Flash Design Does It Really Deliver What Is Promised?
Flash design? Is it all it's cracked up to be?In this article, we'll be ...
all the ... head on:What is Flash? What's good about it? What's bad about it? And,most ...
what will Flash design? Is it all it's cracked up to be?In this article, we'll be confronting all the questions head on:What is Flash? What's good about it? What's bad about it? And,most importantly, what will it do for your online business?INTRODUCTIONWhen Flash was first introduced by FutureWave Inc. in August 1996,it was known as "FutureSplash Animator." Macromedia acquiredFutureWave in December and renamed the application to "Flash."What made FutureSplash unique was the fact that FutureSplash'simages were created in "vector format."As you may know, most images you see on the Web (such as the logothat appears on http://www.worlddesignservices.com/), are drawnby thousands, sometimes even millions, of colored square dots knownas "pixels." Any image that displays shapes using pixels (calleda "raster image") can have a significantly large file size sincethe color and location of each dot must be recorded inside theimage file.The vector graphic, on the other hand, is an image type thatuses mathematical equations to define lines and shapes.
For example,a drawing of a circle uses only a single curved line, rather thanrelying on hundreds (or even thousands) of pixels to create an image.This not only results in a drastic decrease in file size, but alsoan increase in image quality. Vector graphics can be scaled up ordown and never lose their sharp lines, whereas raster images end uplooking "chunky." For a side-by-side comparison of vector and raster images, have a look at the following page:http://www.worlddesignservices.com/designtips/flash/Because Flash relies mostly on vector graphics to display textand images, it delivers excellent image quality and exceptionallysmall file sizes.
On the Internet, where no two users are everconnected at exactly the same speed at the same time, thisreduced download is always appreciated.THE GOODIn the unlikely event that you've never seen a Flash animationbefore, have a look at the banner on the top ofhttp://www.internetcashplanet.com/. Not only does it look great,but it MOVES; Flash, when created properly, willdeliver any message you want and keep your audience interested.Gone are the days of slow downloads and endless reading! As you'veseen from the previous comparisons, Flash banners deliver sharp,great-looking graphics which load quickly and get your messageto your viewer fast.
Flash banners also get read more often thanyour basic static HTML page because they have the ability to movesmoothly, whereas traditional animated web graphics are clunkyat best. Everybody knows the 30-second rule, which dictates thatyou MUST make an impression on your viewer within 30 secondsof them hitting your site if you want them to respond to youroffers.
Since this rule is ALWAYS in effect, a Flash banner'sability to transmit a message quickly, smoothly, and effectivelyis always worth the investment.The application of Flash reaches far beyond the simple animatedbanner. Worldprofit's new "Ultimate Home Business Promo," when itwas first released, generated so many responses, they were difficultfor us to keep up with! Once you have a look athttp://www.worldprofit.com/uhbp/, you'll probably understand why.Flash, when created properly, not only has the power to captivateyour site viewers, it also has the power to strike emotionalchords and make your viewers feel whatever you want them to:excitement, hope, enthusiasm.THE BADUp until last year, Flash banners could only be made using the"Macromedia Flash" utility.
For many, it was a difficult programto master, and creating even the simplest of banners could be aweek-long project. However, the recent introduction of third-partyapplications such as Swish (http://www.swishzone.com) and SwFX(http://www.wildform.com/) have made it much easier to createanimated banners that use the same file format as Flash.To the experienced Flash designer, these powerful tools have beenboth a blessing and a curse.
On the upside, they drastically reducethe time it takes to create Flash pieces. On the downside, the lowprice of these applications makes them available to the "Average Joe,"and as a result, everybody and their dog is beginning to call themselves"Flash Designers." Their pieces, created without the necessary technicalknow-how of what it takes to make a Flash piece accessible tolower-bandwidth viewers, are beginning to give Flash a bad reputationas being bloated and boring.To you, the prospective consumer, this overabundance of so-called "FlashDesigners" presents an element of confusion.
Should you get the kid downthe block to design your Flash site for $300? Probably not. If you'repaying a "design firm" in another city $10,000 for a site, are yougetting the best Flash site money can buy?Unfortunately, my friends, the answer is no.We were recently contacted by a man who was unhappy with the state of hissite; after paying over $10,000 to a "Flash Design Firm," he had one look atwhat he got for his money and was shocked.We were, too.His site, at http://www.faustco.com/, breaks just about every rule there is.There are too many colors, too many fonts, and, as you know, Flash isintended to display images in "vector" format.
Whoever designed Mr. Faust'ssite clearly had no understanding of this fact, and imported as many rasterimages as they could.
This resulted in a site that not only has the "chunky"appearance mentioned earlier, but also presents incredibly long downloadtimes to viewers trying to visit the site with a standard 56k (or lower)connection. While Mr.
Faust's business has been around for a long time, nodoubt because they've been producing excellent, dependable products sincethe day they began business, the poor quality of his site's design will nodoubt harm the reputation of his company.FLASH - WHY DO YOU WANT IT?Like I said before, folks: Flash, "when created properly," can be the bestthing that ever happened to your site. Having personally experienced thebenefits of effective Flash design, I can honestly say that there is NOmedium out there that gets people going to your site and subscribing to yournewsletter list better than a well-done Flash piece.
However, when lookingfor a Flash designer, beware: if a "company" doesn't have a Flash portfoliothat impresses you in the least, don't hesitate to delete their e-mail andforget they existed, no matter how low their prices may be.If you're looking for a Flash designer, I'm naturally going to recommend youcontact us now. Not only are we in our seventh year of putting people'sbusinesses online, and not only have we been applying proven marketingconcepts time and time again, helping thousands of people maximize responsesto their offers (regardless of the type of business they run), we've alsogot the technical know-how of exactly what it takes to make a Flash piecethat WORKS.
When you order from us, you won't just be getting a site thatLOOKS pretty and applies our years of marketing experience, you'll begetting one that loads quickly and gets your point across effectively.And hey, if you've received a quote from another company and aren't sure ifyou'll be getting your money's worth, send the quote to me. I'm not offeringto beat their price, I'm offering something much more valuable: to relieveany confusion you might be experiencing and help you to become more informedof what good Flash design is.
I'm standing by to help you now!mailto:
[email protected] Article Tags: Flash Design, Created Properly, Flash Banners, Flash Designer Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com .
