Nothing worst than not having time to note all the progress and useful methods I have come up with.
Thats it! I spend more time on Twitter: elliotrock

Read on »

The visual design was based on their old swish template but I have implemented my Behavioural Command Pattern structure, which drives the deeplinking via SWFAddress. And added in more animations.
http://www.visionaryeyespecialists.com.au/
It has alternative content using a PHP/Apache to direct non-flash based devices to static based html/css content. There where a lot of issues setting this up as I didn’t have complete access to the clients server and I must admit the support wasn’t up to scratch. An example of how it …

Read on »

The latest work to finally make it live is Jupi Corporations new site:
http://www.jupicorp.com/
I did the design and development of the majority of the Flash components excluding the lovely chandelier (Mags from Cornerstone design that and I just sorted out the animation). This was a rather challenging project in regards to how certain the client was in his visual branding, it is when a degree in visual communications and 8 years working as a graphic/print design (pre-web, pre-flash) comes in handy. …

Read on »

Its a strange process building using a heavy component based environment verse pure AS3 development, where you design the structure and GUI from scratch. Flex3 is great for quick UI building, gives you a chance to test usability with the client before full scale implementation. The development process I find is more Test Oriented Development where you can try UI designs quickly, pull back and try a different approach or take the first path further.
This kind of development where you …

Read on »

Well its about time I added the recent work that I have completed. This work is done through Cornerstone Technology for the client CLEMENGER Proximity here in Sydney. A range of over flow work, typically tight deadlines. Below are examples of:
- A microsite for Mitsubishi Motors Lancer Platinum edition.
- Design of IMieV eDM, thats the new electric car of Mitsubishi
- Apsire banner ads
Mitsubishi EDM for the new iMiev
- Designed and produced by me based on Clemenger’s print material. In consultation …

Read on »

The implementation of Asual SWFAddress 2.2 in a Command List Pattern design pattern was done in a Shared Command manner. This is of interest to those who use the Cairngorm framework.
I separated the events that would drive the changing of the content:

SWFAddress events responds from the URL call from a server and to internal calls to SWFAddress class via setValue() to change the content, which execute the content change.
The button events of the menu items, these set the value …

Read on »

This article is purely about being smarter and more creative at handling rich media content in a Flash project. I am talking about avoiding the dreaded preloader with a 300kb + chunk of a large flash project.
Over the course of my role as Senior Flash Developer at SWiSHzone I have had to come up with solutions that work across a massive customer base. Everyone including many whose internet connection isn’t ADSL2. The content I create is dynamic flash sites, many …

Read on »

This is a method I came up with for taking a loaded simple XML document and turning it into a top level object in Flash. Basically it trawls through a XML tree and uses the attributes and content to build a object tree recognized by flash.
In AS3 this is the XMLDocument class. But obviously it places the first parent of the XML file at _root which doesn’t exist  in AS3!
The reasons why I did this was to simplify the retrieval …

Read on »

This is phase one of an e-commerce site that I am developing. The client needed a web presence quickly so I suggested a simple gallery style setup. This is the final visual design. There are a few standard methods I have used for the setup structure, and product lists. This will make the progression to a e-commerce system a bit smoother (hopefully!).

The logo is designed and illustrated by me. …

Read on »

I finally had a chance to whip out a gallery page. I already had the functionality planned out so it was just a matter of building the classes. I had considered implementing another design pattern to run it but as it is not something that I would manually change and most of the structure is static.
I also used an old Unix style tool called gFind to build the lists directly off a directory of images and outputting it as a …

Read on »

I found a folder which had some work from a few years back, 7 years to be exact! The folder was rescued from a Zip disk but majority of the content was lost due to bouncing around in a desk drawer.
A wee gem was in that folder… an experimental interface for a radio show “The Electric Company” on Christchurch’s RDU98.5FM. The dot typographic logo and shape were from their logo that I designed. Here it is:
The Electric Company Interface
Note:The press …

Read on »

Here is the latest non-released gallery template for SWiSHzone.com:
Unfocused
It is set up in the same manner as the other gallery templates, via a setup file and internally using a component that has settings for multiple arrow designs, colour pickers for the graphic devices and scroll orientation (left/right or up/down). Like the other galleries it is quite accepting of how the user sets up the images – you don’t need large images for example. It also can be used as a …

Read on »

UPDATE:
I have installed a system that applies a version of the Wordpress styles.css to this flash front end, this means I can use the styles tags in Wordpress to format my text. I will document the steps soon. Finally I can enjoy reading my own blog without the Typographer in me cringing!
I am currently working on a better way to keep some of the formatting done in Wordpress in the final display in AS3. These are the methods I propose:
1. …

Read on »

It isn’t new but I finally had a chance to install Wordpress and hook my Flash blog system to the front end.
The main differences is the rss2 feed from Wordpress compared to the feed from blogger.
The rss2 feed from Wordpress
The Formatting of the RSS2 adheres to the web standards which is great. In order to deal with the XML feed you need to understand Namespaces to get the correct xml child and general XML usage.
This is part of the feed …

Read on »

Flash Player 10 rolls out! security changes and new features. Expect to see the integration and classes in Flash CS4.

Security changes to their cross-domain policy.I recommend to download the stand alone 9,0,124,0  player, the debug version has reporting features to help notify of cross-domain issues. Developers need to get there heads around this as their will be more changes down the track. Wait till phase 2 and 3 hit! Or am I just being paranoid!
Google SWF search. A wait and …

Read on »

Gallery Design and Development
Site85
Site94
Aim:Design and development of Gallery templates. Gallery 85 design was based on an idea of an art gallery wall. Gallery 94 was to continue with a 3D theme from Gallery 73 but was to be a slicker design.
Specification:External loading of media and setup (via a simple.txt document). Sizing based on loaded images or SWF/FLV. Exports to SWF8+. To be used as a stand alone Flash gallery or to be incorporated into an existing Flash or HTML site.
Expertise:All …

Read on »

UPDATE: This site is now driven by Wordpress which is installed on this server. Even so the information below is still relevant. With the recent issues with pipes.yahoo.com and the critical bug that they had with their system I have decided to remove the two uncontrollable systems that my site is reliant on, blogger.com and yahoo.pipes. I have set up my own Wordpress blog on my server, this will allow me to manage and maintain issues myself. It also reduces …

Read on »

Any site that needs interaction between various elements (menu buttons to page builders and more) have a behavioural need. This site uses a Command Pattern with a Command List to control the behaviour of the menu buttons and the content. The other reason to use a Command Patterns is to easily change the function of various menu items, in this case say the links menus.
The structure is based on the catagory tags and the publishing date order from my blogg. …

Read on »

I have always wondered how working Flash Developers have time for self promotion through having a website. The last personal site I had was an experiment project I did in the final year of my degree. Thankfully they are long lost files.
Along comes the blog, an easy way to broadcast ideas, provide solutions at regular pace. But where’s the flash (wizz bang wow)?
You are looking at it!
What I have developed here is a Flash front end to my blogger.com based …

Read on »