Learn
to design engaging, interactive Flash experiences
Macromedia
Flash provides us with the tools to create new forms of interaction,
involving and engaging Web users in ways only hinted at in television
and theater.
In this project-based training course, you'll learn how to
design interactive Flash environments that deliver a message or
tell a story. Narrative tools explored will include Flash event-driven
functionality, movie clips, non-linear events, preloading, and optimization.
The focus of the training will be on constructing experiences that emotionally connect,
while practicing good Flash usability. Experience design is a useful concept for any Flash designer or developer seeking to extend their training.
Learn the art of Flash experience design. Deliver your message
and push the envelope. Your site visitors will thank you for it!
Instructor: Margaret Penney is a teacher, designer, writer and media artist... get bio Course Developer:
Aria Danika is a Flash designer and a senior Flashkit
Moderator... get
bio
LESSON 1 Intro to Experience
Design Experience design has evolved from other media disciplines:
information design, interaction design, communication design, and
visual design, to name just a few. Lesson One examines the essential
nature of a interactive experience, exploring the storytelling tools
at a Flash designer's disposal. A Flash experience enables users
to interact easily with a site's content while telling a story that
evokes an offline experience and resonates with wider cultural meanings.
In the exercise, you'll develop your critiquing skills and explore
some of the functionality that makes experience design happen.
LESSON 2 Designing Interactivity
Flash enables us to tell stories that are linear (passive) or non-linear
(active, exploratory), and an effective experience design often
blends both modes. Lesson Two examines design principles for integrating
a range of interactive tools: Flash events, interactive buttons,
movie clips, dynamically loading images, and preloading. All techniques
are discussed in the context of optimization techniques that will
make your sites work for users. In the exercise, you'll create an
interactive interface that engages your audience.
LESSON 3 Portfolio Experience
Project From portfolio design to the latest streaming video "test
drives," Flash experience design is often used to project the
identity of an individual or organization. How does the nature of
an interactive experience tell a story about the site owner? Lesson
Three explores how to personalize content in the context of a portfolio
design project, manipulating non-Flash content, and streaming and
optimizing it effectively.
Macromedia
Flash provides us with the tools to create new forms of interaction,
involving and engaging Web users in ways only hinted at in television
and theater. 
