Flash generated sites

[mestoughton]

My daughter is getting a BA in Fine Arts with a major in Web Design. Good for her, man...she is putting herself through college and I am psyched for her. Incredible person. That said, the university is training their students to design in Flash. IMO the usabiltity is hampered because you have to figure out how the dang site works...sometimes it really is not logical.

I also have a programer friend who is so sold on Flash that everything else is sub-standard in his opinion. He makes good money so I can see why from a purely monetary viewpoint he holds to that lofty opinion.

Am I missing the point?

I have to admit I am impressed by the pizazz. But, I would much rather spend my time learning design theory than Flash.

There is room for all types of design.....

....So tell me when you think a Flash generated site is appropriate.

Mary

[corneo]

Flash site are very slow and normally I think they are a joke. You could use flash in a site if you have a captive audience.
Example would be: The movie Harry Porter can use flash because people expect cool magical stuff. So if the load time is 1 min long that's fine. Your not losing your audience. (or views) If you notice the site is running java script until the flash loads. Steve Jobs has said "IPhone will not load flash because it's too slow"

I have learn that the days of flashy, lots of art, looks futuristic are gone. (If you trying to make money with your site)

If your making a site for (example) cooking pots. Then using anything that slows your site down will kill you. People are impatient, they want it now. They don't want to read, they click and go.
Myself I'll do a search and click a result and if it doesn't come right up I think "must be down" and click something else. If I have to read a site to figure out what to click to find what I want. The first thing that goes through my head is: "this is b.s." and go to the next site.

Most site are designed to be easy to read, large click buttons, simple minded. In other words, the designer used common sense. If I go to a site and look for "cooking pots" I want to see cooking pots on the front page. Then click a button and go to the second page. If I have to read on that page, it's OK you have my attention.

Also remember if the professors really knew what they were doing they would be millionaires not teachers and a millionaire will never teach because he doesn't want to lose the money to you.

[rancari]

I think flash could be interesting when it was used in appropriate manner. Most of flash designers don't know about actionscript. They just place graphic as it is in their own computer (so big, i mean). Personally, I don't like website with flash. I found and I'd leave as soon as possible.

[3ncryptabl3_lick]

Flash sites have a very defined niche. If a website doesn't fall within it, then yes, it wouldn't 'add' to it. However this isn't a rule and it is being expanded upon daily.

A Flash site about 'cooking pots' can be made easily enough and be miles better than a static variant because it's not the content that defines the Flash, it's the experience. The content defines the site and business as a whole. If the 'cooking pots' are crap and marketed badly, the site wont do anything for them. Of course if the Flash is crap, it wont do anything for them either. But the same is true for a static site as well.

The excuse that Flash is slow is somewhat antiquated, really. That was the old days of Flash. There are Flash site with content that load smoother and faster than static sites. However, again, this is not the rule. Flash developers do have a tendency to overload a Flash site with lots of 'whiz-bang'. Is it necessary? Who's to say? It's part of the 'vision' for the design. Is it better than if the site was done in a static format? No. It would just be different.

[mestoughton]

The man has Flash! I am thoroughly 'in love' with your site, OpticalDevotee. The navigation is logical, which is my biggest beef with Flash sites. I can click through all the pages and not get lost and they load like lightening.

Ya impressed. Very cool.

[3ncryptabl3_lick]

Why thank you for the kind words Mary! (:

[corneo]

Originally Posted by 3ncryptabl3_lick

Why thank you for the kind words Mary! (:

I forgot your kick-butt site. The only flash site I have ever seen and thought wow.

[3ncryptabl3_lick]

You're too kind coneo (:

For the last few months I've been contemplating a redesign. It's almost been a year now since it launched and I think, to avoid stagnation and as a developer, I need to make a new one.

That might take a while though lol.

[&Ingonyama]

Originally Posted by corneo

I forgot your kick-butt site. The only flash site I have ever seen and thought wow.

I'll second that, one of the nicest flash sites I have seen in a long time! I have one question, I know nothing about flash but do flash designers sometimes include the xhtml structure of the site along with the flash content so search engines can see it?

[LazyJim]

The accessibility and usability of the Flash technology is improving, but it will be a long long time before it reaches that of the core Web technologies combination.
It is suitable in certain circumstances, but these are primarily extras offered by big profile companies, or personal sites from people that want to show of their Flash skills.

The overiding principle to remember is that a normal web site (flash or html based) is merely an interface to the content. Therefore the best solution is one that communicates well the desired message and more importantly facilitates the access of the information (or whatever content) in the site.

That is why the biggest mistake is using Flash just for the sake of using Flash. It is akin to over-use of animation FX in PowerPoint presentations, which the viewer will simply find distracting and inconvenient, not impressive.

Flash is a tool you may wish to use if the circumstances are right.