Flash has long been one of Adobe’s most popular products, but it has not been without controversy. In 2010 Steve Jobs wrote an open letter titled “Thoughts on Flash” in which he explained why Apple would not support Flash on its iOS products, namely its new phones and tablets. This letter was the culmination of a long back-and-forth between Apple and Adobe over Flash. Adobe claimed anti-competitive behaviour while Jobs expressed concerns about security and technical drawbacks.

Regardless of who was right, Adobe now plans to stop support for Flash by the end of 2020 and has since come out with Adobe Animate. Animate is being hailed as the new and improved reboot of Flash. Animate creates vector graphics and with it users can learn 2D animation, design video games and, among other things, build interactive websites. Here are a few reasons you will want to be familiar with the program.

For Example: Web Banners

In the course of your web design career you will develop a passion for different programs based on your preferences. You’ll join a community of aspiring web designers and if you asked what programs web designers prefer, certain products come up again and again. While many print designers prefer Photoshop, the general advice for web designers is to start with Animate. In your web design courses you’ll learn about both Photoshop and Animate to ensure you are better prepared professionally.

In Animate you can create an animated or static web banner. You can include ad network specific code and create HTML5 animations, PNG and GIF banners. For web banners, or other elements, Animate will support your web design work now and in the future because you can export several different formats so your work output is flexible and adaptable to different platforms.

Animate Exports to SVG

SVG, or Scalable Vector Graphics, is a format based on XML and it is used to display a variety of graphics. These files can be manipulated via CSS or JavaScript so they are versatile in a way that PNG, GIF and JPG files are not. This is because SVG uses shapes, numbers and coordinates (instead of a pixel grid) to render graphics in the browser so the resolution is independent and infinitely scalable.

Animate will help you apply your creative and technical knowledge to web design

The other reason why SVG will be useful for you beyond web design college is that the graphics are usually smaller file sizes compared to raster graphics and they are text-based. This means SVG can be indexed and searched so they are readable by screen readers and search engines. This gives you a chance to connect your creative investment in design to more user experiences.

Variety in Your Web Design Courses

If it is not already clear, the biggest reason to learn Adobe Animate is flexibility. The more programs you learn through a variety of web design courses the better equipped you will be for your career. Animate lets you create so many different kinds of content that it will be an indispensible tool.

It will allow you to include interactive browser games, educational resources and more in your web designs. It also allows you to generate a sprite sheet based on key frames and animate through them using CSS. Finally, you can ship different versions of the same project without recreating your original source files from scratch, and the list goes on! With all of these skills, you’ll be well prepared to pursue a successful career in web design.

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