[RESOLVED] Im a designer - what new things should I learn?

[nickholl]

Hi - Im a designer by trade (but know a little actionscript)

I was thinking today about what new skillsets I should learn (as I havent really learnt anything new for a while :S )

With the upcoming Adobe Flash 9 I was thinking it may be beneficial for me to learn After Effects as it may be more and more useful for using with flash.

or...

I could put my time into learning some more actionscript - ie. classes and the like

Which do you think I should learn ? (and dont say both )

thanks for your feedback guys!

[cancerinform]

Thread moved.

[nickholl]

oops sorry - Dont know where to post sometimes

[theallan]

What direction do you want to take? What motivates you to work? The answer will be there.

[nickholl]

well its design, motion design, graphic design - mainly within Flash. Obviously a knowlege of actionscript helps alot (althoug not currently as we use coders)

My thought is.. ive heard that Adobe will be linking flash with After Effects in the next version so it may be extremely beneficial for me to be able to use this - but AFter Effects is a WHOLE new ballgame.

I guess what Im asking is do you think After Effects will be having a big influence on the future of flash (enough for me to need to learn it)?

thanks for our comments

[theallan]

To me Flash is moving rapidly into several new markets, with video being one of the primary areas. Its ubiquity across the net makes it a popular choice for deploying multimedia over the net, and with broadband that is going to be come ever more popular. Any video production techniques, After Effects, Motion, and others are going to become increasingly important to Flash (imho...).

A

[nickholl]

I guess we're vearing off subject here - but is there any guess as to how Adobe will be linking flash with After Effects? I mean - like all the CS range they could almost be made into one huge application (which obviously wouldnt happen) Im just wondering how they'll all link into flash - but I guess thats the quesion everybody wants to know at the moment

[sk8Krog]

theallan is right in that motion graphics will be a major part in flash, however there are still other directions Adobe and the users are taking it. Rich internet apps will are becoming more and more popular, whether they use flash or javascript. In which case you really wouldn't have to learn a whole lot else since you are the designer and not the coder. Games are huge and more is possible now than 3 years ago. Video integration (streaming or otherwise) is growing in popularity as there's only one plugin for users to keep track of.

Take a look at the industry your company is in. What's the client base? What are your typical projects? Is there anything you think you're company should be able to do but doesn't yet?

[Ultima Designs]

I tried eCrack. That got me going.

[nickholl]

whats eCrack?!

[EVPohovich]

...is that kinda like eMeth?

[Frets]

Everyone is a designer by trade.

If you really want to advance your career

Management
Finance
Sales
Administration
Markekting

[silverx2]

speed-folding/hanging

[FlashLackey]

i think that coding and after effects would both be valid pursuits at this point. i imagine that it should depend on what type of work you're interested in doing the most. but, if its a matter of what will be the most marketable, i would say the coding. there are 30 million "web artists" out there that fumble around with After Effects but relatively few are really sought after. advanced flash developers are in much greater demand right now.

[aden_1]

Learn Aftereffects for sure - even if its not linked precisely into flash 9 - rich media will still be very much apart of the future of flash, and deploying great video through flash will be something everyone wants in their web department

[tongxn]

you are asking all the wrong questions.

Agree with Frets.
Be yourself and do the best, then be a bit mad and try to be your own boss
You got backups!

[nickholl]

well thanks for your replies

Frets - I think the problem is that a lot of people think they're designers by trade - just as a lot of people think they're great at sales and marketing.

I know where my strengths lie and its not in finance and management - personally I couldn't think of anything more tedious and soul destroying. I'm going to stick with what I'm best at and improve my skills in Flash and After Effects.

anyways - I think my question has been answered - thank you all for your replies