page load times longer for dial-up Internet users or those with slower Internet connections.

Other criticisms of web design with flash include it not being possible to scroll down a web page with a mouse on Linux if the cursor is held over flash content. Scrolling with the arrow keys might need the user to click on the page outside the flash. Also, because flash advertisements tend to clutter up news sites, users may have difficulties scrolling through them.