Flash Maps

I really enjoyed Tim Donahue’s talk about the flash maps he made for the Skidmore College Library. Macromedia Flash is an amazing program and I was totally inspired by how he uses his skills for making useful library materials. If you look at the rest of the library website, it’s really well done: mostly text that conveys action with good design. The flash map has an option for green/black or grey. The grey default map is visually subtle, but perhaps not enough contrast of text to background for some people to read. So the green/black skin option for the map gets around this completely with high contrast. It’s the same as for contrast in text/background color for powerpoint slides, where it really matters to pick high contrast for display in large rooms. If the colors are too close, you really can’t see at the back of the room what the text even says, and can’t rely on the visual to follow the presentation.