BlogmyQuery – BMQ

When designers use YouTube, most times they are looking for a great tutorial or looking to learn about the basics of a new topic as quickly as possible. Some of the most popular places to turn are speed art videos. Speed art videos are an overlooked source of inspiration for many designers in the community, though. Something we hope to change with this post.

Sometimes we as designers aren’t looking for just a new technique but an entirely new process to use to achieve something. That is where these videos score so highly among their viewers. They not only show an awesome finished product, but they also help other designers see how these ‘experts’ work in their desired workspace.

Many times we can’t appreciate someone’s work without seeing and understanding the process. Fortunately speed art and process videos service many different genres of work from photo-manipulation in Photoshop, to three-dimensional work in Cinema4d. Oftentimes designers show how they use more than one program to create their finished designs.

Today, we’ve gathered some of the greatest speed art videos from YouTube in an attempt to inspire and enlighten you. There’s something that should cater to a little bit of everybody, so enjoy the videos!

The Videos

Robots (Dirty Politics Remix by DJ Pete Marriott) by whoiskgainez

The purpose of this video was to serve as a bit of promotion for the song used in the video. The artist (also the author) created work inspired by the song title and lyrics, creating robots from scratch in Adobe PhotoShop.

 

NY After All by AlexanderKoshelkov

This is an absolutely amazing video of a photo-manipulation done with the help of some brushes and a couple of pictures. The finished artwork is absolutely amazing and the designer’s ease in their workspace is crazy!

 

Scarlett Johansson by Nico Di Mattia (macpulenta)

Nico Di Mattia gives us an example of how some artists do paintings in Photoshop with tablets and what ever other tools they desire. It’s really amazing to see a body of work go from sketches to a wonderful, realistic painting.

 

Transformers Movie Poster by SherbertMelon

Who doesn’t love the the Transformers? This video is a wonderful photo-manip turned movie poster for the series. The depth of knowledge of the designer is absolutely mind blowing, as is the finished product.

 

Kanye by IModernArtis

By now, you’ve been wowed by spectacular work. Sometimes, however, we don’t need to be inspired by the most difficult work, but by simple work that makes sense. This designer goes through the process of creating a simple but wonderful graphic.

 

Spiderman 3 by giando110188

Comic book characters are obviously a major source of inspiration and this artist shows us a wonderful and extremely realistic painting video. There are many things to learn from this video, even if you are not a digital painter. This is a must see, indeed.

 

PARIS (HD) by GIBSDESIGN

Watch this designer squeeze almost 3 hours of spectacular photo-manipulation work into 5 minutes. The focus here is on Paris, and with the help of some plugins, we get to see the creation of a completely different image.

 

 Extreme car repair and tuning by AlexanderKoshelkov

If you’ve ever tuned into the MTV show, ‘Pimp My Ride’, this speed art video is definitely going to tickle your fancy. The designer here takes a picture of a no good car and takes it from nothing to something.

 

Beyonce by S. Maguire (dscru)

This is easily one of the best speed painting videos you will find on YouTube. This artist is extremely talented and created an extremely realistic depiction of the superstar, Beyonce. This one is just absolutely amazing and inspiring.

 

First Blood by SherbertMelon

As we can see, photo-manipulations and paintings are popularly displayed in speed art videos. This designer decided to show us his process when dealing with client work (strict graphic design work) as well.

 

 DOMOZILLA (HD) by GIBSDESIGN

The designer of this destructive photo-manipulation decided to add a touch of humor on this piece. While it’s still inspiring, it’s nice to be able to chuckle at the finished result.

 

Dragon by cgsbgs

This artist seems to demonstrate amazing control over what many would believe to be an extremely complex topic; dragons. This artist draws and paints a dragon from scratch that almost pops off the screen.

 

NY Tsunami by MvHighway1

This artist makes photo-manipulation look extremely easy with this depiction of New York’s last days. The finished piece is what some would call ‘epic’ and watching the video is almost like watching a magician work. Simply stunning.

 

Moment 4 Life by whoiskgainez

An ode to a wonderful song, this artist (also the author) creates a simple, yet elegant piece from one photograph. Once again, there is inspiration in the process as well as the technique for those who enjoy simpler methods.

 

Apple Forever by AlexanderKoshelkov

Many of the photo-manipulation speed videos are there to show the muscle of the designer. This designer created a piece that not only showcased his personal skill, but also showed his condolences for the passing of Steve Jobs. This is not only amazing, but heartfelt as well.

 

Someone Like Adele by crazybonkers

This artist is extremely big on the photo-realistic look and is obviously very skilled at it. He seems to be much more detailed and intricate than most and his images are really spot on to the people in his portraits.

 

Horse by A1R14

Though a pretty simple final image, the production of the design seems to be very intricate and a wonderful journey though blending. Oftentimes, it’s hard for designers to get blending images just right, but this speed art video may help you out a bit the next time you are trying to blend several images.

 

Music App by MalcovDesigns

Interface design is becoming increasingly popular as the demand for smartphones increases. It seems like many designers are shifting towards that focus and fortunately, this designer recorded his process for us to see and learn some things. The final design is absolutely beautiful.

 

Anime Girl by kkamdia

Of course, when it comes to art, there are many different styles to choose from. This artist has decided to show us the process of creating anime characters in PhotoShop.

 

Wolf by TheSpeedArtist

Aside from the amazing final image, another amazing thing about this video is that it is made entirely in GIMP. Far too often people underestimate the power of GIMP, but this video and this artist show that there can be no limitations on great work.

 

Earth Collapse by LearnMeHow

It’s one thing for a designer to be able to put different pictures together, but it’s another when a designer can create their own renders and put them together. This designer takes us through their process, beginning with creating a render in 3Ds Max.

 

Albert Einstein by Martin Missfeldt (mssfldt)

Another speed painting in Photoshop, but this time it isn’t just a picture of a pop icon. This artist takes a stab at painting the very early innovator, Albert Einstein. The photo-realism is surprising, as if this was a picture taken.

 

Do I Have a Soul by qMarka

This video shows an artist go through a completely creative process. This is great because we aren’t just copying an already taken picture, we are watching an artist go through their individual process.

 

Cartoon Cat Character by cgsbgs

This is another imaginative piece created by an artist. The ability to create the scenery and come from a completely creative place is always extremely interesting to see.

 

Avant-Garde by MalcovDesigns

Sometimes as a designer you have to step outside the box and have the courage to do something bold and different. This designer did exactly that and recorded his process. This is a very inspiring design/photo-manipulation.

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Fall is a very special time for people because it means a chance to enjoy family and enjoy the holidays. It isn’t too cold or too hot and we get the joy of knowing a new year is right around the corner. The leaves falling and the cold coming in can sometimes be off-putting but for many artists it is a great source of inspiration.

With all the good times and all the beautiful changing leaves, it’s a prime time for illustrators (and different artists alike) to whip out their weapon of choice and capture the best moments. We’ve decided to jumpstart the inspiration fest by gathering some of our favorite fall illustrations and digital paintings so that our readers can get in the spirit.

Fall and Autumn Illustrations

Autumn to Come by Karelias

Autumn Day by greenklukva

Autumn by Diaff

Autumn In My Pit by MikiMikibo

Indian Summer by Alexxxx1

Fall by Sketchhy

Fall by Inverse-Ion

Autumn Stories by Zzanthia

Mister Owley by fizzgig

Autumn by Mechanical-Penguin

Autumn Tree by Angela-T

Autumn Walk by Aomori

To Autumn by Skysealer

Autumn by Cutteroz

Salute to Autumn by Iryiu

Autumn God by Sc-parade

Autumn Moon by Dronograph

Fall… by Simsamy130

Fall Fairy by Bboypion

Fall of the King by Amadihelsa

Hapee Thankgiveeng by Etoli

The Last Thanksgiving by AMSLizrah

Happy Thanksgiving by Rhiled

Thanksgiving Wallpaper by BrowCo

Happy Thanksgiving by Feoris

Harvest by Beaucoupzero

Autumn by Yumedust

Autumn by Tattereddreams

The Autumn by Smokepaint

Autumn Spirits by AlexandraBirchmore

Autumn’s Sigh by Vixelyn

Autumn Stories II by Zzanthia

Change by NaBHaN

Autumn in the Fog by Laell-W

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Music is probably the number one inspirational source for a lot of artists and designers. Music can express great emotions that will often move its creative listeners to try and capture and convey and those feelings in their own art. Regardless of your favorite genre, music is sometimes key to the creative process.

The second greatest part of music for most designers is the album cover and/or packaging. This is the bit that essentially tries to sum up the feel and the message behind all the music on an album; and it also becomes the iconic look for a classic album (think Pink Floyd and Aerosmith, just to name a few). These types of artistically and creatively fueled album covers provide lots of inspiration for various artists.

A genre that many people pass over for album cover inspiration is urban music (hip hop, r&b, pop). In those genres, most of the album covers are quick and easy and use some sort of glamour shot of the artist on the cover. Very rarely do you find something that really captures the soul of a project or is artistically charged–there isn’t a ton of creativity. Fortunately, we did some digging and have come up with some great looking, artistically inspired urban album covers from famous rap, r&b and pop artists.

The Album Cover Inspiration

9th Wonder – The Wonder Years
Cover Artist – Princess Spencer (see how this cover came about).

The Airplane Boys – Where’ve You Been
Cover Artist -  Justin ‘Create’ Toledo of LiveBeauMonde

Erykah Badu – New Amerykah Part Two: Return of the Ankh
Cover Artist – EMEK

The Notorious B.I.G. – Duets: The Final Chapter
Cover Artist – Elizabeth Rosen

Blake Carrington – Dare to Dream
Cover Artist – Deadly Del Mundo

Bruno Mars – Doo-Wops & Hooligans
Cover Artist – Nick Bilardello

Common – Finding Forever
Cover Artist – Electric Heat 

Flight Distance – Bad Information
Cover Artist – Jesse Winchester

Fortunate Ones – Sleepless Nights and Numb Hearts
Cover Artist – Lou Ros

Gnarls Barkley – St. Elsewhere
Cover Artist – Kam Tang

Headnodic – Red Line Radio
Cover Artist – Matt Linares

Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey – Race Riot Suite
Cover Artist – Peregrine Honig

Jay-Z & Linkin Park – Collision Course
Cover Artist – The FLEM

Kanye West – Graduation
Cover Artist –  Takashi Murakami

Kosha Dillz – Gina & The Garage Sale EP
Cover Artist – Chuck U

Mac Miller – Blue Slide Park
Cover Artist – Redtape Design

Mac Miller – On and On and Beyond
Cover Artist – Unknown

Michael Jackson – Michael
Cover Artist - Kadir Nelson

Musiq Soulchild – MusiqInTheMagiq
Cover Artist – Nick Bilardello

N.E.R.D. –  Seeing Sounds
Cover Artist – Jun Hirota

Outkast – Stankonia (Limited Edition Cover)
Cover Artist – Unknown

A Tribe Called Quest – The Low End Theory
Cover Artist – Zombart JK

Sims –  Bad Time Zoo
Cover Artist – The Pressure

CunninLynguists – Strange Journey: Volume One
Cover Artist – Unknown

T.I. – Paper Trail
Cover Artist – Ian Wright

Travis Barker –  Give the Drummer Some
Cover Artist – Pushead

Wiz Khalifa – Rolling Papers
Cover Artist - Greg Gigendad Burke

Jay-Z & Kanye West – Watch The Throne
Cover Artist - Ricardo Tisci

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Time and time again, we mistake good decoration for good design. When we are looking for inspiration, we go to the same websites and the same showcases trying to get that added push necessary to create something we love. Now this isn’t a huge deal (especially if we are looking for a creative kick), but if we aren’t careful, we can end up focusing mainly on the decoration and beautification of a web site.

Designers must keep in mind that true graphic design is less of an art and more of a theory. Graphic design is simply a means to solve problems, but once you have solved your problem, you are free to dress it any way you like. The best way to design your web sites (as well as any other thing), is to first figure out what the goal of your site is to be. For example, do you want people to come to your site to become informed about your product, or do you want them to purchase your product? And if you want them to purchase your product, how are you going to make it more important than anything else on the site–of course, without over doing it or compromising its intuitiveness?

You need to be focused on the goals of your site first and worry about the beautification last. With that being said, in no way should you completely ditch great decoration for good design. It can sometimes be hard to find a nice balance of the two but it is more than possible. Of course, for some sites, the amount of decor will contribute to the goals of your site, so it’s imperative that one sits down and figures out what it is they are trying to achieve.

Web Design Examples

Below is a list of some sites that we think have a decent balance of design and decoration. Of course we feel like there is no perfect site (or at least we haven’t seen it), but these sites are pretty close. When looking at the showcase we tried to determine whether it was clear who or what was being presented, how easy and intuitive the navigation was and the way in which everything interacts with the decoration. See how they fare:

Adham Dannaway

This is a great start to our examples. There are so many boring ways to draw attention to the fact that someone is a designer as well as a developer. Some folks just state it, but this guy has an easy to understand visual tactic that makes sense and there is a blurb about each ‘part’ of him, which takes you to work dedicated to that part. A pretty simple and smart idea.

AwesomeTees

Obviously here, they are selling shirts. The use of the green bar at the very top that lets visitors know there is a sale going on is a very simple design solution. It doesn’t stand way out which is smart; because the branding here is that of a quality line of shirts, not a bunch of cheap shirts that go on and off sale.

BellStrike

Headlines are extremely useful (though they tend to get a bit over used) in web design. Here, the name ‘Bellstrike’ tells most nothing, so the headline is used to pretty much fill in this major blank. Then right under the large headline we have the option to do one of the two things we would more than likely do anyway–find out more info or sign up.

 Cheesemonger Invitation

This website is a good example of following the ‘Google it’ rule. Let’s assume you just heard folks talking about the ‘Cheesemonger Invitational’ while you’re on the street or a friend mentioned they were going. You have no clue what it is so you Google it, and this site comes up. All of this information is above the fold with a handy video–what else could you ask for?

 Chichester Music Academy

Another great example of headlines and blurbs, but what really stood out here was the sub-navigation. With this, Chichester made it obvious that their focus is on their music lessons and have made it absolutely important that you check out the information and tuitions for the programs.

Clear Assembly

This site showcases a nice blend of decoration and design–see what happens when you scroll down or hover over a part of the illustration. In the mean time, the static sidebar is very useful, and it’s made pretty clear what this company does.

 Drupal Camp Atlanta

While not a huge fan of the side bar, it really makes sense that the ‘Get On The Waiting List’ button is so visible, and you can assume before this event was sold out, it was probably the button to purchase tickets. Everything is clear and the illustration and techniques are extremely attractive. This is a good blend.

Earth Echo

This seems to be a pretty standard layout that puts the focus on donating and signing up in the top left corner. The purpose of showcasing this site, is to show how you can decorate some standard (yet useful) layouts.

Food Sense

This is an example of a nicely put together website that decided to keep the decoration to a minimum, and it’s completely reflective of the idea behind this site–they seem to focus on cooking, mainly with veggies in their simplest form.

Hanging Up The Moon

This website isn’t necessarily clear on what you are doing, but it intuitively makes you want to click on the pictures and figure out what exactly is going on. This is an AWESOME way of presenting this kind of project (we want you to go figure out what’s going on here. It’s super neat!)

MediaParker

If we were told to make a site for ‘Hosting Solutions for Design Lovers’ it would probably look exactly like this. First, the prices and features aren’t hidden and have to be searched for (like many hosts), and it is very attractive to anyone who has a thing for design. This is also a great example of a single page website.

 Melbourne Food & Wine Festival

Much like the ‘Cheesemonger’ website, the ‘Google it’ rule is exemplified here. All the information is clearly visible and is organized very well, for the large amount that there is. This is an example of another great balance between problem solving and decoration.

One Design Company

This website took a bit of a different approach to navigating around it. Each screen there’s an arrow and intuitively, you would push the arrow keys to see if anything happened. Lo, and behold–movement! A nice added touch to a company that claims to use ‘gallant technology.’

Playtype

This is very progressive design, but it stays true to the idea of presenting folks with fonts. There is sideways navigation that allows the top portion of the site to remain static–and you always have the opportunity to browse the fonts. This makes sense.

Michael Wong (Mizko)

This is an example of good clean design and excellent coding all working well together. It’s pretty evident what he does without creating an overused headline blurb. It’s a great, progressive idea at work here.

The Manual

This is another great example of a single page website–there isn’t a ton of decoration here but the design makes sense. We know exactly what the product is, and though the product is sold out, the area where it can be purchased is visible. Information is visible and everything is right where it needs to be. Unfortunately, it’s a temporary site, but hopefully they don’t lose the structure they have.

War Child

Once again, a site that does great at mixing some excellent illustration with just as excellent design. We understand first, the purpose of this site, then we are called on to donate to the cause. It’s very clear what they are attempting to achieve.

Whiteloupe

This is another site we can use the ‘Google it’ rule for. You may have no clue what a ‘Whiteloupe’ is but it becomes more than evident once you get to the site. They’re obviously attempting to get customers, but not without showing you the work they’ve been a part of. Consider finding this site and just seeing prices first rather than seeing their portfolio–how would you feel and what would you think?

Warehouse Twenty-One

This website makes it easy for their audience to know what’s going on. Basically all the important information is given it’s own space and makes for a very clean and focused web site. The simplicity alone makes for easy decoration–everything here was achieved very well.

Tom, Dick & Harry Creative Co.

The great thing about this site is that it doesn’t use your typical text navigation bar, it uses illustrations to let you know where to go, which promotes a nice bounce rate. What is also important to take note of, is that the ‘Clients’ button is bigger than the others, which probably means they really want you to know who they have worked for, and who matters most.

StoryWorldwide

This is a very forward thinking website and while it may take a minute to actually understand the purpose of the site, you will soon notice that this agency once to put a large amount of focus on the work they have done. Not on the services they offer and who does what. This is a very attractive website that makes sense.

 Shout Digital

As some web designers still attest, what you want to do is pay attention to what you put above the fold because it’s not always guaranteed that someone will scroll down and bounce around your pages. The thing we like about this page is, aside from the wonderful illustration, there isn’t a bunch of clutter up top and that makes users tend to want to navigate.

 Quarterly Co.

Aside from great and eye-catching headlines, good diagrams can really help you get your point across to your audience. Most times after we figure out what a product or service is, we want to know (as simply and quickly as possible) how it works. This diagram is right above the fold, and once you are finished, you have the option to hide it.

Parliament

With most websites, everyone decides to put all their links at the top of the page along with everything else, and sometimes the stuff that’s important can end up getting overlooked. Here, on the right side they decided to take the most important pages and make them more attractive than any other page. Your eye may also be drawn to the ‘work’ and ‘services’ graphics before they go elsewhere.

 Dustin Wood

Another great headline here from Dustin Wood. The wonderful thing about this headline is that it’s interactive and allows you to follow the linked words. This makes sense because of course, you’re going to get attention and focus with a huge headline like this, so why not make it useful.

 Driver Club

This is an amazing showcase of single page website magic–from the graphics to the navigation everything here works well with each other. With a design like this it’s easy to get cluttered, but everything here has remained simple and clean.

 Dirty Dave

Though this is a pretty typical portfolio layout, what’s best about this site is what happens when you decide to hover over the grayed boxes–it obviously turns color. This is pretty amazing because the whole site is gray and neutral, so when you hover, you get a pop of color and a focus. It’s a clever little trick.

Cookie Sound

This is another great example of design and decoration living well together. Everything has it’s own untouched place. Also, your eye is kind of drawn to the top right where there’s a Twitter message, which probably means the owners are interested in gaining followers and engaging with their audience.

 Abita Presents: Boudin & Beer

If you ascribe to that wonderful ‘Google it’ rule, this is a stellar website. An added bonus to this site, though, is that the ticket purchasing button is sticky and is always at the bottom of the screen wherever you go. Obviously, they are focused on selling their tickets, without making it overbearing.

 BarleyPop

This is a super clean website that explains the product above the fold (top right) and continues to introduce and explain it as you look around the site. The focus is not just selling the product, but establishing the purpose and the brand.

A Little More Help

Hopefully, some of us understand this balance a bit better. The best way to try to explain it is creating a focus on what is most important and making it natural for your audience. When creating a web design, you’ve got to pretend the audience has never seen or used a website before, so you must make it as intuitive as possible. For product sites, no one wants to be forced into purchasing, and for any site in general, no one wants to be completely in the dark about what to do. On the other hand, no one wants to have to peruse a completely boring site.

It seems pretty easy to understand but it can be a pretty hard concept to grasp. Below are some tools to help you get a better understanding of design as a problem solving technique and not just a way of creating attractive sites.

Education Resources for Studying Graphic Design

45+ Free Lessons in Graphic Design Theory

The Design Funnel: A Manifesto

Thinking About Design

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It’s been really popular lately for many professionals to dismiss the use of Flash. Many designers and developers push the idea to discontinue use of the almost 20 year old technology. There are a range of what seems to be problems from the heaviness of Flash projects, the inability to frequently update without tearing everything apart and the difficulty in creating a Flash website with great search engine optimization.

In the meantime, designers and developers are looking towards different technology such as JavaScript, Ajax, Silverlight, HTML5 and CSS3. Many of these technologies are actually wonderful alternatives as they are lighter than Flash and make it a bit easier to work around, as well as many are free and open source technologies. You also have the mobile device argument–where many devices don’t make Flash available on most browsers. However, dismissing the use of Flash is extremely premature.

Flash Site Examples

Flash is still a necessary and great technology to use. Flash can really push the idea of your graphics forward and help come up with a great level of interactivity for audiences. Below is a list of some really great websites to look at, use and understand how useful Flash really is.

Atmozfears

This website exemplifies how you can take a pretty good graphic and make it the centerpiece of an outstanding website. The interaction is much further than that of any other relevant technology without losing an audience.

Being Henry

This is an extremely interesting and progressive concept. It’s a movie, that allows you to choose your story line. This is an amazing idea, because there are books similar to this made popular for children! The use of Flash takes this type of interaction to a new level.

 The Bulitt Agency

Flash is used here to captivate and draw in the audience. It was also used as a great way to showcase some amazing graphics and ideas. The interface is super easy to understand and makes for an overall great website.

Deaf Preachers

Musicians have always got to find a way to stand out from the pack and really make themselves noticeable. This website serves as an interactive music video for the artist. This is a GREAT way to get folks interested in their music as well as their brand.

Eric Stanley Global

Eric Stanley’s website is a typical showcase of his musicianship and artistry, however, it is taken up to that WOW factor with the use of Flash. This site focuses on good design with the special touch used via Flash.

Frontier Room

Another example of how Flash can take a regular idea (like a restaurant website) and turn it into something with a ton of character. From the loading screens to other elements, it definitely stays true to it’s character and adds a bit of humor to their site. (Go to the reservations page to get a laugh out of the moo cow).

GT3 Creative

The great thing about Flash is that there are little to no limits when we are talking about graphics. GT3 Creative did a superb job creating their own little interactive island for potential clients. They claim to be a creative company, why not be as creative as possible?

Nothing Compares to Havana

Aside from that blatant typo, this is another extremely interesting, progressive and interactive website. We had to see it to believe, but basically the site can connect to your microphone, and if you whistle you can navigate throughout the website. Pretty neat for those who can whistle.

Ivan Moreno

It’s getting harder and harder to create a stand out portfolio that gets the attention of potential clients. So, instead of creating a simple website, Ivan decided to make his have a 3D navigational system. This is a simple, yet very effective use of Flash.

Jumpman

There are times when we visit websites just to get a bit of background history on a product and most times when you do that, you get a blurb on how amazing the company is and why the product rocks. Well, in this circumstance, Flash gets us a visually appealing interview on one of the most purchased shoes ever.

Kasulo

This is another great example of taking things to higher levels. The design is very good and the interface let’s you travel throughout the timeline of this portfolio. This is another forward-thinking idea.

La folle journée de Julien

While we aren’t French buffs, we can assume this is another one of those super neat interactive films. However, this site is a bit more graphical and Flash heavy than the former–and simply amazing. Sites like this really draw viewers in.

Lois Jeans

Another great example of crazy good graphics and stellar interactivity. This site is a bit simpler in it’s graphic department, but the Flash is what gives it it’s character. The interaction the mouse has with the entire site also contributes to this design.

I Make My Case

When you decide to purchase or create a cover for your telephone, wouldn’t you like to see what your phone would look like? Have no fear, Flash is here! This website allows you to create a custom cover for your phone and see it in 3D.

Martha Marcy May Marlene

This is the website for a movie that really gets you involved and drawn in to the concept. Many times, folks say you shouldn’t use a Flash type of intro, but it really gets you more and more interested in this film, much like an extended, super awesome trailer. Did we mention that it’s interactive?

Mixr

This is another great portfolio type of site that allows you two different ways to navigate through their featured projects. The use of Flash shines up the presentation a bit and makes this site fairly intuitive.

Music Can Be Fun

One of the most popular and probably most employed uses of Flash is to make games folks can play in their past time. Most games however don’t pay a ton of attention to precise graphics, like this extremely addictive game.

The Neil Young Store

Neil Young is a pretty famous musician who is characterized by his ability to use personal lyrics and make you feel like he’s holding a conversation with you through music. His store and website here almost attempt to do the same by inviting into a place in which he may have really resided or frequented.

The Profiler

This seems to be an application that will convert you and your Facebook friend’s profile pictures into a three-dimensional presentation. It’s a pretty neat app that shows how Flash has the ability to interact with other entities on the web and come up with some pretty neat stuff.

Reusch

There’s something about video that can get people interested in something more so than a bunch of different pictures. This site uses Flash to backdrop a handful of great athletes who use their product.

Sagres – Preta Chocolate

This entire site is composed of pictures taken of the actual chocolate and hand drawn icons and typography. This website is completely thorough and goes to a higher level of branding and being consistent. See how it was made.

Silver Pistol Digital Agency

Graphics can really make or break a site, but  great graphics with great user interface always wins. This website shows off the best of both worlds and uses Flash as a means to spice it up and give a little atmosphere/character with their audio choice.

Tag Galaxy

Much like ‘The Profiler’ site, this one connects to Flickr via tags and brings up whatever pictures you are looking for. This is a very useful site for designers that puts things together in a very visual and understandable way.

Brian Wilson | MLB Always Epic

One word: HILARIOUS. If you don’t know about this guy, he’s an American baseball player with an out of control beard and personality. What better way to make a baseball website than to feature him and an interactive beard?

The Place To Be

Once again, this is an example of using Flash to take what could be a pretty regular site into an amazing web experience. This travel photography type of blog is taken to new heights with it’s graphic design and it’s interactivity.

UCF 116

The UFC put together this site to help promote a past wrestling event, one that claimed to be the largest in their history. Fortunately for us, we can judge accordingly by looking at all the wrestlers and vote on what we feel will happen. This is a very well put together site.

Werkstatt

This example is another great and creative way to showcase a wonderful portfolio website. Instead of creating a nice grid type of view, this site intuitively scrolls side to side to allow you to see this artists work. On this site, Flash adds the extra creativity.

Let Flash Live

People are really interested in killing Flash and being the firsts to really declare that this technology is no more; but as we can see there are many websites that still use it (and it’s still extremely popular overseas). Flash isn’t going anywhere mainly because it’s 20 years worth of technology that we don’t want to flush down the drain. Though there are a ton of alternatives, Flash can do almost anything with it’s ActionScripting and being paired with some good XML.

The second reason Flash isn’t going anywhere is because of the level of interactivity that Flash can bring to the table. Sooner or later social networks won’t be enough; text messaging and watching video’s won’t be enough; everyone will want more interactivity. They will want a better way to look at the people they are connecting with and the companies they are purchasing from. And quite frankly, there aren’t many other relevant technologies that can do it like Adobe Flash, and be so multifaceted.

So, let’s go back to embracing GREAT Flash developments and being awesome innovators. Design can only take you so far, but interactivity and connections can take you so much further.

(rb)