the toe of webdev

Let me first say that I am NOT critizing Veerle’s comments on Flash nor commenting on Flash’s usability.

In this article Veerle discusses that Flash is not a suitable replacement for valid semantic markup and efficient use of CSS — and I wholeheartedly agree.

If I’m working on a project where Flash is involved I try to think in terms of user experience and usability first. I will question the purpose: do we need Flash to be able to do this or that? If we have a choice and we choose to use Flash will it enrich the user experience? Will it improve usability?

This is a perfectly valid assessment, but I feel it needs some clarification.

Flash can play several parts. It can:

• Detract from usability
• Add to usability
• Offer no change either way

If the second point is accurate then Flash is a great choice!  By doing something in Flash that could not be done with markup, CSS, or JavaScript and it increases the usability at the same time we see a clear case of a win-win situation.

However, if the third point is also accurate then the choice to use Flash becomes purely aesthetic in fashion and ultimately up to the designer.  If it does not add or detract from the end-user’s ability to access, use, or understand the content, then we again have a win-win.  Well, assuming it has a nice visual design.

So enriching the user experience should not be the ONLY thing to bear in mind when considering whether or not to use Flash, but whether or not it reduces usability.

And in case it is not clear:

Usability = Accessibility + Functionality + Form (where Form = Aesthetics + Visually Appealing Content/Design).

If a site, page, application, or rich media experience is not accessible and functional it is simply not usable.  In most cases it could be argued that if it is ugly it is just as unusable — and what do you know?  Those cases are right.

Everything in moderation!

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