Are you always the last know about what’s going on? Do you hanker
after some inside knowledge on what’s going to be ‘cool’? Well have
no fear – Web Designer introduces its inaugural Hot 100 countdown
of what will make it big in 2008… Read on and get in the know!
GridIron Flow GridIron Software will unveil
a rival to Adobe Bridge called Flow in 2008. In fact,
the software sits across all your creative applications and
goes well beyond the cataloguing of assets, with serous
workflow management. Not only can you graphically view
how your project is progressing, but Flow will even learn
your behaviour and assist in the background.
99
Propod A brainchild of Fantasy Interactive,
Propod (codename) will be the next-generation
media blog to watch out for in 2008. Spanning multiple
applications, it will allow users to centralise their photos,
videos, audio and written documents all within one space.
Time for Facebook and Google to get a bit scared?
98
Adobe Integrated Runtime (AIR) Championed almost exclusively by Web Designer
in 2007, this beta tool should come into its own over the
next year. Once security issues are ironed out and
applications start going mainstream, we should start to
see the possibilities for RIA development outside of the
browser really flourish.
97
PlayStation 3 Home Seemingly a hybrid
of Second Life and Facebook, this social
networking application for Sony’s flagship next-gen
console still hasn’t materialised. Intended to be a free
virtual meeting space for PS3 gamers, it could provide an
interesting precursor to reality-based experiences across
the web.
96
Web Designer
Yes, 2008 will be a big year
for your favourite publication. We’ll still be the number
one source of all the breaking stories and tutorials, but
we’re planning something of a shake-up. New sections
and a more flexible approach to how we present the
hottest techniques will only go on to cement our place as
the world’s best. Watch this space…
95
Apple iPhone
It might have caused a storm
on release, but we reckon it’ll take a few months
to really explode. 2008 models of Apple’s mobile phone
should get increased storage capacities and the freedom
to pick networks other than O2 – which will have a huge
impact on sales. The device will also have a massive
influence on making the web truly mobile.
94
Flash HD
Update 3 of the Flash Player 9
software, released last December, included
support for the H.264 standard. Known previously as
‘Moviestar’, it promises the delivery of the kind of high
definition content associated with Blu-Ray and HD-DVD,
which goes without saying could be instrumental in
enhancing cutting-edge video experiences in 2008.
93
Silverlight Alight?
More of an adversary
to Flash than AIR, Silverlight is the XAML-based
animation and application maker from Microsoft.
Understandably slow to make an impression in 2007, we
anticipate that the development community might start to
appreciate Silverlight a little more – particularly if it
continues to get coverage in yours truly (see page 54).
92
SoDA
The Society of Digital Agencies, or SoDA, is a
creative collective founded by AgencyNet, Big Spaceship,
Domani Studios, Exopolis, Firstborn, iChameleon, IQ Interactive,
Juxt, MindComet, Odopod, Schematic, Struck Design and WDDG.
With the purpose of forming a voice for the interactive profession
via shared experience, this new organisation could be huge.
91
Flash Astro/Hydra
Astro is Adobe’s
codename for Flash Player 10, boasting simple 3D
support and advanced text layout for languages such as
Hebrew. In addition, developers will be able to craft filters
and effects using a new image-processing language
dubbed ‘Hydra’, which has already been available on the
Adobe Labs site since the tail end of 2007.
90
Adobe Thermo
The pet project of Adobe’s
Mark Anders, this was possibly the most exciting
sneak peek of the MAX conference back in October. It
essentially allows designers to perform rapid development
from graphical compositions (PSD mock-ups, etc) by
picking out elements and converting them into Flex UI
components/MXML. Apparently set for Creative Suite 4!
89
Your Majesty
This hot tip from Rob Ford is
an up-and-coming agency situated on 277
Broadway, New York City. This talented bunch have just
recruited former Big Spaceship employee Caleb Johnston
as senior developer, although their slick two-page site
(www.your-majesty.com) remains pretty ominous. We
expect them to have much to shout about very soon!
88
Coca Cola Zero/North Kingdom
One of Sweden’s top creative agencies meets an
American icon in what promises to be a very glitzy online
campaign for 2008. It’s all quite hush-hush but the stills
from various video shoots for the project mix hot pantswearing
beauties with super-cool retro cars, which is
pretty much a nailed-on certainty for greatness.
87
Guidelines to Success Online (book)
Talking of books, our favourite creative
publisher Taschen has teamed up with our friend Rob Ford
(of The FWA) to launch this rather special tome. More of an
essential manual for the modern web developer, it brings
together Rob’s appreciation of cutting-edge sites through
www.theFWA.com and his extensive insight into the
agencies that do the work. This is something we’ll all be
thumbing through when it hits the shelves in 2008.
86
Favourite Website Awards
This
purveyor of the greatest sites being produced
today is pretty much an industry standard and is set for a
renovation in 2008. With a unique user base of over
300,000, it hopes to utilise this vast community by adding
social networking tools and communication channels that
will give audiences the chance to have their say. Add www.theFWA.com to your bookmarks and prepare your
opinions folks…
85
eBay Desktop
Still very much in beta phase
at the moment, we expect eBay to officially unveil
a final version in the third quarter of 2008. One of the most
high-profile AIR projects, design agency Effective UI have
already crafted a desktop experience that extends eBay
auction functionality with user customisation, cached
results and more intuitive presentation layers.
84
Flash Computing
Not another reference to
Adobe’s animation giant, this actually relates to
computer architecture. The affordability in flash memory
and inherited speed benefits could see hard-disk
technology phased out completely, opening the doors for
truly mobile computing. Fancy a palmtop that offers
laptop power? By Christmas, Santa might have some ready
to deliver.
83
IPTV (Internet Television)
Internet on
your telly was always supposed to be the next big
thing years ago, but to no avail. Broadband speeds and
improved streaming technology have since caught up and
IPTV offering Video On Demand (VoD) and even Voice over
IP (VoIP) should emerge this year. Set-top box vendors are
already talking about bundled browser and widgets
support, and companies such as Virgin Media, Sky and the
BBC are sure to have raised eyebrows.
82
WiMAX
Worldwide Interoperability for
Microwave Access, or WiMAX for short, is
essentially a technology for delivering wireless broadband
over long-range distances. Viewed as an alternative to
Cable and DSL, WiMAX dwarfs Wi-Fi coverage so much
that with only a few hotspots it could provide blanket
coverage to a whole town or city. Intel love it, so we could
see chips in mobile and computing devices before the year
is out.
81
Mobile VoIP
By no means a ‘new’ thing,
Voice over IP has actually been gaining a popular
following for a long while. Mobile VoIP relates to the
services that Skype has been pioneering with their new
cellular phone handset. Subscribers can make free calls on
the move to other Skype users with no cost other than the
phone – good idea, huh?
“As far as the design front goes, I believe we’ll start to see true creative expression emerge on the
web. 2007 saw the massive growth of user-generated content sites such as MySpace and YouTube,
allowing everyone and their dog to express a little bit of individuality. This year, such sites will begin to
grow up, and as technology rapidly heads towards a net-centric lifestyle and software begins to allow
a true rich experience, designers everywhere will begin to break the mould and push their own creative
styles. Could it be the end of glossy buttons? We can certainly hope…”
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Directors: Damian Butt, Steven Boyd, Mark Kendrick, Alistair Ramsay, Harry Dhand, Andrew Hartley, Sam Watkinson
