Creating Visual Experiences with Flex 3.0

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Summary

As Flex is becoming widely adopted, new applications are being released almost

daily. With this, the bar is constantly being raised and it's becoming more

critical to build unique, beautiful and usable applications. Applications built

with Flex and AIR can be visually enhanced through a combination of

thoughtful design and structure implemented through skinning, styling,

transitions and effects, and Photoshop-like filters.

As more and more companies start to adopt Flex for internal and external use,

the one thing that will help set their Flex application apart from the

competition is its user interface. The book discusses good UI principles and

shows the reader how to alter the standard Flex interface using graphics, CSS,

and programming through ActionScript 3.0.

This book is the defacto standard Flex/AIR visual enhancement guide for UI

designers and developers. With it, readers will learn when and where to use a

variety of techniques and how to evaluate the cost vs. benefit of using one over

another for their particular application. Concepts will be described in detail,

contextualized with real-world samples, and re-enforced as we walk step-bystep

through the process of visually enhancing a small-yet-vibrant application.

Author(s) Expertise

JUAN SANCHEZ (Denver, CO) is an Experience Designer for Atomic Curve

in Irvine, CA and is behind ScaleNine.com, a site dedicated to providing

skinning resources and user interface inspiration for Flex and AIR. The work

Juan has done with ScaleNine has gained him recognition as a community

expert, presenting at user groups and conferences, including the LA Flex User

Group and 360 Flex. He also created Flexcursion, a Flex Developer network, is

one of the individuals behind Degrafa, a declarative graphics framework for

Flex, and is the manager of the Orange County Flex User Group. ANDY

MACINTOSH (Denver, CO) is a UI designer for Effective UI, a Flex design

and engineering firm.

Audience

Web developers and designers using Flex and AIR.

Product Description

Don't settle for Flex's boring, standard user interface. Set your Flex applications apart with the breakthrough skinning and programming techniques found in Creating Visual Experiences with Flex 3.0. Leading Flex developers Juan Sanchez and Andy McIntosh show how to build stunning Flex and AIR applications. You'll learn how to take a design and translate that design into Flex or AIR without sacrificing fidelity, and how to apply state-of-the-art branding that adds value to all your Flex applications, no matter what they do or who you're building them for.

Sanchez and McIntosh illuminate every aspect of creating superior visual experiences with Flex 3.0 and AIR and discuss planning, design, architecture, and proven user-interface principles, with an emphasis on technical implementation. You'll learn how to alter the standard Flex interface using all the tools available to you: skins, styling, transitions, effects, filters, graphics built with Adobe creative tools, CSS, and ActionScript 3.0 programming.

The authors reveal the trade-offs associated with each approach to Flex visual experience design and help you choose the right techniques for your applications. They explain each concept and technique in detail, using real-world examples and exercises that solve specific problems and provide samples throughout each chapter.

If you want your Flex and AIR applications to be a cut above the rest, this is the book that shows you how.