How can a technology be so useful and yet shred the fabric of my being simply for being misused? Over-reaction? I think not. Flash is the kryptonite to good web design. In the wrong hands it can be deadly! The foundation of web content is for communication. That communication can come in the form of informational content, e-commerce and several other forms. Why should I have to wait for more than two seconds for your stupid Flash animation because you think it's impressive and represents the essence of your company. That's garbage.
I don't mind a few Flash buttons or maybe a properly placed ad on a site, but when entire sites are dominated by Flash, it really annoys me. See two below of some of the offenders:
NIKE
Metalarte
I still sleep at night, but happened to just be bothered by sites who overuse Flash. Used properly (or minimally; or not at all), it can really be a great asset. Ok, enough of my rant.........for now.
7.26.2005
I love to hate Flash!
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8 comments:
Yo, check my car out in the background. That's back in the day when I still had a front bumper.
I figured I would break out with some nostalgia and protect the innocent combatants by disguising their identities...the car is a victim of circumstance...
oh man... i must interject with geekspeak.. flash is the future yo. i havent wanted to code in anything since 2001 when database integration with flash became possible... the ability to turn navigation into something you can use intuitely while still being expressive from an aesthetic standpoint is also nice.. and it works wonders on ecommerce and decreases cart abondonment.. of coures bad flash is like bad french food. it makes you shit for days on end.
To that end theres a right way and a wrong way.. but heres some right ways ^_^ ... for true flash design one must look to the europeans and the asians.
http://www.carldekeyzer.com/
http://www.ourtype.com/ (shop)
http://www.pushhere.com/
http://www.albrechtgerlach.com/
http://www.dirklambrechts.com/
theres lots but i gotta go before the lightning assplodes my computer.
..feel free to bless me with the geekspeak water...i agree that flash is the future...well, it's actually the present. as far as cart abandonment, I don't see how it can contribute to that. are you thinking of just keeping a users attention or what? please explain. I COMPLETELY agree with you about the euros and asians leading the way with their designs. much different vibe. it's obvious they imagine the virtual world in a much different way than residents of North America....I do know of numerous sites that are asthetically pleasing, but the fact remains that those who overuse flash should be dipped into milk chocolate and thrown into a tub of feathers...uh, maybe not.
By the way wasim, do you have a blog on bogger or is it just the flickr sets that you use?
i dont have a blog although that would be interesting... flckr just is so damn cool. they steal ideas and put them in one place better than any company i have seen!
oh for like cart, a well made store in Macromedia Flash using Flex has shown increases in sales by up to 45% or more in most cases which is a ridiculous number. Its mainly because of the way a Flash shop handles your page state from one place to another.
If you check out this for example..
http://www.macromedia.com/devnet/flex/example_apps/online_store/moreinfo.html
See how that shop saves your state from one step to another and you can go back by clicking in the headers and such... it stays on one screen without jumping around like a typical store which is the number one cause of cart abondonment..
http://www.ourtype.com/ is similar but really shows what can be done by making use of the artistic side of flash and an ecommerce site.
I just finished one with my company too but its interface is majorly flawed due to a very specific and dumb client but the principle of the ecommerce flash store is there.
http://www.fu-cards.com is the site
(excuse most of the graphics.. also the clients doing)
Now i think Macromedia should start paying me comission >_<;
Oh God! I agree with you JD. That Metalarte site almost made me do one of those "guy in cubicle with computer" things. And the funny part is that in that stuuuupid intro, they say they built this website to make it easier for ppl! LOL! But their products look cool though.
It's so funny to me how so many "design" as in home decor and modern items have such rancid web sites. I guess the "creative types" on the web are not on the same page as the people doing the actual design of the products...very weird. Brand/Corp. identity is a huge business and to not be in sync with your letterhead, work space and web presence....sheesh, I just don't understand that....crazy.
Keep up the good work
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