Do you HTML5? New Animation and Graphic Design Options for Mobile Applications
Even if you’re not one of the estimated 100 million current iPhone users, it probably seems like the smart phone crowd will soon be able to rule the world with the touch of a finger. According to PC World magazine’s June 2010 predictions for iPhone owner growth this year, you’re probably not far off. The unyielding popularity of smart phones and WiFi enabled tablet devices has consumers and web developers clamoring for the newest “big” thing.
According to Mashable, it all started with Adobe and Apple. Steve Jobs and his team cleverly revealed upon the product’s launch that the iPad would not support Adobe Flash; therefore, rendering portions of websites unviewable to readers on mobile devices. That’s when HTML5 came into play. A new version of hypertext markup language that is supposed to better support multimedia streaming on mobile devices than previous versions of the code, HTML5 became the next biggest thing by promising users bigger, badder, more media rich content (i.e.-video, audio, and canvas elements)to view.
HTML5 has become the web coder’s answer to content management site design programs like Joomla and WordPress that allow designers to customize and continually update their sites without the specific plug-ins and API’s required by Joomla and WordPress. One is not necessarily better than the other (at this point) if you’re thinking of redesigning a website, but a matter of what type and the amount of content you wish your “new” site to display.
Last week, former Apple developers Jonathan Deutsch and Ryan Nielsen revealed the newest way for graphic designers (and non-designers) to create animation for their HTML5 websites: Hype. The program is said to require no code, but instead provide animation builders and graphic designers with an easy to use interface consisting of a blank canvas with a timeline of components (images, video, text, etc.), which the builder can then simply drag and drop into the desired sequence.
Deutsch and Nielsen specified the specific target audiences for their program in last week’s Mashable post, “Hype is targeting three primary markets: designers looking to add animations to their websites, Flash developers who need to deploy their content on the iPhone or iPad, and existing users of HTML5.”
Although many of you may not be web designers or coders, the continued fame of content management sites, micro blogging, and social media sharing ensure an eventual need for a user-friendly animation program for consumers. Be sure to continue reading our blog as we report on the reception of Hype and the evolution of website design for mobile devices. You can also connect with us on Facebook and Twitter to learn more about the website design services available at McCauley Marketing Services.