Kevin Suttle is a Flash Platform UX Architect who has been working with Flash for over 5 years. In his presentation, he discusses the current "battle for platform supremacy" between Flash and HTML5. However, he argues that users just want great content and experiences, and both Flash and HTML5 are capable of providing that. He outlines many new user experience focused APIs in Flash Player 10.1 for touch, gestures, accessibility and more. He advocates for an approach of "mobilizing, not minimizing" applications to provide adaptive experiences across devices using Flash technologies like AIR.
1. The next Generation of
FLASH USER EXPERIENCE
{ Kevin Suttle
Flash Platform UX Architect }
2. Kevin Suttle
Flash Platform UX Architect
5 years of large-scale Flash Platform eLearning content
Featured author for InsideRIA
Tech Reviewer for O’Reilly’s Flex 4 Cookbook
Submitted close to 150 bugs/features for Flash CS5
“Most likely to break hearts” - My mom
I’m on the internet: kevinsuttle.com | @kevinSuttle
4. How I got into Flash:
I started out wanting to be a writer.
I changed my mind.
I got a degree in Electronic Media Communications
from the University of Cincinnati.
I loved digital art and photo manipulation, but it just kind of sat there.
I got into web design, and then met Flash.
I taught myself how to program.
I spend most of my time in
FLASH but I also know my way around FLEX.
5. Flash is at a crucial point
within the realm of
development technologies.
All of a sudden there are “sides”.
7. I don’t know if you’ve heard:
There’s a bit of news about an new standard - HTML5
Adobe HEARTS Apple but not the other way ‘round.
Apple has their own agenda, and that’s cool. I guess.
8. Smoke and mirrors
It wasn’t about performance
It wasn’t about plugin-architecture
It wasn’t about ubiquity
It wasn’t about devices
It was about competition
Glandul... ia... er... Apple’s JS framework
9. Let’s take a look
Sept 2000 - Flash Player 2 had a 95% average in USA,
CAN, EUR, ASIA, and South America
10. Open or closed
Flash Player is a standard. It’s been at 90+% for years.
Whether Steve likes it or not.
11. The thing is that consumers
don’t really care.
They just want their content,
or do they?
12. Yes, and no.
Users want content, but they
also want a great experience.
The iPhone and iPad are perfect examples.
13. Some users are
willing to only play Farmville
at home and have an iPhone.
They shouldn’t have to make a choice.
14. You’re all developers, right?
Think of it as encapsulation.
Push the button, watch it go.
21. Worst-case scenario
We go back to ALL of the massive amounts of work
we had before Section 331 PLUS MOBILE.
Open Screen Project FTW
22. I work on what I like to think
are “translatable skills”.
User Experience
Information Architecture
Usability Engineering
Interaction Design
UI Construction
Jesse Freeman says that “Flash is dead”.
I’m just picking out what I’m wearing to the “funeral”.
24. “ User experience is the sum of
all your users' interactions
with your company,
its services,
and its products.
”
“User Experience As Corporate Imperative”
hesketh.com
25. The elements of
User Experience
according to Jesse James Garrett
Visual Design
Information Design
Interface design | Navigation design
Interaction Design | Information Architecture
Functional specs | Content requirements
User Needs in parallel to Site Objectives
26.
27. The point is
UX spans all aspects of design
and development.
Let’s talk about both within Flash.
29. Freedom in design is a
double-edged sword
for any platform.
Please use responsibly.
30. Let’s take a look
HTML/CSS - “Standardized” coding practices,
very loose control of display across browsers
Flash - Complete freedom of design and
development, but bad coding or lack of optimization
can lead to very poor performance
35. More keys to emotional design
Rule of thirds
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_thirds
Golden Ratio
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_ratio
Designing on a grid
http://960.gs
39. So much more
Geolocation IME
Gestures and Touch DRM
Accelerometer Globalization
Global Error Handling Printing
P2P/RMTFP Sampling
Sensors
My VERY unofficial count: a few hundred new APIs.
40. Multi-touch
Freeing Flash from the restraints of traditional mouse
and keyboard interaction.
Flash was always meant to be multi-touch
42. There is a bit of a
misconception about
rollovers on touch screens.
You can TOTALLY do it.
43. flash.display.InteractiveObject.gesturePan
Dispatched when the user moves a point of contact
over the InteractiveObject instance on a touch-
enabled device (such as moving a fingers from left to
right over a display object on a mobile phone or
tablet with a touch screen). Some devices might
also interpret this contact as a mouseOver event and
as a touchOver event.
44. flash.display.InteractiveObject.gesturePressAndTap
Dispatched when the user creates a point of contact
with an InteractiveObject instance, then taps on a
touch-enabled device (such as placing several fingers
over a display object to open a menu and then taps
one finger to select a menu item on a mobile phone
or tablet with a touch screen). Some devices might
also interpret this contact as a combination of several
mouse events, as well.
49. flash.accessibility.ISimpleTextSelection
The ISimpleTextSelection class can be used to add
support for the MSAA ISimpleTextSelection interface
to an AccessibilityImplementation.
If an AccessibilityImplementation subclass
implements the two getters in this class, a
screen reader such as JAWS can determine the text
selection range by calling them.
51. Two main throttling techniques
Is the SWF instance in a hidden tab?
Is the SWF instance scrolled out of view?
52. HIDDEN TAB DETECTION
Supported Browsers as of APRIL 2010
MAC - Webkit nightly (standalone .app)
WIN - IE7-8, Firefox 3.6
http://blog.kaourantin.net/?p=83
53. OUT OF VIEW DETECTION
Supported Browsers as of APRIL 2010
MAC - Safari 4, Webkit nightly (standalone .app),
Firefox 3.7 (standalone beta .app)
WIN - IE7-8
http://blog.kaourantin.net/?p=83
54. Supported Browsers as of APRIL 2010
Linux folks - Well, you’re going to have to wait.
It would require a LOT of overhauling
within Flash Player and Linux browsers.
56. UNDER-HYPED
Detects system locale properties to tailor:
Text language/orientation (RTL)
Date/Time
Currency formatting/parsing
Number formatting/parsing
String comparison for sorting or searching for text
Upper and lower case conversions
57. Private browsing mode (inside of Flash Player)
Supported in modern versions of
Chrome, IE and Firefox
61. Supports many types of hardware rendering
Vector graphics
Bitmaps
3D effects
Filters/Shaders
Color transforms
Alpha transparency
Device/embedded text fonts
Saffron Type
and the cacheAsBitmap property
62. Disabled screensaver in fullscreen mode
if video or audio is not paused, stopped, or buffering.
Basically, it checks to see if there is volume.
75. Enter AIR Mobile
powered by
Flash Player 10.1.
The beginning of the “full” mobile Flash explosion.
76. Enter litl OS
powered in part by a special build of
Flash Player 10.1, to drive the use of
Flash in the living room.
Web book, web-connected TV, multitouch remote
developer.litl.com