SND impressions and some Flash(y) lessons

Posted on October 15, 2007

Richard Koci Hernandez has put together a video of his trip to the SND Boston. I didn’t get the opportunity to go, so once again, I’m so grateful that the conference and attendees are blogging about lessons learned.

Definitely take a look at Hernandez’s video for tips on nice shots and how to tell a story:

Creative and engaging and leaves me wanting more … perhaps this is a video “splash page“? ;) I jest … it seems to have perfectly fulfilled its point — to give a taste and a fun review for attendees and even those who weren’t there. He promises to publish “more multimedia goodness,” so check back at his site during the week.

For more meat, check out the SND update blog.

Not a whole lot here about online, but I’m impressed by the topics they chose to present. Videos and .pdfs are/will be available for more details.

Of the online/multimedia offerings, I particularly like the post about Adrian Holovaty’s presentation, Making Data Web Savvy.

And there’s a series of posts from the New Media session that taught participants Flash and some ActionScript:

Post I: Greetings from the New Media course shares a newbie’s perspective:

Biggest impression thus far: Stop fearing Flash. We’ve put it off after hearing tales of its complicated nature. Hey, even Quark seemed daunting at one time.

Of course, getting an intro in a classroom environment certainly helps. You’d want a pretty killer tutorial program to learn this stuff on your own. This is the fourth New Media course of the year, and based on our experience and those of friends who have gone through other courses, it’s a worthy investment. Convince your organization to cough up the cash for a session when the tour is near by.

Post II: Flash projects take longer to produce than a novice would expect:

As managers, we need some basic knowledge of what can be done; from there we can assign out projects and set realistic deadlines. So, while we may never be scripting experts, at least we can set folks up to succeed at certain projects.

Post III: They “climb deeper into the wormhole that is Action Script coding in Flash”:

Well, that “this isn’t so hard” feeling from the first half of the New Media session has been replaced with a “What the Deuce?!” vibe.

Post IV: “Your word of the day: Concatenation”

Dive in. Figure out a way to break off time to spend with Flash, either for yourself or your staff. The classroom environment was fantastic; opening up Flash all by yourself could get overwhelming quick.

I also like this piece of advice:

Also, talk turned to how much time a project involving coding should take. Simple:
1/2 your time should be planning, storyboarding, gathering information, etc.
1/2 your time should be actual Flash production - scripting and programing
1/2 your time will be spent debugging your code, especially as you just get started

Huh? That’s more time than is available.

“These projects will always take you more time than you thought they would.”

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Is the splash page a lazy design solution?

Posted on October 14, 2007

Splash sample Ever been tempted to put an intro on your multimedia presentation?

I confess I’ve done it many, many times myself. Mostly either to set a tone, as in this package about the five-year 9/11 anniversary and this package about Bantu refugees in Roanoke.

Another time I used it to show off a cool feature, as in this package about the new Herald-Tribune building.

But here’s some food for thought when you’re creating your next large or medium-scale multimedia project: Smashing Magazine questions whether we really need the “splash page.”

Designers use splash pages in their portfolios to impress potential clients with eye-candy. Companies tend to make use of them to draw users’ attention to their latest products. And users literally can’t stand them, because splash pages usually take a long time to load and provide (almost) no navigation options — except of “entering the site”.

They go on to show “How to lose your visitor” case studies and samples of splash pages used for advertising, disclaimers, to showcase designer talent, to choose a language/site and to tell what the site is about.

Splash sample Even done well, are they necessary? Perhaps five or even two years ago they were essential in educating the user on how to navigate Web sites.

But today as more people of all ages are using the Internet, have splash pages become beautiful designs (as seen in the samples in the Smashing Magazine story) but lazy solutions?

One reader comments: “Interestingly, I think sites that usually have an “enter here” splash are usually created by designers originally from the print media who are maybe more used to slapping a front cover on things.”

Here’s what another one says: “… if your site has a splash page specifying a resolution, you need to redesign your site. If it has instructions on how to use the site, you need to redesign the site. If the splash screen is telling the visitor they MUST download Flash to continue…you need to redesign the site. The only place I want to see a Splash screen? On a porn site.”

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Choose your own CBSNews.com redesign adventure

Posted on September 24, 2007

CBSNews.com redesigned, and readers can learn more about what’s new and why via either a video tour with Katie Couric or an interactive tour.

I’m not sure why they’re offering two versions, since the interactive tour is also with (surprise!) Katie Couric, and it’s essentially the same tour, except 1) there’s no video and 2) a reader has the option to select “next.” (Interestingly, you don’t even have to select that “next” button. Just sit back and be passive, if you prefer, because the program will go on to the next slide if you wait long enough.)

I’m so curious what their stats are for this, though. Which will come up on top — video or interactive? In this case, my vote is for video. Personally, I think it was the most effective method of delivering the content.

And CBS is trying out this Web 2.0 thing. Couric says: “At CBSNews.com YOU have a voice. And at our website, you’re a part of the conversation. Share your thoughts and comments on stories, and participate on interactive polls, quizzes, and games.”

So scroll down the page and add your comments …

CBSNews.com comments

Hmm. Maybe not.

So much for reader feedback.

(Link via Cyberjournalist.net)

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Making baby the high-tech way

Posted on July 20, 2007

OK, so not every project can be an advanced, fully-integrated, multimedia project. We just don’t have the resources to do that. And not every project warrants it.

So when you’re strapped for time but still want to make an interesting presentation, just jazz up your print graphic into an interactive like this example on MSNBC.

It’s a wee bit more involved than posting a link to a 2-D graphic, but it’s a whole lot more interesting to view. Each step (aside from the last frame) is a graphic that zooms in with a next button. They just made it look pur-ty.

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Greatness = taking risks

Posted on June 20, 2007

Michael Rosenblum is working with New York Times architecture critic Paul Goldberger about architecture around the world for a new series for Discovery. (Wow. What a gig!)

In doing this project, he’s learning about what makes great architecture — and that to create it means designers have to take risks.

Which has led him to question why TV news broadcasts don’t.

“Here we have something that is far less difficult to assemble than a building. It is far more plastic. It is not cast in stone or steel or concrete. Yet when we design and ‘architect’ television news, we are fearful of being ‘too creative’. We assiduously repeat designs and patterns that have ‘worked’ for us for a generation now. The studio, the anchors, the throw, the weather and sports.

“It is boring.

“The risks in building a Bilbao are enormous. The risks in redesigning a television newscast, really radically redesigning it, are minimal. Yet we don’t go there. The most we are willing to risk is replacing Dan with Katie. Not much of a change, really. More like repainting the front door than anything else.”

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USATODAY.com redesign reaps big rewards

Posted on April 19, 2007

Many complained (um, yeah, including me), but readers apparently aren’t bothered, according to E&P:

“Traffic on USAToday.com is up 21% since the site was relaunched in March — and the number of registered users has more than tripled, USA Today said Thursday.

“USA Today said the number of registrations jumped 380% over February, and that readers are spending more time per visit. Nearly 40,000 user comments were posted in March, the paper said. Gaining the most traffic were the Sports, Money, Travel and Tech sections of the site, USA Today said.”

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