Facing Obsolescence?

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  • dMullins0

    In this age, it's starting to become less and less realistic to be a specialist, unless you're ultra bad ass at it. I would learn anything and everything you can.

    • It's funny. The game started out for us web designers being a jack of all trades. I've been designing, hand coding html/xhtml/css/javas... and actionscript 2.0 also doing IA. When I moved to NYC everything was so specialized. they want me to design or they want me to code. Then i have toi hold the IAs hand b/c they usually have no clue.graphiknature
    • html/xhtml/css/javas... 2, and doing IA. Now everything is so specialized they want me to code or they want me to design. Not both.graphiknature
  • eryx0

    keithrondinelli, I am kind of in the same boat as you are, though I don't have as much experience. It was suggested to me to take a few weeks and lean everything you can about jQuery or Objective-C something that is reasonably in demand as well as flash.

    My plan is also to move away from development and try and get revenue from other sources.

  • ukit0

    So are you guys (Flash devs) actually seeing reduced demand from clients at this point? Or is it more a case of just reading the news and seeing where things are headed?

    • not yet... .. .but I'm sure it's comingPonyBoy
    • more from inside the agency, CD and managment are turnung away from it, clients don't give a shit
      Ancillary
  • keithrondinelli0

    ukit, a combination of both. I definitely see less clients asking for Flash work, and, in reading the job boards, the word "Flash" is mentioned less and less. In general, I see HTML/XHTML/CSS/JQuery in almost every post. So....

  • eryx0

    I am still getting plenty of flash work. I just know there will be a demand for other things, Right now I offer an "Apple mobile OS" version of flash sites that I do that has some jQuery animation and contact information that works with the Google maps app and the email app. It is like an add on to a contract

    If the client wants a full jQuery based website I tell them I can do it but it will cost a bit more and the Animation will be limited as compared to flash.

  • maikel0

    at least you are not an editorial designer, mate...

  • keithrondinelli0

    Hey, I know, I'm not really complaining – not yet at least – but I see technology changing and I want to stay ahead of the curve. Thanks for your replies!

  • Mimio0

    Just use the other technologies.

  • flashbender0

    "What do I do? Do I chomp down and learn to hand-code standards-compliant websites with XHTML/CSS and perhaps learn some JQuery? It seems any job posts looking for a web designer/UI designer demand experience in this area, of which I have little."

    yes this. Also focus attention on the UI/UX side of things - more than just interface design... complete site design, user journey and all that.

  • ukit0

    Do you think it will change the kind of site people ask for? Given that your typical odopod/ Big Spaceship style Flash site isn't really recreatable in JS/ HTML5 yet.

    • Odopod and BS are on Wordpress now though....dMullins
    • for their own sites, but what about their client work?ukit
    • That wasn't exactly how you used the references, now was it?dMullins
    • That's what I meant, that kind of stuff is their bread and butterukit
  • bored2death0

    I've been shocked by the job postings I've seen lately.

    The amount of skills that someone is expected to have seems unrealistic. I've literally seen jobs where the person is required to have motion, web and print skills.

    Do these people really exist? Is this what I'm competing against? It may be time for me to hang my mouse up.

    • no... this just clarifies your seach, those postings are NOT where to look.....vaxorcist
    • Late 90's, lots of posts asking for 10 years of experience in Java?!?vaxorcist
    • when Java had only been around for 6 years or less....vaxorcist
    • Those requirements are usually assembled by clueless people who don't even know what they're asking for.Josev
  • vaxorcist0

    Many of the job postings you mention show employers who have no wisdom, because anyone who "knows all" those alphabet soup skills EITHER has a very shallow knowledge of most, or should be paid a fortune....

    Seriously though.... There have been posts about the way a company or client treats developers like a tool, not a partner, and the laundry list of requirements tends to show that ,mindset, they care about covering all their bases or asses, rather than making something great....

    I'd specialize in high quality UI, dynamic jquery stuff, and team up with a smart back-end developer to make something great.... then show it to people, learn how to market and network yourself, and make the user experience and business objectives the things that matter... do not fall into the endless desire for a job amongst the alphabet soup API-of-the-month club checkbox mindset people...

  • PIZZA0

    Adobe needs to focus on what flash was good for and designed for in the first place, instead of pitching it as an RIA platform or a mobile development platform or whatever flavour of the month people want.

  • CyBrain0

    I had my first iPad-related client request today. It was just a simple 3d 360º rotation of a product I created in Cinema 4D. I output an H.264 video and asked our mobile/tech guys how they could put some interactive controls on it. They said it could be done but it would be too complex to do in house and would have to be outsourced. I haven't been at this job long enough to know whether the guy I was talking to was inept, but this doesn't sound like it bodes well for any of us.

    Once again, I hate you to death, Steve Jobs.

    • if they can't just rotate a simple image sequence then they probably fucking suck. Or arePIZZA
    • claiming to be iPhone devs before they know half the shit they shouldPIZZA
  • CyBrain0

    I'm surprised how exonerated Steve Jobs is here.

    What would really be interesting is what if an antitrust suit forces Apple to open the iOS to third parties.

    Or if Smokescreen becomes successful. http://smokescreen.us/

  • twokids0

    Most people who write job descriptions are morons. They make a laundry list of everything piece of software ever made, say '5 years experience' and write a paragraph describing and ideal person that will never exist.

    You just have to ignore that since they will never find someone as they are describing.

    In the end, they take the best person, whether it comes close to the description or not.

  • eryx0

    ukit I think like everything on the web there is a pros and cons to doing things with certain technologies. It depends on what the best solution for the the clients needs.

    The problem is Apple has created something that complete shuts off an potential development option. If the client want a site that flash works perfectly for it will not show up on an ipad or iphone. But at the same time HTML 5 and JQuery are limited at this point in time and will most like not be able to catch up for years.

    If I make an Apple mobile OS version of a clients site I keep an eye on how many times it is accessed. I also look at the types of devices used to access the site in Google analytics. If It turns out only 1% or 2% of visits come from an iphone, ipad than there is no point to develop the site in HTML5 or with jQuery.

    What do you think?

  • Ancillary0

    Most of the anti Flash push from our agancy is internal, I clients don't give a shit. There's still heaps of Flash work though because some of the big immersive sites just can't be done in anything else.
    I got a couple of books on iPhone dev and picked it up in a couple of weeks, it's not that hard you just have to do it.
    I'm just abit sad that we're going to lose the simple, creative workflow of Flash.

  • kingsteven0

    Stop thinking of yourself / calling yourself a Flash designer.

    I'm in exactly the same situation, designer w' primarily Flash dev experience 10 years/ 'AS 2.5'.

    Skills aren't all technical and most are transferable. I like to believe that all those years working independently of standards based design gives me a bit of an edge when it comes to creating original design concepts.

    Once you start getting in to HTML5 and it's related technologies you'll realize that almost everything that separates them from Flash lies in the process of creating within the Flash IDE. Macromedia's usability rush with Jakob Nielsen from '01 - 05 plugged a gap temporarily and brought many new developers to the platform but has little to do with it's recent popularity (mostly down to online video). ATM less Flash (as a standard) doesn't indicate the death of Flash; instead we may get more Flash content where Flash is the most appropriate tool for the job.

    At the weekend I prototyped a 3D engine in Flash that displays a model created algorithmically based on the time and sine and cosine. The client has had the equation for two years (it's part of a bigger project to display 'cybertexts' that repeat every 24 hours.) I could have written the same thing in Processing JS or Cocoa. I could have animated it in C4D or AE but I knew it would be quickest with Flash. In 2 days I had a prototype online and we've got the contract for app development off the back of it...

    may the spirit of Flash always be with you.

    • " I like to believe that all those years working independently..." lol!PIZZA
    • everyone believes something :-Dkingsteven
    • I also prefer working with musicians because they're often more open to critique and have better communication skills...kingsteven
    • vaxorcist's comment below is more or less the point i was trying to make...kingsteven
  • ukit0

    Well I agree, why would you change everything to cater to 1-2%? On the other hand, don't blame Apple too much - there isn't Flash on most mobile devices yet, I think Adobe themselves predicted support on something like 5% of smartphones by the end of the year. And only 50% a few years from now.

    • There is PLENTY to blame Apple for in this situation.CyBrain