Category: Facing Blend

Visual State Manager =/= Storyboard?

Posted on by ARSpaulding

Working on a few visual states on a Silverlight 2 page and I want my mouse to hover over an object, have it go through a visual state, then when removing the mouse, have it reverse the animation.

Well, if I’d done these as normal animated storyboards, I’d be able to easily go to my little plus-sign button and create a new one that goes in reverse.  Problem is – I’m working in silverlight and when I created this, I did it through the visual state manager.

What I can’t understand is this: Why would I be given essentially the exact same functionality which is nicely tied into a VSM but not be able to use the same features that make keyframe animating simple and easy?

When I look at my XAML, I see that its starting a storyboard.  So why not give the reverse and duplicate functionality?

Now, I get to create a new visual state, hand copy-paste the previous one in, and then tear it apart so I can reverse each state.  Visually, it looks similar, but there are a lot of different not-connected parts that are moving to make the whole that I have in the initial storyboard.

grr.

I guess what I could do is create a storyboard, copy all the xaml from my visual state into the storyboard, then tell the storyboard to reverse, and then copy that back to the new visual state manager bit where I need the reverse to happen…

*sigh*

Unwritten "Job" of a Designer

Posted on by ARSpaulding

I’ve heard comments to this effect, but I’ve not seen it written anywhere, but I think there must be a rule somewhere – the unwritten job of a designer is to ask of the developer something that would seem theoretically possible to the designer – easily, right?

Apparently not.  Its our job to find ways to desire something “simple” to do something “more” that might appear to the user as a simple difference, but apparently, not so simple to do.

I kind of enjoy it when I find something that I think should/could be “easily possible” and am told that its not as simple as it might seem.  Just a teeny change graphically.  Programatically – not so teeny or simple.  Its like going on a hunt for the little hidden buttons to press and set off the developer.

Gleee!!

Side Topic: Twitter hears us!

Posted on by ARSpaulding

Twitter brought their service down for maintanence yesterday and at noon today.  As of this morning, if someone was to reply to someone that wasn’t part of my crowd, I’d not actualy see the message. 

Well you know what?  I use that!  Quite a few people that I didn’t realize were on Twitter that I actually talk with regularly were found because they were talking with someone else that I already had on my following list.   I’m not alone in this – many people, and I mean many – are upset about the update.  But twitter has some news.  The original functionality as it was – was a bit broken and would have melted down into a lovely ooz of horridness had they not taken it down. 

Well they definitely hear us and really support how we’ve been using the @___ reply system.

Posted on their Twitter Blog – Twitter gives us feedback as to why the feature had to be removed as well as the steps that they’re taking to bring most of it back, but in a way that will allow us to manage based on our preferences rather than by default.  I kind of like that.  I could see how some people wouldn’t like to have the information if there were several people who were reply-happy and OVERLY posting.

So in the coming future, we’ll be able to update the settings to our preference.  Now they didn’t specify exactly how much power we’ll have – will it be an all on, all off, specific contact selections or… ?

I guess we’ll have to wait for more information.

 

Now – back to my normal design/blend type posts.

Gradient Dropper = LOVE

Posted on by ARSpaulding

I tweeted about this earlier this week, but I felt it warranted an actual blog.

This tool – I’ve completely overlooked for all of this time.  Usually, I can recreate a gradient fairly accurately if not dead-on the original.  But uhm… I don’t have to!  But I didn’t know that.  I was recreating a real flower’s color variations and on occasion I’d click the eyedropper to obtain a color from the original but it wouldn’t actually apply the color!  Well I finally got a bit frustrated with this and sat back for a moment and then I noticed it.  There were 2 droppers.

2?!

Hover mouse over each.  The first was what I expected.  A normal eye dropper.  The second… a what?  A “Gradient Dropper?!  Wait – does that mean what I think it means?!”

So I gave it a guess as to how to use it.  I clicked on one spot, held the mouse down, dragged my mouse over to another desgination and… OMG!  An automaticallyish gradient created!

This is awesome.  So for those of you who are trying to figure out what the heck I’m talking about – where oh where would this thing be located – look to the lovely screenshot to the side with all of the spiffy arrows.

Someone linked me to a description of me…

Posted on by ARSpaulding

What the heck. 

So uhm – if you don’t get who I am in the design world – read this:

http://designerslove.net/?p=221

Way too freakin weird.  Seriously.  Yes – that’s about how it is.  A graphics designer who tinkers w/ more than just the graphics to make it “work” and interact and buddies up with the developers while still doing the same with the designers (though I think I’d have to speak for myself and other designers, we’re sometimes a judgemental bunch of skeptics when someone else says that they’re a graphics designer).

Anyway, I thought that others should also read the article who find themselves in the same boat.  I think the real heart of it is that we like to get to the heart of everything – every part of the “thing” and know the innerds from the techonology side, the development side, apply the pretty shiny, and to understand and see (sometimes foresee) how a user will interact and be able to personally feel the frustrations of the end user when there are malfunctions in a given application to the point of personally – temporarily – being frustrated at the state of the UI and want to take control to fix it ourselves.  And then when things are done very well, transitions are incredible and the intuitiveness of a “thing” is so well done that its almost invisible, we have internal ovations over how well its done.

Look ma'! I made Simon in Silverlight 2!

Posted on by ARSpaulding

If you’re so inclined, you should join me in doing a happy dance!

Its finally ready! 

Presenting:

Simon, in Silverlight 2!

I’ve had this sitting on the front and back burners for the last… few months (has it really been that long?).  Got the design to my buddy David at HackingSilverlight.net about 3 or 4 weeks ago, he gave it brains and sent it back to me a week later… but in silverlight 3.  What the heck?!

I want the world to actually get to PLAY WITH THIS!!  So I rolled it back to silverlight 2… but there was a problem or 2.  The sounds wouldn’t play, we didn’t have all of the sounds anyway, and the font wasn’t playing nice!

Ugh – and then work.  Why the heck does that thing which makes my life actually operate smoothly have to come into the foreground just when I need some time to do my little projects?!  Geez.  What are these people thinking – do they think they pay me or something to do their stuff?  Oh yeah, right.  They do.

Long story short, its DONE! 

Go!  Click on the picture – it’ll take you there.  Have fun!

…

Oh, and tell me what you think in a happy comment, if you please 😀