Should MultiMedia Just be limited to Intros??

[XU1]

I say this because, sometimes its hard for us to restrain ourselves from going over the top with high tech interfaces, whereas we all know that the average user wants to get around a site easily. The average user IS however impressed with an intro that is short and has a positive impact on their senses.

How may of you actually think this way or what is your "Design" philosophy when setting out your foundations for a site?

Tony

[Eddie Hillegers]

i aim not to have an intro

i'm realy trying to get something going to completly leave out the intro.
my last site i made starts playing after 19 seconds on a
14.4 modem.
until now it results in leaving out a lot of animation
but i hope to find a good solution for it.

this is the site

http://www.webnl.com/kitefestival/

[aa]

i couldn't read a word on there, but i like how it wasn't in my face.. i prefer very short intros. if designers actually tracked how many users clicked their skip button, they'd probably weep...

but i don't think it should be limited to that. i don't find it too tough to resist the temptation to build crazy navigation schemes.. flash can take the current proven standards and slightly improve on them with some interesting effects.

[8minus8]

personally i shy away from intros myself. they tend to be like an advertisement. i always figured intros to be more of a presentation of what to expect, an introduction. i think if a site is designed properly - navigation wise - it can help the sites effectiveness if it is more dynamic in the animated side. basically a good rule whether it be intro, site, banner, etc. 'don't flash for flash's sake'. use the tool to design not as the design.
just my thoughts.

[Subway]

There are different kind of content for different groups of surfers.

If you would to share information, you should use a very fast kind of a navigation concept and that don't means you can't use great design and Flash.

If you just want the emotional aspect to share, it's ok to go wild with inovative animatins and tricky user interfaces.

That's way we make a concept bevor we start with a client site, cause we have to know which kind of users we want at the site.

There's really not only one way to make the perfect web site, there are many ways for many user groups.

That's business and anything else is just an "ego" trip of a designer or his portfolio site. Don't understand me wrong, it's really interesting to make an "ego" site and I really love it to make something out of the business, cause there is the most of you, your ideas, your concept and your design, but business is not bad at all if you go the right way and if you not only look for tha money.

My 2 cent.

[happy]

....Flashterbation......I think thats what we call over doing the intro.......but hey! if you have fun developing it carry on....... just dont expect middle management to understand.

[Subway]

Originally posted by happy
just dont expect middle management to understand.

No, some understand, that's why they don't want one. But if you like to do games, than it's your time at the moment. Really interesting and inovative market right now.

[CNO]

I'm not a fan of intros unless they carry through to your entire site - I'd like to see an intro incorporated as a preloader for content more often than I do - rather than having to wait through a preloader just to see the intro.

It'd be great if some of the animation and innovation that went into creating a catchy intro would be used throughout the entire site rather than as a precursor to it...

However, I wouldn't completely naysay the intro - it's basically a good thing when used properly, particularly for commercial sites. But I think the web demands more progressive thinking. Right now people are making "television commercials for the web" when they should be making "web commercials for the web".

Well integrated Flash and HTML can create awesome sites.

[jelve]

I sometimes (often, actually) wonder why many intros exist at all. It seems like they wanted to use Flash but couldn't figure out how to work it into the main site so, an intro is created. It would be interesting to know what percentage of users hit the 'skip intro' button whether they've seen it before or not.
I have a feeling that most average viewers feel that they're being forced to see a commercial before being let into the site they're trying to see. Some well-placed examples of Flash inside the site would be more effective, IMHO.

[thatbillguy]

I've done quite a few intros, and in the beginning, it was to show off. I still enjoy doing them, because:
A. Easy money
B. I believe if it's done well, an intro can contribute to the users experience.

I agree with CNO about pre-loaders. There's usually around them, and I've left many sites that take too long to load just because the designer didn't take the time to design the swf properly.

-Bill

[honkyboy]

Just out of curiosity,who really uses a 14.4K modem anymore anyway?Sell it dude cos its an antique! I think us flash heads get over excited a bit when we learn a new trick and can make something semi cool.Fact is 96% of people using web browsers have some version of flash installed.We are in 2001 and html is "boring".Most people would like to see something in multimedia, and if we can keep the idea to the concept behind the site then why not?Keep experimenting all you flash heads and lets make the net a fun place to surf!
Honky

[phooka]

This is a quote from one of the best approaches I've read about the matter. It can be found in the thread
http://board.flashkit.com/board/show...threadid=54424
in the Design and Graphics section...

The quote was posted by Mg33 and is worth a read! (BTW, because of its length it was obvious that it was from Michael! )

Anyhow, yes, I've brought up intros several times. I often bring up the way I view sites based on my studying Advertising in school-it gives me a different approach where I feel I really focus on what's neccesary and what's not.
I feel that an intro should have a purpose-this purpose should be to give viewers a quick glimpse of your design style, and inform them as to what you're site is about. It should "get on with it" meaning- do what needs to be done, quickly, but let it have maximum impact.
Think about this: When you see a great, jaw dropping intro, one that taps into emotions, or one that is very cutting edge, what does it foreshadow about the site? What does it allude to?
Skill
Interesting design style
knowledge
creativity
And it also makes you think the site is going to be very cool and interesting before you've even entered it.
When the intro has your attention, you don't want to leave, you want more, you'll wait for the site.

Take 2Advanced, for example, and the work of Eric Jordan. He's got a certain aspect for creating intros-they work, they get the point across, they build interest.
Now, imagine 2Advanced with a boring intro with nothing but text fades-but the site itself is still the same.
When you view the boring intro, that is your first impression of the site, and you'll find yourself thinking the site is that boring as well.

Countless times I've exited sites when the intro is dull, not thought out, and serves no purpose.
The majority of intros I've seen in the Site Check section (not putting anyone down, remember, they're learning and we're offering ways to improve) serve no purpose whatsoever.
Often is seems as though they're done becuase they're part of a template for a Flash site: splash page>intro preloader>intro>site preloader(if neccesary>site.

I think too many intros are created becasue people feel they must adhere to the structure above. So they go about creating intros with no point to them, no relation to the site, and generally use every text effect in the book, also make them way too long. Personaly, I loose interest in such situations very quickly.

So what should an intro be? Like I said, it should only be done if you've created a purpose for one.
I'm working on the intro for my website, and here are the thoughts I have why I'm doing it/what it's going to do:
Quickly show the visual style I have, tap into my personality, make an emotional connection with a viewer, briefly inform as to what my site is focused on, create interest quickly-leave the impression that I'm nothing but rock and roll, everyday, all day...

So, we'll see soon if I accomplish that, I'm about to be finishing up my intro and my site, tedious work, and I've got tons of school stuff as well.

The rest of the thread has cool posts by agent vivid and 8minus8 between others...

Regards,

[Eddie Hillegers]

Originally posted by honkyboy
Just out of curiosity,who really uses a 14.4K modem anymore anyway?Sell it dude cos its an antique! I think us flash heads get over excited a bit when we learn a new trick and can make something semi cool.Fact is 96% of people using web browsers have some version of flash installed.We are in 2001 and html is "boring".Most people would like to see something in multimedia, and if we can keep the idea to the concept behind the site then why not?Keep experimenting all you flash heads and lets make the net a fun place to surf!
Honky

the 14.4 k is in the testing area of flash
me myself am on a lan connection.

-----------------------------------------

this is directed to all in the thread.
Sometimes i wonder how much clients people speak
and with that i mean the clients of your client
the visitors of the site that is.
i am afraid you might think to drop flash completly
if you find out their opinion.
most people i spoke are bored to death with flash
and the first reaction is not to skip the intro
but to skip the complete site.
i think if we keep on doing intro's we will kill flash
ourselves.
so that's why i try to leave out an intro.
i want to avoid people skipping the site.

cheers eddie

[ijohn]

From what i remember,

Flash intros came about a couple of years ago as people just started to discover flash. I can even remember the first one i ever saw (for a US merchant bank, I think) - by todays standards it was shocking, but 2 yrs ago, as the first piece of animation i'd ever seen in flash on the web i couldn't stop talking about it.

From this pont it seems flash intros became popular as everybody wanted some animation in their site and, in the early days when people were still learning the s/ware a one-piece animated intro was easy to do. It had a 'cool' factor.

Today I think the animated intro is highly overrated. On the right site at the right time it can tease the user in and develop a sense of intrigue that can extend browser sessions. Unfortunately 90% of the intros i see today are in the wrong place, at the wrong time, taking too long to load and causing users/potential customers to go elsewhere.

cheers,

ij

[Seti]

I think the real power of flash is in the nav.

I like an intro, but good ones are rare, I saw a very good one quite recently by desertsnowman. But I must say, most of the others simply don't catch my eye anymore.

Sometimes it's the client who wants one, f.e. I'm making a site for a sauna at the moment. The client saw some flash intro's and he wants one of his own. No problem I say, I will make an intro which gives the different sections of the site while preloading the nav. Problem, he wants to have an intro, in which a spaceship comes along the different planets and crashes on the earth. I made a quick demo to demonstrate that it isn't really effective. But he has it in his head, so I'll work it out. The client gets what he wants.


btw: you can check the RAW intro on http://www.geocities.com/setithot/mirage/

[Black_phoenix]

intros are a killer.. we can all be "flash" the hole point of the game is 2 deliver the clients concept quickly with good design, and if flash is used make it good looking not and not a drain to the end user..

my humble opinion

b.p