Adobe has joined the list of companies making tools for rapid prototyping with the Flash Catalyst. Formerly known by its codename Thermo, Catalyst - according to Adobe - is "a design tool for user interface designers" that will enable them to develop rich UI.
Currently available for download in beta, Catalyst first appears like a Flash version of Axure. But there is a major difference: where in Axure you most likely create prototypes out of wireframe-style templates, drawings, and widgets, in Catalyst you can import actual design files created in Illustrator or Photoshop, create interactions, and then send the file off to a developer who can work with the same file to create the final product. Of course, you could choose to work in Catalyst with wireframe-style visuals at an earlier stage of development, but clearly Adobe has had just the visual designer and developer in mind, without thinking of throwing a dedicated Experience Architect in the mix.
Catalyst generates MXML, the XML-based language that is used to describe Flex content, and, according to Adobe, the code is very clean and human-readable so that developers will indeed be able to work with it without having to clean it up first.
I've downloaded the beta version and have played around with it a couple times. It's an interesting concept that I will follow up with, but I'm a little sceptic about the way Adobe seems to see the design process.
Karri Ojanen
Currently available for download in beta, Catalyst first appears like a Flash version of Axure. But there is a major difference: where in Axure you most likely create prototypes out of wireframe-style templates, drawings, and widgets, in Catalyst you can import actual design files created in Illustrator or Photoshop, create interactions, and then send the file off to a developer who can work with the same file to create the final product. Of course, you could choose to work in Catalyst with wireframe-style visuals at an earlier stage of development, but clearly Adobe has had just the visual designer and developer in mind, without thinking of throwing a dedicated Experience Architect in the mix.
Catalyst generates MXML, the XML-based language that is used to describe Flex content, and, according to Adobe, the code is very clean and human-readable so that developers will indeed be able to work with it without having to clean it up first.
I've downloaded the beta version and have played around with it a couple times. It's an interesting concept that I will follow up with, but I'm a little sceptic about the way Adobe seems to see the design process.
Karri Ojanen
Strategists & Planners
Comments (5)
Interesting product by adobe. I have been wondering all along why they don't offer such a tool integrated within flash or ps. It seems adobe is bringing awareness within design community as photoshop gets its biggest slice from interaction designers. Sort of saying - don't just design comps, design interactions in full rgb.
I look fwd to a detailed review or comparative analysis. demanding eh? :)
Posted on June 18, 2009 07:56
Thanks for your comment! A comparative analysis of the different tools is something I've been thinking about doing for a while - it's just lack of time that I think the challenge is.
In the meanwhile, you may want to check out some of the reviews and comparisons that others have done. I recommend this one that Adaptive Path's Dan Harrelson wrote a while ago:
http://www.adaptivepath.com/blog/2009/03/24/rapid-prototyping-tools/
It's a good overview that also mentions Catalyst.
Posted on June 18, 2009 08:01
I had a similar feeling when Final Cut Pro was introduced - this notion that suddenly everyone was, or could be, an "editor". It was accessible, it was cheap (in relation to having to own a full-scale Avid suite) and it was, by comparison to an Avid or Discreet system, incredibly easier to grasp.
I think the interesting thing about Catalyst, though it may or may not demean the craft of information architecture, it is in essence doing the same thing FCP did years ago for budding filmmakers - inviting designers/illustrators to think more about UI.
The leap FCP has made from ver1 (now on ver6) is mind-blowing. And if Catalyst does anything - creating a forum for the cross-pollination of disciplines - I say that's a good thing.
Posted on June 18, 2009 08:11
Thanks for the comment, Mark - I completely agree with you, the cross-pollination of disciplines and discussion that this can fuel is a very positive opportunity. What I'm cautious about is just that sometimes people may forget how important it is to have different levels of thinking in the process: how important it is to do rough sketches first, move things around, think of information - not just design, and why wireframes look like wireframes - and not jump to trying to create polished design right away. Solid design is a great part of the solutions we create, but it is not the solution in and of itself, with a layer of interaction dropped onto it.
Posted on June 18, 2009 08:22
Valid comment there Karri. As opposed to video, online media has a layer of interaction that is often independent of visuals and comes at infancy of a design model. Still, I feel products such as adobe's will increase awareness among visual designers, allow them to apply interactivity post-design and perform basic testing at various levels. Once a designer begins documenting all possible use cases, it will invariably improve the user experience. Having an interoperable, familiar tool will encourage that.
Thanks for the link.
Posted on June 25, 2009 10:14