Flash Web Design: The Art of Motion Graphics

This is really the best Flash book about web design. Don't buy if yuo want an how-to starting guide. It's the best in the approach to work and for entering in the design dimension. You cannot find very much book of this kind out there. Here you find REAL project with REAL problem to solve about conceptual Flash design. Here you don't waste your time with all those user interface description wich anyone can reach by himself. This is a must have book for any flash designer along with a good reference guide.

Where most would consider the Flash Bible as the "meat and potatoes" of Flash technology, this book can easily be qualified as the icing on the cake. Or perhaps that is not the best way to describe this wonderful book by Hillman Curtis since there is little or no fluff contained therein. Mr. Curtis has taken the medium to new heights in "Flash Web Design," a simply titled book that delivers exactly as promised. This is "the" how-to for designing a great Flash website. It not only covers the mechanical aspects, but teaches the visual design as well. If you read this book and still produce "ugly" sites, the fault does not lie on Hillman Curtis!And Mr. Curtis brings these aspects of design into the book itself, creating a visually spectacular, easy-to-follow guide to illustrate every lesson. With a little basic knowledge of Flash, one can take the lessons contained within and begin producing wonderful sites within a few days.This is a great resource for anyone from the novice user to the professional.

For those who complain that there's not any actionscripting or more technical knowledge covered and that the book is just about design then you're not getting it, THIS BOOK IS ABOUT DESIGN (and it actually looks like a designer's book, something else I love about it). This isn't a technical manual by any means, though there is some insightful info on the Flash techniques used to vectorize video and optimizing movies for the web (among other things). Hillman Curtis talks about the process behind some of his work, how things are conceptualized and put together, and some of his basic theories behind motion design and Flash animation. If you're buying this looking for a bunch of how-to's then you'll probably be dissapointed, but if you're looking for an inspirational look into some of the most effective animation on the web then look no further. I strongly recommend this book, and I'd suggest picking up Flash 4 Magic as well. The two together cover the creative and technical spectrum of Flash design and complement each other perfectly.

I had the opportunity to meet Hillman, and this book definitley reflects his vast knowledge and conceptual thinking of design before any project is even started within Flash. You need to pay close attention to those elements of the book. Read them over and over and learn it! It's not because you need that background to do the projects in the book, in fact Hillman makes it quite easy to follow along with him on the projects. It is because you want to be able to learn why and how, so you can develop and tweak your conceptual, planning, and design skills.Bottom line is, this is the best Flash book that I have. (I've got a lot of them)If you don't have it, GET IT! Thanks to Hillman for taking the time to share his talents and knowledge with all of us in this book.

New Flash 4 books are starting to appear quickly, after the success of this product faced a scarcity of books and tutorials in the market. Different from the introductory and drawing-based nature of the other books, this book gets even better than "Flash 4 Magic" (the second best).