ScaleNine

The phrase “Designer/Developer Workflow” has rapidly become the second most spoken buzzword in the RIA space (besides RIA). At EffectiveUI we’ve put our own processes into place in order to make sure nothing is lost in translation as designers and developers collaborate to create a common vision. Of course, processes can only go so far with the available tools that currently exist, particularly on the design side. Throw in some tight deadlines, budgets, and client agendas and sometimes you have to compromise on some things, but the end goal is to create something the client and we are happy with.

I’m working in Flex pretty much everyday (I do have to sleep sometimes) and tools play a huge role in the way you operate throughout your day. From a design perspective, I’ve been trying to work in different Adobe applications, like Flash, Illustrator and Fireworks to create application designs from start to finish. This includes every part of the process, from wire frames, icons, “story boards” and all the way through to the final design.

What I’ve found is that none of the applications I work with provide the most optimal solution. There’s things in Fireworks that I want in Flash, things in Flash I want in Illustrator, etc. What ends up happening is I use 2-3 design applications to achieve the final result. I understand that each application has it’s own specialties, and that’s fine, but it really cuts into production time and how quickly you can iterate through application designs. Of course, that’s just the design phase.

After getting the design where I want it, I then have to bring that all into Flex. With the Skin Design Extensions and the Skin Import feature in Flex Builder the process is quickened. However, those solutions only get me 60% of the way there. There are additional skinning nuances that aren’t represented directly in Flex, there are still effects and transitions to be implemented and a slew of other things that I have to do to get the app looking and “acting” the way I want. In my case, I can play both roles to a certain extent, but this process is magnified when there is a hand-off from designer to developer.

Stories like mine aren’t anything new. In fact, I read emails, blogs and threads about these same frustrations. The good thing is that all players in the RIA space are pushing for a solution. We’ve all heard about the problems Adobe Thermo and the prospects of Flex 4 are going to address, but Microsoft is also addressing these same issues.

A while ago, a white-paper called “The New Iteration” landed on my desk. It basically outlines how XAML and Microsoft tools help facilitate a tighter collaboration between designers and developers. A little later, I read a blog post by Ethan Eismann, Design Lead on Thermo, that addresses some of the exact same things. Both use different terminology, but it all points to a common goal. In fact, as I was reading “The New Iteration” I tried swapping XAML out for MXML, Thermo out for Expression Blend, and Flex Builder for Visual Studio, and it still made sense.

At this point, there is still a lot of refinement going on. I don’t think anyone has the perfect solution yet, but the good thing is that we’re moving closer to it. I can’t wait until I can design applications for mobile, desktop and browser in one application and have it “seamlessly” translate into a development environment without loss of fidelity and not having the headaches to deal with when I have to make design changes. Less time needed for implementation of designs means more time to spend innovating, integrating usability testing, and further refining the processes we use. The result is an escalation in the number of ground-breaking user experiences.

I can live with that

I’ve mentioned how important a color scheme can be in an application and some places where you can get some inspiration, but every one in a while you may need a pattern. One site I’ve started frequenting for inspiration and ideas for Degrafa samples is COLOURlovers. They have hundreds of thousands of community generated colors, color palettes and contributed patterns as well. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had people ask me, “Where can I get some sweet repeating patterns?”

Not only is COLOURlovers a great site, but they just launched a public API you can leverage in your own applications. I just recently came across a sweet little AIR app, created by Levi McCallum of Futon Media, that leverages that API to bring some color and pattern goodness to your desktop.

Check out the COLOURlovers site or the COLOURlovers AIR app.