Design

[skip to Dreamweaver or Flash]

The two major software programs we have used to create interactive projects for our students are Dreamweaver MX and Flash MX (both Macromedia products). Bountiful tutorials are included when you purchase the software, and you can also find many helpful tips on the web.

Below are snapshots of one project created first in Dreamweaver then in Flash. Although you can make them look the same in both programs, each has its own design advantages. With the Dreamweaver example, you can see there are links to other items (there are anchors on the left and the sound links below the images will open a separate window). With the Flash example, there are more buttons (Flash has a wonderful button library to make this easy), and no links except the button to the next frame.

With that as our point of departure, now let's get into the design features of the individual applications.