Major Flash Design Problem

[blackjenova]

Hi..
I'm a flash programmer and have a severe design problem. Currently I have advanced in Flash, PHP and mySQL and I really don't have problem in three of them.

My only major problem is HOW TO DESIGN. I can't make a good design. Every design I made is based on PHP and SQL needs, so it's so minimalis.

I've seen www.2advance.com, www.ultrashock.com, or even www.microsoft.com..
the have very good design...

If anyone can help my problem or at least point me to the place where I can learn such a creativity, I'd be very thankful....

[Jujumon]

hi, your problem is not HOW to design, but WHAT to design.

First of all, set ur objectives, then set ur goal, then work from there.

goodluck

[alien_landscape]

Hello,

What you must remember is that a good functional website with intuitive navigation and clearly displayed content will always triumph over a fancy design concept that may look slick but be intimidating and unusable to the average person.

Creativity is not a skill you can really teach, but rather a life long quest.

For inspiration, consider keeping a sketch book or scrap book, collect anything that interests you in terms of colour and layout. Observe the world around you, architecture, nature, fashion. The ideas will soon start to flow I promise you.

Visit www.linkdup.com and www.thefwa.com to see hundreds of inspirational and innovative websites, if you find one you like, try and replicate its layout (just for practice of course, I would never condone plagiarism)

Some design tips…Always plan on paper first, even a quick thumb nail sketch can really help you to visualise the final outcome and save a lot of time. Limit your colour palette. Research basic colour theory and how complementary colours work. Think about how elements are aligned to each other, think about the empty spaces you create, these can be just as important as the content. Never stretch or distort your type or use fancy but illegible fonts. Don’t use lots of fonts together, three is about the maximum.

The best advice is to always keep things simple and always assume your user is stupid, then you can’t really go wrong.

Good Luck!

[blackjenova]

OK, I got you idea. so I should make the design first in, perhaps, Photoshop ? then implement to flash...
well, can you tell me where can I get tutorial on the web about the art of making good design and layout ?
Thanks again.

[alien_landscape]

Well, it can be useful to mock up in photoshop first, but what I'm saying is; the best place to start is always on paper.

Why not check out Amazon for design related books, here is a good one.

Click here for some good advice on using colour.

hope this is helpful.

[nerv_03]

To add to the suggestions, you should take a look at grid theory. I recommend starting with this article http://www.markboulton.co.uk/article...hy_use_a_grid/

You should also look up on information design. A good book that's short and gets to the point is Steve Krug's "Don't Make Me Think."

I hope this helps and goodluck!

[blackjenova]

Thanks a lot guys..
btw, I just design an "uncomplete" flash.
the zip file is attached with this message
I will use this movie for my website..
Any suggestion ?
thanks again.

[Adobemedia]

Pretty nice design you got there.

[cr34tiv3 5tu]

Thanks a lot guys..
btw, I just design an "uncomplete" flash.
the zip file is attached with this message
I will use this movie for my website..
Any suggestion ?
thanks again.

I like it, its a very good start. your attention to detail shows that you have an eye for these things.

However, I would just say that as alien_landscape mentioned in his post, be wary of using illegible type, it looks like a nice texture but the to be honest, the only button I could read was 'games'. It looks as though there is repeaded type behind the main 'title' prehaps you could consider fading these a bit more leaving the main 'title' to shine though..?

Other than that I think its a very positive start.

Stu