All Flex applications look the samea blue-gray background and silver-skinned componentsright? That doesn't have to be the case, though. This book shows you how to ensure that your Flex 2 and 3 projects stand out from the crowd and provide your users with an application that is both visually stunning and beautifully functional.

Flex Builder, coupled with the Adobe Creative Suite (CS3), is a powerful combination, providing all the tools you need to create compelling, vibrant interfaces. This book guides you through creating applications with Flex Builder, designing layouts in Fireworks, creating custom skins for your components in Photoshop and Illustrator, and using CSS to enhance the appearance of your rich Internet applications (RIAs).

You'll learn how to efficiently use and style states, enabling you to switch between "pages," thus adding real depth to your applications. You'll also learn how to build web forms that are intuitive to use, helping your users provide the information you're after.

Your Flex applications no longer have to be contained within a web browser windowAdobe Integrated Runtime (AIR) enables the creation of desktop applications. This book explores giving an AIR application a truly custom shape and style, leaving the rectangular form that defines most applications far, far behind.

Flex isn't just for programmers; it's time for designers to take back RIAs and show what that "R" really stands for. The Internet is not just about collecting datait's about visual communication and giving people a rich user experience, and that's what designers do best.

This book offers an introduction to Flash Catalyst for designers with intermediate to advanced skills. It discusses where Catalyst sits within the production process and how it communicates with other programs. It covers all of the features of the Flash Catalyst workspace, teaching you how to create designs from scratch, how to build application designs and add functionality, and how to master the Catalyst/Flex workflow.Introduces Flash Catalyst Focuses on production process Covers the interrelation between Flash Catalyst and Photoshop/Illustrator/Flex/Flash What you'll learn

Starting from scratch, you'll learn the basic concepts and interface functionality of Flash Catalyst, and get practical experience by working on carefully crafted real-life projects throughout the book. You'll learn every stage of the process, from the first design sketches to the Flex Developer hand over, and how you can make design changes to assets while the developers work on the code. You'll also learn how to make your designs functional by adding simple buttons and scroll bars, and how to make sure that developers can precisely interpret your vision.Converting Photoshop/Illustrator artwork to interactive designs Sketching designs with interactivity Sketching designs with transitions Working with the FXG format Designing with fluid layouts in Catalyst Who this book is for

This book is for designers experienced with Photoshop, Illustrator, and Fireworks who want to include Flash Catalyst in their workflows. It's also for the general audience looking to design rich Internet applications using Catalyst. Table of Contents Catalyst Interface Your First Flash Catalyst Project Wireframing in Catalyst Animation in Catalyst Interactions Organizing Artwork and Best Practices Data Lists and Design-Time Data SWFs, Video, and Audio Custom Components and Library Packages Catalyst to Flex Builder