Adobe Fireworks

Hear how Aaron Beall, a professional interactive designer, uses Fireworks CS4 for bitmap or vector content required to design rich experiences. Learn how to use the core toolset of Fireworks CS4. Intermediate users can pick up new tricks as well.

In this session, select members of the Adobe XD (Experience Design) team provide an overview of their work and process. Learn about the secrets of designing for mobile devices with Flash technology, Adobe AIR desktop experiences, cutting-edge and emerging technologies, multitouch interfaces, and more. The session will feature five senior designers or design managers who will each provide 10-minute case studies on their topic areas. Q & A time will be allotted at the end of the session.

Start building CSS-based web pages with Dreamweaver CS4. Walk through all of the key features that allow you to create CSS efficiently. Also learn how to jump-start CSS-based web page design using the CSS starter pages and how to convert existing table-based pages into CSS-based pages.

Fireworks CS4 helps you rapidly prototype websites, application interfaces, and other interactive designs. Attend this session to learn how to create, edit, and optimize web graphics faster and more accurately. Get tips on how to demo your design live or e-mail interactive PDF files to clients. Find out how to make the most of the new user interface and core functionality such as consistent text handling with the Adobe text engine. Then learn about outputting your designs to the application platform of your choice: Adobe AIR, Flash CS4 Professional, Flex, HTML, or CSS-based layouts.

Gain real-world insights into the limitations of designing websites in CSS and HTML. Then learn new techniques in Fireworks CS4 for working within those constraints and producing the most effective standards-based website designs. You’ll leave this class with productivity-enhancing tips on how to design and export website prototypes as CSS and images.

Using CSS export from Fireworks CS4 and the new CSS editing and Live View features in Dreamweaver CS4, designers and web developers can collaborate in new ways that were not possible before. This session explains how designers and developers can make the most of these new opportunities.

Learn about the new developer features included in Flash CS4 Professional directly from the Flash engineering team. Find out about XFL, Adobe AIR support, Flex integration, and more. And come armed with questions to ask the team responsible for the product.

Learn cutting-edge techniques for previewing Adobe AIR applications and exporting click-through mock-ups. We’ll focus on two specific export options: exporting PDF files for review and exporting standards-compliant, CSS-based layouts complete with external style sheets.

Learn how Nick Myers at Cooper Design is using Fireworks CS4 to create and design for the web and other applications.

Learn how to use Fireworks CS4, now available in beta on Adobe Labs, to efficiently design websites and Adobe AIR applications. Create an AIR interactive prototype directly within Fireworks, ready to be deployed to HTML/CSS, Flex, or Flash. This is a powerful new feature to represent your designs to your clients and colleagues.

Learn how to prototype Adobe AIR applications with Fireworks CS4. Prototypes let you quickly validate the ease of using an AIR application before you invest lots of time in coding. Once a prototype has been approved by a client, a design in Fireworks can easily be deployed to HTML/CSS, Flex, or Flash for “binding” with Flex data. This class will walk you through best practices for prototyping AIR applications in Fireworks.

See some of the best work being done in AIR application development today. Get insight from the authors of the Adobe AIR Cookbook, plus a group of the top contributors to the Adobe AIR Cookbook website. For the past six months, there’s been an open call to the RIA developer community to show off their top tricks and best practices; in this session, you’ll see their work in action and get a chance to exchange information with the panelists. There may be a bonus interactive feature or two in this session (hint: involving prizes and all comers).

Join top experts to hear how standards, the economy, emerging players, workflow, client expectations, and more are affecting the industry. InsideRIA regulars representing some of the top houses in the business discuss the top strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in the industry. Panelists have five minutes to outline their top SWOT points; then the panel and audience have an open Q&A on what we can expect in the next 12 to 18 months.

Learn new strategies for increasing the level of innovation in your design work as we explore the idea that play might just be the ultimate design tool. Hear more about how inspired leaps or unexpected turns have come from new approaches, such as Designing from the Data and Building on Movement. Play is a physiologically distinct state of mind that allows more ideas to reach the surface — slight changes in our work processes, tools, and prejudices can enable designers to be more creative.

Discover the power and speed of Fireworks CS4 as we design a two-page prototype of a business website in real time. During this session, you’ll learn about best practices for organizing layers, using pages, working with common design tools, applying blend modes, slicing designs, and more.

Learn how integrating developers into the early stages of a project not only fosters mutual respect, but also improves your ability to meet tight deadlines. We will share real examples of FPO frameworks, motion tests, tools for designers, failures, successes, and even dreaded timeline tweens.