Juan Sanchez from Scalenine.com, just announced the Scalenine Skin to Win Challenge, sponsored by: EffectiveUI and Adobe. This is such a good idea and I think it is great that Scalenine, Adobe and EffectiveUI are supporting this event. A great chance to see how design and development can come together with Flex and the Adobe design tools.

I created the logo below for the contest. I would like to thank Juan Sanchez for the design request, it’s definitely fun to get into design mode for a concept like this. A nice deviation from UI design.

Typically I would normally do this type of graphic in Adobe Illustrator, but I wanted to see how far I could go with it in Fireworks. I’ve been using Fireworks for UI design religiously lately, as I feel that it is very optimized for that type of design work. I have done several detailed icon illustrations in FW with no major issues or lack of tools, although a gradient mesh tool would be very welcomed. FW has become one of my favorite design tools out of the suite, rising up from the least favored a couple years ago. As for the motivation behind the design, I wanted to capture some aspects and elements of skinning a Flex app(ScrollBar, ComboBox, CheckBox), plus I wanted to make it energetic with some added depth to a very two dimensional realm. I mocked all of the 3D elements in FW manually, since I suck at Maya, ;). I even thought about using Ai for its simulated 3D tools, but they didn’t provide me the shaping and sculpting control that this design required. I could have accomplished this in Ai with minimal compromises if any at all, so don’t take this as a dis to Ai.

Hope you enjoy it and get in on the contest! I’m a judge, so I can’t enter :'( !

To compete in the contest, all you have to do is create the BEST Flex theme ever! This is an awesome contest to either hone your skinning skills for Flex, or for even getting introduced to skinning for Flex. You don’t have to be a pro to contend, with some research and effort, a novice could utilize the tools and tutorials available online (see scalenine for details), and still produce an awesome theme. It is a really excellent learning experience to create a whole theme, and even if you can’t get in on this event due to time or experience, it is still worth the effort. It won’t only up your skills for Flex design/development, it can also provide you with some knowledge and skills for skinning on a variety of platforms.

There are some awesome prizes out there too, like a MacBook Air, Adobe MAX tickets, and Adobe software. There will be some special recognitions and some possible copies of Flex Builder thrown out there as well. This is sure to be an amazing challenge and I can’t wait to see the entries!

For more details, vist: scalenine.com

2 Comments

  • artistiq

    Thanks Ryan! It’s been awhile since I have spoke to you, I think 360 in Atlanta was the last time. It’s funny, , because I want to spend more time developing, but design will always reign over here… until I can write some decent AS3 that is, then I will be doing dynamic visualizations and design with code. One day.

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