FLASH: Form -vs- Function

[Jake.Gorst]

What it really comes down to is - What is the purpose of the website?  If it's

entertainment (which Flash is ideal for) then graphics and effects are king.  If

the site is e-business related (e-commerce site or a directory) then information

architecture should take priority.  While I agree that the visual aspect of

design is important (I went to school for classical animation), it doesn't mean

a thing if the user gets lost or confused.


A building has to have a foundation and structural support before the brick,

spackle and paint goes up!


Jake Gorst

Jonamac Productions

http://www.jonamac.com





"Byer, Mark" <

mbyerCarlson [dot] com

> on 05/19/99 09:53:03 AM


Please respond to

flashershocker [dot] com

To:   "

'flashershocker [dot] com

'" <

flashershocker [dot] com

>

cc:    (bcc: Jake Gorst/SMC)

Subject:  RE: FLASH: About Flash in Sweden and perception





I know I'm getting into this thread a little late, but...


> ----------

> From:   David Gary

>

>

> Content _should_ be king. The bottom line is, no matter how cool Flash is,

> it

> still cannot stand up to 3D animation and high-end

> interactive visuals on CD-rom or video special effects. It doesnt matter

> what

> you produce, it cannot compare to video, which

> is what we are used to. I haven't seen a flash site yet, including my own,

> that

> was worth the DL, simply because, for what its worth, it doesn't come

> close to

> what we're used to in the "Video" world. The new Star Wars better have a

> good

> plot, because

> people could care less about the visual effects these days, simply for the

> fact

> that good CGI has come to be an expectation by the public. In this day and

> age

> its really hard to "Wow" a crowd in feature films with effects, much less

> on

> the internet with

> cheap animated graphics.

>

The Form vs Function debate has raged since the beginning of time, or so it

seems. Generally I totally agree with the above. I often end up in heated

debate with our own design group on just such balancing of form and

function. In the end that's just what it comes down to... balancing.


The movie analogy may not have been the best choice though David...


According to the Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com), the top ten

grossing movies of all time are:


1) Titanic

2) Jurassic Park

3) Independance Day

4) Star Wars

5) Lion King

6) E.T.

7) Forrest Gump

8) Jurassic Park: Lost World

9) Men In Black

10) Armegeddon


How many of these had fantastic special effects? Actually every one of them.

How many had solid plots? That's a matter of opinion but even if we agree

Jurassic Park or Independance Day had solid plots were they really that much

better than Shindler's List (58), The English Patient (117), Good Will

Hunting (121) or Philedelphia (143)? (Note that these last four rate below

Terminator II: Judgement Day (14) and Jaws (19)! So much for the solid plot

theory.)


The point is that people do care a great deal about visual effects these

days and the box office proves it. So does the PC gaming industry, and your

own web site for that matter. But people also care about content. Form will

engage, content will retain. That's the balance we should be striving for.

IMHO.


-M-


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