DIGITAL SANKALP

Trekking through Web Design Tips

<h1 style="font-size:20px;margin:0.25rem 0px;padding:0px 0px 0.5rem;border-width:0px 0px 1px;border-bottom-style:solid;border-bottom-color:rgb(204,204,204);color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"> </h1> The majority of Flash movies end up on Web sites. To help ensure that your Web site is as attractive and useful as possible, consider these pearls of wisdom, some of which apply to all Web sites and others are specific to those sites using Flash movies. <h2 style="margin:0.25rem 0px 1.25rem;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">Set your goal</h2> A general principle of Web design is to know why you have a Web site. Write out one main goal and perhaps one or two secondary goals. For example, the main goal of your site may be to sell used music CDs. A secondary goal may be to provide viewers with music reviews so that they can decide which CDs they want to buy. Avoid putting material on your site that doesn't help you reach your goal. How does your Flash movie help you attain your Web site's goal? Perhaps your movie displays the covers of your most widely sold CDs and plays some of the music, giving viewers an instant understanding of your site's purpose. On the other hand, if your Flash movie just displays an animated logo, it may even distract viewers from the important features of your home page. <h2 style="margin:0.25rem 0px 1.25rem;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">Keep pages clean and clear</h2> Unlike television, the Web is an interactive medium. Viewers need to understand the purpose of your site and how to navigate it. Clutter and complex structures are counterproductive. You can use Flash to create a simple, compelling navigational system. But you must be careful when mixing and matching HTML and Flash elements in order to avoid confusion. Let all your buttons look similar — don't create five different shapes and colors of Flash buttons just because you can. By default, the Flash HTML file loops your files. Looped short animations tend to look like the animated GIFs we all know and hate . . . and ignore. Avoid looped animation unless you have a good reason for it, especially if it moves across the Web page in a banner. Viewers may assume it's advertising. <h2 style="margin:0.25rem 0px 1.25rem;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">Don't overwhelm viewers with color</h2> Too many colors create a chaotic impression. While your Web site doesn't have to be dull, you don't want it to be overwhelming either. Of course, there's nothing wrong with full-color photographs or graphics, but use a maximum of three colors for the background, text, and navigational aids. Most of your Web content is probably text, which viewers expect to be mostly in one font and one color. Navigational aids, such as buttons and links, should be the same color throughout your site. <h2 style="margin:0.25rem 0px 1.25rem;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">Use fewer than four fonts</h2> To create a Web page design with maximum coherence and impact, you should probably restrict your page design to two or three fonts at most. It makes visual sense to use one font for the body of your text and one font for the headlines. You could perhaps use a third font for a logo or for some other special item, but this may look best if it has some kind of strong visual harmony with the other fonts you are using. Use four fonts and people may start to think that you're designing a ransom note, not a Web page. <h2 style="margin:0.25rem 0px 1.25rem;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">Be consistent</h2> Each page on your site should have the same logo. Certain links should go on each page (such as a link to your home page) and be in the same place on each page. If you have other links, such as Search, E-mail, and so on, these should also be consistent throughout your site. Text color, fonts, hyperlinks, backgrounds, buttons, and so on should all be consistent to avoid confusion and error. If you're combining HTML and Flash content, use consistent fonts and colors for both. <h2 style="margin:0.25rem 0px 1.25rem;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">KISS</h2> As you may know, KISS stands forKeep It Simple, Stupid. Sketch out the map of your site and make sure the lines of navigation are short and simple. Don't use long explanations when a short one will do. Don't use lots of images when one will suffice. Your Flash movies should also be as simple as possible. Animation goes by fast. If too many objects are moving at once, viewers don't know where to focus their attention. <h2 style="margin:0.25rem 0px 1.25rem;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">Know who's watching and how</h2> Many Web site hosts provide you with information on the browsers (including which version) and the resolutions used by your viewers. You may not be able to cater to everything out there, but you should try to create a Web site that the vast majority of people can see. Many sites that use Flash offer a non-Flash alternative rather than force viewers without the Flash Player to download it. The non-Flash alternative has non-animated graphics in place of the Flash movie. Remember that viewers on a screen with 640 x 480 resolution can see a lot less than viewers on screens with a higher resolution. Those with lower resolution may miss important parts of your Web page and Flash animation. <h2 style="margin:0.25rem 0px 1.25rem;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:18px;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">Support the Flash Player</h2> You can choose to publish an HTML file that detects whether the Flash Player is installed on the viewer's computer. If not, it displays an image file. (You need to publish to one of the image formats at the same time for this to work.) The default HTML text doesn't check for the Flash player, but it includes the location to download the player. In some situations, the Flash Player will download automatically when not available or a window will pop up offering the viewer the chance to download it. Many sites include a button that says, Can't see the animation? Download the Flash Player here, or something to that effect. The button links to<a href="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash" style="color:rgb(1,69,138)" target="_blank">Macromedia's download center</a>. Many Web surfers have no idea how Web sites are created and have never heard of Flash. Therefore, giving viewers a choice of Flash and non-Flash sites may not be meaningful. (Of course, if you're a Web site designer and you think potential clients viewing your site may be savvier than most viewers, you may have no problem in this regard.) In most situations, it may be better to use the words animated and non-animated. Of course, feel free to use the word Flash along with some explanation.

Trekking through Web Design Tips

The majority of Flash movies end up on Web sites. To help ensure that your Web site is as attractive and useful as possible, consider th...

7:02 pm

Trekking through Web Design Tips

Trekking through Web Design Tips

The majority of Flash movies end up on Web sites. To help ensure that your Web site is as attractive and useful as possible, consider th...

7:02 pm

Adding Dirt and Grime to 3D Game Animation

Adding Dirt and Grime to 3D Game Animation

Although most game-animation textures are created externally and wrapped onto objects, most 3D software programs also include a separate...

7:01 pm

Adding Dirt and Grime to 3D Game Animation

Adding Dirt and Grime to 3D Game Animation

Although most game-animation textures are created externally and wrapped onto objects, most 3D software programs also include a separate...

7:01 pm

Becoming Familiar with the QuarkXPress Interface

You may notice that the QuarkXPress interface bears a strong resemblance to the features used by other Windows and Macintosh programs. If you use other programs, you already know how to use QuarkXPress components such as file folders, document icons, and the set of menus at the top of the document window. You create a document by choosing File --> New --> Document or open an existing document by choosing File --> Open --> Document. When you display a document in either Windows or Macintosh, you'll see a few visual elements: The ruler origin box lets you reset and reposition the ruler origin, which is the point at which the side and top rulers are 0 (zero). The name of the open document appears on the title bar, located below the menu bar on the Mac and above the menu bar in Windows. You can move the document window around in the screen display area by clicking and dragging the title bar. If you have reduced or enlarged a document, clicking the zoom boxon the Mac or the restore box in Windows, at the top right corner of the document window, returns it to its previous size. You can make a document all but disappear by minimizing it (in Windows) or turning it into a window shade (on the Mac). To minimize a document, click the minimize box in the document's title bar. To make a document into a window shade, double-click its title bar or click its WindowShade box on the Mac. The vertical and horizontal rulerson the left and top of the window reflect the measurement system currently in use. The pasteboard is a work area around the document page. You can temporarily store text boxes, picture boxes, or lines on the pasteboard. Items on the pasteboard do not print. QuarkXPress displays a shadow effect around the document page. The shadow indicates the edges of the document. If you select Automatic Text Box in the New dialog box (which you access by selecting New Document from the File menu), a text box appears on the first page of the new document. Clicking and dragging the size box on the Mac resizes the document window as you move the mouse. In Windows, you can drag any side of the window to resize it. The View Percent field shows the magnification level of the page that's currently displayed. To change the magnification level, enter a value between 10 and 800 percent in the field; then press the Return key or click elsewhere on the screen. Press Control+V on the Mac or Ctrl+Alt+V in Windows to highlight the View Percent field. Switch pages using the page pop-up. Use the scroll bars, boxes, andarrows to shift the document page around within the document window. If you hold down the Option or Alt key while you drag the scroll box, the view of the document is refreshed as it "moves." Close a document by clicking itsclose box. Menus The menu bar appears across the top of the document window. To display a menu on a Mac, click the menu title and, if you're using an older version of operating software, hold down the mouse button. (In Windows or Mac OS 9 or later, just click the menu title; you don't need to hold down the mouse button.) From the menu, you can select any of the active menu commands. QuarkXPress displays inactive menu commands with dimmed (grayed-out) letters. When commands are dimmed, it means that these commands are not currently available to you — they're inactive. To select one of the active menu commands, hold down the mouse button as you slide through the menu selections. (As you get used to the program, you can avoid using menus by using the keyboard equivalents for menu selections instead. Keyboard equivalents are displayed to the right of the command names in the menu.) If an arrow appears to the right of a menu command, QuarkXPress displays a second, associated menu when you choose that command. Sometimes this secondary menu appears automatically when you highlight the first menu command; other times, you must continue to hold down the mouse and slide it to the submenu name in order to activate the menu. This may sound a little confusing on paper. But go ahead and try it. You'll find it's no big deal. (Again, in Windows or Mac OS 9 or later, you don't need to hold down the mouse button; just click the arrow to make the submenu appear.) Dialog boxes Some menu commands are followed by a series of dots called an ellipsis (. . .). If you choose a menu command whose name is followed by an ellipsis, a dialog box appears. Some dialog boxes also contain submenus. If a menu has a submenu associated with it, an arrowhead appears to the right of the menu entry. In addition to submenus, QuarkXPress includes several pop-up menus, which appear when you make certain selections in a dialog box. QuarkXPress uses tabs, a semi-new kind of dialog box that merges several dialog boxes into one. In fact, you'll often see six or seven of these tabs — similar to what you see on a file folder in an office cabinet — in a single dialog box. Like the file folders in an office cabinet, these tabs keep a large amount of stuff organized in one tidy spot. Click the tab, and it comes to the forefront, showing you the options for that tab. You simply work with each tab you want within the dialog box. Keyboard shortcuts You can select some QuarkXPress functions through pull-down menus, some through palettes, some through keyboard shortcuts, and some through all three options. Most new users begin by using menus because menus are so readily available and familiar. But as you become more comfortable using the program, you may want to save time by using the other options as well, particularly the keyboard shortcuts.

Becoming Familiar with the QuarkXPress Interface

You may notice that the QuarkXPress interface bears a strong resemblance to the features used by other Windows and Macintosh programs. If yo...

6:02 pm

Becoming Familiar with the QuarkXPress Interface

Becoming Familiar with the QuarkXPress Interface

You may notice that the QuarkXPress interface bears a strong resemblance to the features used by other Windows and Macintosh programs. If yo...

6:02 pm

Increasing the Display Quality in Manga Studio

Increasing the Display Quality in Manga Studio

By default, Manga Studio has the page display set at a standard quality. However, if you have a strong enough system (and really, you'd ...

6:01 pm

Increasing the Display Quality in Manga Studio

Increasing the Display Quality in Manga Studio

By default, Manga Studio has the page display set at a standard quality. However, if you have a strong enough system (and really, you'd ...

6:01 pm

Using Your Own Web Space for Sharing Digital Photos

Whether your ISP provides the space for free or you've enlisted a paid host to provide you space for your own domain, you can use your Web space to store and display photos that you want to share with friends, family, customers, and business associates. Be kind to your Web site visitors: You can save your image recipients' time, hard drive space, and aggravation by creating a single repository for all the images you want to share. You're also making it much easier for yourself to keep an up-to-date selection of images available to all who want to see them, so the Web option is a win-win proposition. Putting the images online requires a series of simple steps: 1. Prepare your photos for use on the Web by opening them in a photo editing program, such as Photoshop Elements, and saving them in a Web-safe format. Two formats that all Web browsers can deal with are GIF and JPEG. JPEG is best for photos because it supports the multitude of colors and shading within the images. 2. Set up the Web page where you want to display the images. You can use a variety of graphical tools to design the page (Microsoft FrontPage, Macromedia Dreamweaver, Adobe GoLive) or you can create a page by writing HTML code. If you're using an ISP's free Web space, the ISP gives you step-by-step procedures for creating a Web page, and the software does most of the work for you. 3. Upload the Web page and the images. This is typically done with FTP (File Transfer Protocol) software. If you're using AOL or your ISP, it might provide an Upload page that loads both the Web page you set up and the images you want to display. 4. Visit the page online to see how it looks. You always want to check your page online (using multiple Web browsers, if possible) to see whether it's okay before you send people there to see your images. If you want to make changes, open the Web page file on your computer, make the changes, and upload it again. If you check your page online and you see red Xs (in Internet Explorer) or gray icons with a question mark (in Netscape Navigator) where images should be, this means that the browser can't locate the image that's supposed to be there. Check your Web page settings to make sure that you have the right pictures in the right places, and check to see that you've uploaded all the images to your host's Web server. Before you share a batch of photos with the world, check the photos for anything you'd regret sharing with the rest of the population. You probably want to avoid sharing identifying features, such as addresses and people's last names, which may enable strangers to make undesired contact with you. Another thing to check for is embarrassing content. Going over the images with a very discriminating eye before you share them will pay off in the long run.

Using Your Own Web Space for Sharing Digital Photos

Whether your ISP provides the space for free or you've enlisted a paid host to provide you space for your own domain, you can use your W...

8:15 am

DIGITAL SANKALP

Trekking through Web Design Tips

Trekking through Web Design Tips

Adding Dirt and Grime to 3D Game Animation

Adding Dirt and Grime to 3D Game Animation

Becoming Familiar with the QuarkXPress Interface

Becoming Familiar with the QuarkXPress Interface

Increasing the Display Quality in Manga Studio

Increasing the Display Quality in Manga Studio

Using Your Own Web Space for Sharing Digital Photos

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