Time is at a premium, yet flawless execution is essential. Web applications rarely get more than one chance to capture and hold a user's imagination. There are so many different interfaces connecting single messages, campaigns, companies and people, and with so many rival messages competing for people's attention, the online experience must do its job effectively, quickly - and easily. Software users have neither the time nor the inclination to read complex 'how to' manuals.

When designers and developers collaborate successfully, so do graphics and digital performance. However different their individual roles may be, behind the scenes of any great website or rich internet application, there are programmers working well with graphic artists towards a common purpose: to create functional, interactive and good-looking online experiences.

The best case scenario involves minimal back and forth between the two camps; which is easier said than done without tools that are sympathetic to both.

Back in the day, the development of websites and rich internet content was often a lengthier and problematic process because the developer would be given a brief by a designer; and the developer would then create a code based on their own developer-centric interpretation of the brief. With limited interaction between the designers and the developers, the collaboration process was often constricted and it took longer to create a site that both looked and worked great. The editing and approval time of a project would lag as much debate and misinterpretation ensued between designer and developer, developer and designer.

Now, since the advent of tools that take into account the need for synchronicity between designers and developers, an efficient workflow has become possible. Adobe has further simplified the creative process with Adobe Creative Suite 4 in order to save time and money for all.

Creative Suite 4
Adobe Creative Suite 4 has been designed so that Adobe Flash, Fireworks and Dreamweaver integrate beautifully with Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. The site authoring enhancement of Dreamweaver CS4, combined with the prototyping features of Fireworks CS4, allow users to prototype, design, develop, and deploy standards-based websites faster and more accurately. Client-friendly PDF and standards based CSS layout export features in Fireworks CS4 complement Dreamweaver CS4 with its site authoring workflow improvement features - particularly Live View, Related File, and Code Navigator.

These tools allow web professionals to accelerate project timelines and improve productivity, so clients with ever-increasing expectations and ever-cost conscious constraints are satisfied on both counts.

Adobe Fireworks CS4 offers both PDF and CSS layout export options, so getting client feedback is made easy and designs go off to development faster. The real-time code access of Live View and the accelerated file and code identification features of Related Files and Code Navigator in Dreamweaver CS4 means authoring powers on at high speed.

Additionally, interactive designers working to meet and exceed client expectations for ever more engaging site and online experiences can now incorporate some of the most advanced animation effects possible with intuitive new drawing tools in Flash CS4. Animation has been re-imagined with the under-deadline designer in mind with new WYSIWYG features that streamline every animation element from tweening to motion editing to advanced effects.

It's not just the client who is happy either. By automating the mundane yet critical tasks - such as exporting - web professionals can enjoy the refinement process as much as the creation phase.

The online experience continues to evolve and in some areas, explode with popularity and possibility. Opportunities abound for web professionals with the right tools, an innovative approach and unwavering professional delivery. The design component of any web application is undeniably important to the development process so clearly, a siloed approach isn't viable. More than work together, designers and developers must truly collaborate using tools that unify and propel the creative flow. Deployment of standards-based, interactive websites requires web professionals with access to technology that not only helps them create high-impact work but that also helps ensure projects are on time and on budget. A sure-fire strategy to keep clients coming back and leading new ones to your door.



Adobe Flash Catalyst
In its commitment to streamline designer-developer workflow, Adobe is due to make available a public beta version of Adobe® Flash® Catalyst on Adobe Labs in early 2009. Adobe Flash Catalyst is a professional interaction design tool for rapidly creating application interfaces and interactive content without coding. These can range from interactive Ads, product guides and design portfolios to user interfaces for applications. Flash Catalyst allows designers to start from static compositions created in Photoshop CS4, Illustrator CS4, or Fireworks CS4 and convert the artwork into applications and interactive content. This is achieved by visually defining events, transitions and motion. Flash Catalyst can output a finished Flash SWF or AIR application that's ready to publish on the web. In addition designers can provide the project file to developers who can use Adobe Flex® Builder™ to add additional functionality such as connection to back-end systems.

CS4: Business Building Workflow Tips
Adobe InContext Editing

Use Dreamweaver to design your pages so end users can edit web pages without help from you or additional software using the Adobe InContext Editing online service. Limit changes to specific pages, distinct regions, and even custom formatting options. Offer end user better control of their content without losing control of your design.

3D transformations; inverse kinematics; procedural modelling
In Flash CS4 Professional, four new sophisticated motion features add an unprecedented level of expressive power without the need for advanced coding knowledge:

- Animate 2D objects through 3D space with new easy-to-use 3D transformation tools, greatly extending creative possibilities without relying on code.
- Use the Bones tool to add inverse kinematic effects. Link objects or elements of objects to create chain-like effects—it's as simple as drawing links between symbols.
- Draw patterns with ease using the Deco tool. Complex pattern algorithms can be easily applied using pre-built or custom symbols. Patterns can then be animated with additional motion effects.

3D Transformations, Bones, and Deco are advanced design tools that allow designers to quickly and easily incorporate some of the most sophisticated motion effects seen in animation today—all with a user interface they understand, and with the level of control needed render professional results. In addition to enhanced expressiveness, these new design features bypass the need for handwritten code, reduce workflow interruptions and result in time savings and greater productivity.