Hundreds of Computer Arts readers got a preview of the latest design technology when they attended a special event about user experience hosted by Computer Arts and Microsoft at London’s Royal Opera House.
The event was designed to give designers a sneak preview of Microsoft’s forthcoming Expression products, and attendees weren’t disappointed when Microsoft revealed a three-program strategy aimed at converting interactive designers to the Windows platform.
The Expression family will consist of three programs: Expression Graphic Designer, Expression Interactive Designer and Expression Web Designer. The first app is a bitmap and vector editor, the second is for creating applications and the third for creating websites.
Readers also heard fascinating talks from user experience guru Phil Barrett of Flow Interactive and AKQA’s creative development director Andy Hood. Barrett spoke about the importance of interactive designers using technology responsibly, while Hood explored the designer tools landscape.
Later, Phil Dawson from Conchango demoed a multimedia-heavy website created for Robbie Williams and a user interface designed for the Financial Times website. Both were created with Expression.
“Whether targeting the web, desktop or mobile devices, user experience presents a huge opportunity for designers and developers. With the Expression products Microsoft aims to deliver essential tools to create the next generation of user experiences,” said Microsoft’s John Allwright.
Formerly codenamed Acrylic, Expression is the result of Microsoft’s re-engineering of Creature House’s product of the same name, which Microsoft acquired in 2003. The programs are likely to appear in early 2007.
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