Objective: To incorporate
basic action-scripting in an interactive menu while reusing buttons.
To conceive
of buttons as "data" or copied data--symbols, that can have
separate names for coding. Let me explain.
The Background: The
menu below has three hierarchical levels.The menu buttons
in the second level are named, and by these names, we distinguish instances
of symbols in Flash. It is now possible to use scripting with a fundamental
characteristic: that for each visual object, there is
a corresponding variable, or name, a container
that holds a value. The name allows a bridge from the visuals to the
code,
and fundamentally demonstrates the necessity of separating visualization
from data.
An example that demonstrates the separation of visuals
from data would be found in older photomechanical techniques, or anything
in which the copies can be remade from original negatives, so that if
a designer paints over a photograph, the original negatives may be used
to "regenerate" the original photograph as it was captured on
film.
In traditional photography, the source is separated from
the print image. In a similar vein, if you are visualizing a pie chart
on the computer, you would separate the mathematical statement of relationships
from the graphical or printed (to the screen) version of the source.
The difference? In the photographic
negative, the source is tactile, in computer code, the source is numerical.
Creating modular computer programs is like using a numerical photographic
negative. There is a source of the visuals or the code, and the visuals
themselves. Additionally, there is code that tells how to create a picture
from the data, the source, which is analogous to the built in properties
of chemical solutions used to process the photographic print.
The implications for this project:
Given that data should be separated from visuals or results of a computer
program, your task in this project will be to reuse as much as possible
graphics buttons and functionality in the design of an interactive
menu.
Not too much programming is involved or not any, actually, except for
simple action scripting.
What is an interactive menu? An interactive menu usually
is a button or collection of buttons that have subcategories, which appear
when you role over the button, its first subcategories, and so on until,
your reach the " bottom" of the hierarchy or staircase of organization.
The starting button is the top level; it functions to categorize the entire
site accessible through its menu. The top-level button would be, for instance,
a company name. Sub-menus are the employment opportunities, about the
company, products and services. These each have subcategories.
You can see that interactive menus are activities that
engage classification and hierarchical organization. The project will
also be one of categorical invention where meaning is also important.
There is power in the web convention of an interactive menu being used
for artistic purposes, to play with meaning.
Considerations:
The technical aspect: getting the menu to work and doing
so through encapsulation and reuse, symbols and instances.
The meaning aspect: configuring the menu so that meaning
is generated through your classification scheme.
The visual aesthetic aspect: making a connection between
content and appearance.
Assessment
10 points concept
15 points realization/execution/visuals
5 points visual effects and meaning together
Logistics of Turning in Your Assignment
All files necessary for your site will be copied
to the server in the folder, "BringmanAssignments".
Name the main file with your name and the project number as the
title. A folder could
also be the main file for your project.
