ScaleNine

With a presentation I’m going to be giving on Data Visualization at 360|Flex with Tony Hillerson and the recent Edward Tufte visit to Denver, I’ve had a lot of data visualization on the brain. I’m always on the look out for good examples of visualizations that solve a problem well without going overboard.

One of the designer’s at EffectiveUI turned me on to a magazine called “SEED“. SEED focuses on “Science is Culture” and it’s a really well-designed magazine that initially caught my eye with some nice diagrams and visualizations. It has a really great sense of design all-around with details that I enjoy discovering.

The best thing is that some has taken the time to go through issues of the magazine and post them on Flickr. The photos capture the magazine in a printed state rather than it being flat artwork which also adds a nice feel. The above image was taken from that Flickr photostream.

Check out SEED Magazine on Flickr

As Adobe continues to move forward in the RIA space they’ve clearly outlined what the focuses are behind Flex 4 and Thermo. One of those focuses is on design/developer collaboration. I’ve been following the progress across blogs, interviews and conversations and I started to think, “What would a Creative Suite for RIAs look like to me?” I think some of what would be included is pretty obvious, but there are other things I haven’t heard anything about.

After being involved with different types of projects and playing different roles on those projects I have definitely started seeing patterns in the way applications are used to create RIAs and what seems to work best. Different projects have different expectations at the design stages. Sometimes the deliverable is a series of “wireframes”, refined views or a full prototype. For a successful series of applications, these use-cases need to be supported. Based on my experiences I’ve assembled a list of what I’d want in an “RIA Suite”.

Fireworks

For me, Fireworks is my go-to application for UI design. I can rapidly iterate on designs that maintain vector qualities, make rich symbols for quickly laying out views and keep everything pretty well organized. Fireworks CS4 makes it even easier to do the day-to-day tasks with features that seemed to be lacking in CS3. The downside is that I usually have to bring Fireworks artwork into Flash to add animation and maintain vector quality before bringing it into Flex. Filters also have to be removed and reapplied in Flex because they don’t translate the way I’d like. From what I’ve seen, Thermo will help solve some of these issues.

Flash

When creating a UI for a Flex/AIR application it’s usually inevitable I’ll be using Flash. I’ll use it to group assets into a single SWF, package up a font, create a complex UI, or add animations. However, it seems I’m beginning to use Flash less and just doing everything right in Flex Builder. Using Tweener and Degrafa I can achieve the results I’m looking for most of the time, but I can’t give Flash up completely yet.

Thermo

We’ve all heard about Thermo and I think it’s going to address a lot of the issues I have with current workflows. It seems Thermo will be the middle application that bridges the gap between CS applications and Flex. Mockups are transformed into working MXML with the help of a designer-friendly environment. This includes converting graphics to working components, adding animations, creating dummy-data sources, and more. The one thing I have yet to see is how the designer/developer collaboration actually works. What happens when a developer makes a change and how does that get reflected on the designer’s side, and vice-versa?

Flex Builder

Every day that I am working I fire up Flex Builder and start plugging away, so of course it’s gonna make it onto my list. From a design-perspective I use Flex to add transitions, bitmap filters, do layout, etc. I’ll jump into Design View or CSS Design View to make sure everything looks the way I want it instead of compiling the application.

Bridge/Version Cue (RIA Edition)

Okay, this is not a real product, but it’s something I see lacking in the current collaboration between designers and developers. Developers are familiar with version control systems like CVS, SVN and the like, but what about designers? How will designers be able to tap into those same repositories to maintain the fluid collaboration? Use a command line, Flex Builder, FTP? Probably not.

I’m thinking it would be great if a familiar application that designers already use, like Bridge or Version Cue, would make it really easy for designers to interact with a repository. Developer’s might cringe at the idea of a designer having that kind of access, but maybe it isn’t direct. If Thermo allows for designers and developers to directly interact with the same code base I think this would be a nice feature. There’d also need to be a way to cycle back and forth with files and probably need to be able to check them in and out.

Degrafa (Not Adobe)

Degrafa is not Adobe, but every project I work on gets Degrafa added to it. Why? Because bitmaps and static vector artwork can only go so far. I make 80-90% of my skins in Degrafa. This allows me to open up any properties of the graphics to CSS, which means one Degrafa Button skin to create an infinite number of variations versus making separate graphics for each variation. There’s things I can do with Degrafa that I can’t with bitmap or static vector graphics and with the the things planned for Degrafa Beta 3, it’s a no brainer.

So, there’s the rundown. It’s a mix of a little present and future, and I’m sure there’s some tool out there that I just don’t know I want yet I’m looking forward to smoother work flows and tighter collaborations between designers and developers. When that happens there’s more time for innovation.

I’ve been getting emails regarding some of the themes featured on ScaleNine not working properly with Flex 3. There have been some changes to the framework that have caused this, like Panel changes and name changes for some styles. However, there are things that were added to Flex 3 that you can take advantage of now, like iconColor and popUpIcon to further customize an app.

Right now, I don’t have much time to go back and change them all, so I’ll probably do one at a time in between the other stuff I have going on. Since not all of the themes are mine, you may need to contact the authors of other themes to ask about an update, if they are going to do one at all. Until some of the issues have been smoothed out, you can always download the available FLA for some themes and make the tweaks yourself. Or just start making skins using Degrafa

I think anyone who has been a part of the development of an application has questions concerning user experience, especially when working with all that can be done in Flex. If you have any questions along those lines, be sure to check out the newly launched site for Adobe’s Experience Design Team.

The new site was presented during during the “XD: Adobe’s approach to Application Design” and we got a quick overview of the features. There’s great case studies, discussions of principles and patterns, and other content areas that will grow in the coming months.

As mentioned in the session, a site like this has been something that developers have asked for and it’s great to see it all coming together. The new XD site and the newly revamped Adobe Developer Connection are two great sites to add your resources.

This year’s MAX conference is sounding like something to really get excited about. And I am. I’ve got my schedule all configured and I’m looking forward to catching up with people I know and meeting people I don’t. If you see me, don’t hesitate to say hi.

I’m definitely looking forward to all the announcements mentioned by Ted Patrick and being able to see what’s in store for the Flex family. Of course, “Thermo” is a part of that, but it seems that’s only one piece.

Recently, I mentioned the new Orange County Flex User Group I’m a part of so I’ll be trying to get in touch with potential members. Also, were just adding a few new features to BrandDoozie that I’m hoping to be able to demo. If you’re interested in seeing it, let me know. And, like everyone else, we’re hiring.

Oh, and if you’re looking to get involved with the User Group Central App [insert cryptic code name] I mentioned in a previous post, I’m trying to get a list together to see if the idea can really take off.

See you at MAX!

Looks like the videos from the 360Flex Conference are starting to appear. There were some really great sessions and I’m bummed I didn’t get to see them all, but hey, that’s what the videos are for. Each one is $3.60 each to download for a single user license or there’s an option to get a 10-user license. You can check ‘em all out here as they get uploaded. The first part of the mega-session that Andy McIntosh and I did is up here. A big thanks to Tom Ortega, John Wilker and Bryan Zug for putting these together.

I say officially because my flight was delayed 2 hours. However, I did get a $6 food voucher and the first beer on the flight was “on the house”. Those two items helped me forget I was even late. Once I got to the Red Lion I totally forgot any late flights.

The night was great! I got to meet Doug McCune (he tore up the dance floor), Ryan Stewart, Tom Ortega, Ted Patrick, John Wilker, Jeff Houser and so many others I’ve conversed with via email. This is going to be a great conference! If you’re here, don’t forget to say hi.

The countdown is on ’til I leave for the 360Flex Conference in Seattle. I’m putting some of the finishing touches on portions of the presentation I’ll be giving with Andy McIntosh and grabbing handfulls of ScaleNine, Degrafa and AtomicCurve business cards. I’m really looking forward to meeting lots of people, learning a lot, checking out others’ projects and sharing a bit of my own. If you’re going, be sure to say “hi” and if you’re not sure who to look for, here’s my Flexcursion profile.

Jeffry Houser had me sit in for an interview on The Flex Show to discuss some of my experiences with skinning, my workflow, and why it might be important to skin an app. It’s easy for me to ramble on and on about some of these topics. In some cases I did At the end of the interview it was pretty much inevitable for me to listen back and criticize myself. All in all I think the interview went well and it may give others interested in skinning their Flex app some insight into what it might take.

Jeffry also gave details on a Flex Show contest to win some free copies of Flex 2 with Charting.

Listen to Episode 10 of the Flex Show

Of course, after being asked questions I didn’t have full knowledge of, I had to go find the answer. Here’s a couple things I was able to find regarding some of the discussion topics I didn’t have complete answers to or wasn’t able to go into details.

Digg API Contest:

The Digg API contest

CSS for htmlText in Flex:

HTMLStyle

StyleSheet Class

My workflow:

App Skinning: A Workflow (probably gonna change when I get some CS3 products)

Where I work:

Atomic Curve is where I work. I failed to mention this.

It’s hard not to get excited about some of the information that’s starting filter out concerning what the new CS3 products will be offering designers involved with Flex. Ryan Stewart blogged a little about what Flash CS3 will be bringing and what the Flex Component Kit for Flash CS3 means for developers. I watched the Flash/Flex Integration presentation and it’s awesome to see some of the things you’ll be able to do with a lot less headaches. I forsee many more designers getting involved with Flex now that there seems to be a much shallower learning curve. There was also some information about what the next version of Flex (codename Moxy) will offer to make things even more integrated.

With Fireworks CS3 packing it’s own integration and Illustrator CS3 more Flex friendly I know my workflow will definitely be changing into a much more streamlined process. So, until I can get my hands on the free trial in a few weeks, win a contest, or actually purchase the software, I’m left repeating “I want my CS3”.