Customer Reviews

Flash Deconstruction: The Process, Design, and ActionScript of Juxt Interactive

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This review is ment to be a warning for people who consider purchasing this book. DO NOT get deceived by few positive reviews!!!
Actually, THERE IS NO DECONSTRUCTION OF JUXT WEB SITE in this book. At least not in the fashion that I expected.
I expected, besides other things, specific instructions on how to build the movie clip architecture of the ENTIRE Juxt site (nesting symbols of different content within another and distributing them on the site with tips why it is done so) and the COMPLETE action script of Juxt web site.
Instead of that the hole book is general talk and description of Juxt`s process of creating web content. The author gives you only the IDEA of how something should be done not the specific steps of building Juxt`s web site.

Let me illustrate my thoughts for you with few lines of text from within the book (it`s maybe not right but I feel readers diserve to know what they can expect):
"4.3.1 ORGANIZING ARTWORK IN FLASH
Now that the file (or artwork) is in Flash, it needs to be further organized. The symbols are moved to levels, and the movie clip structure is ready to be built. It`s much easier to break apart a symbol than to make a group into a symbol after it has already been tweened several times.
Freehand, as drawing tool, deals with objects. In contrast, Flash deals with more wet, or editable, elements. We use the term "wet" because these objects are like wet paint on canvas that can be painted on and rubbed off. Freehand objects come into Flash as groups of wet elements. The groups might deceivingly feel like a symbol, but they aren`t. They lack the small crosshairs that indicate the center point of a symbol. It is important for you to get used to this to avoid creating unnecessarily heavy files.
It`s good to get into the habit of creating symbols out of everything and moving elements to their appropriate layers for animation once the Freehand file has been imported to Flash."

Believe it or not, this is ALL you get on building the structure of the Juxt site in Flash!!! You are left alone with file imported from Freehand and you are expected to create the symbols and movie clip stucture of the site by your self. Plus the action script, of course! Action scripting of some isolated elements is described, and having only that as help, you are supposed to figure out how to script the entire site. Hello!!! I am not a beginner, but I am not sure what is the best and most efficient way of doing that!!! I purchased this book hoping it would show me how to do it!!! What a mistake!!!
On top of that, there is no FINAL ".fla" file(s) of the site provided for download, with movie clips in place and action scripts assigned to them, for sake of deconstructing the site by your self.
What did I pay for?! To read how the author is proud to have Hillman Curtis for his friend?!
By the way, more than 70 pages is wasted on interviews and transitions between chapters!
This book is the worst purchase I have ever made!!!
You might try with "Macromedia Flash: Art, Design + Function", by Mighty Assembly.

O.K. I read the book too but I'm not going to whip out all the hooplah and praise that everyone else above does (and strangely enough they all write with the the same abundent use of explicatives and adjectives ??). You want to read a book that interviews flash "geniuses" than buy it. You want to re-build the Juxt web site than click Purchase. You want to learn how to use the core functions of Flash ??? Then this one's not for you. But that's just my opinion.

I knew the Juxt interactive site so i just had to get this book and i didn't regret it. This book doesn't just give some recipes for trendy fx done in flash like many other books, it shows how to approach the creation of entirely flash-based websites. Workflow, concept development, designing, optimization techniques, dynamic database driven flash-sites, Flash with XML, it's all in this book.
It is not a complete manual and reference type of book. If you want to know flash inside out read the macromedia manual or one of these 1000 pages hefty, hard-to-digest books with loads of code written by programmers. But if you want to know how to actually use the tools, when to use them and how to make the best out of it in a real project then this is the right book for you. This wasn't my first flash-book, so i already had a basic understanding of that program but i believe it is good for beginners too because it also explains the actionscript-basics with short, easy-to-understand chapters. However, i believe it is best for those that are not totally new to flash but lack the routine of creating entire websites with Flash.

With such a range of Flash books on the market these days, new ones either have to find a niche or simply be very, very good. This one is very, very good.
Flash deCONSTRUCTION covers just about everything and doesn't skimp on the details. There's plenty in there for every level of Flash user. The newbies will get a lot out of the extremely designer-friendly explanations of ActionScript techniques. ActionScript gurus will get a lot out of the insights into the Juxt process. Anyone in between will be very well served.
Highly recommended.

This is one of those cases where the fluff and hype outweighs the content. Had I checked out the sites desconstructed in this book before ordering it, I would not have purchased this book. I was not impressed by the design and coding, and I found their attempts at deconstruction rather shallow. Several key flash files were omitted from the books' download page also.

Mark it down as one for start-ups as well as firms looking to energize their work-flow.
This book combines great images, a top-notch informative web site, and useful information on the process of advanced Flash design. It uses Juxt Interactive as a means for a case study, but the processes described could be implemented by almost anyone.
A must read for Flash developers.

With only a few tidbits of practical information this book simply does not have enough content to make it worth the purchase. Usability seems to be a term lost in the clutter of "new and improved graphics." Weakly borrowing from outdated Carson ideas this book seems to focus more on trendy copycat designers rather than the plethora of fantastic and imaginative work online. If you want to know how to make fancy animations that fit the "look of the week", this book might appeal to you, but if you are looking for strategies in effective communication this book should not be on your list. In short cute but certainly not substantial.

Juxt Interactive's book Flash deConstruction in a nutshell is an awesome book that all flash developers should have if they plan on taking their flash users and interactivity to a whole new level. With its cool, edgy, and progressive approach the book is a great tool to have if you want to learn all of flash's capabilities. Furthermore, the book does a wonderful job at showcasing the uses of ActionScript through various case studies making it really easy to learn from the best. Be sure to pick up this book if you are looking to improve as a Flash developer or if you are thinking of getting started with Flash. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Juxt Interactive's book Flash deConstruction in a nutshell is an awesome book that all flash developers should have if they plan on taking their flash users and interactivity to a whole new level. With its cool, edgy, and progressive approach the book is a great tool to have if you want to learn all of flash's capabilities. Furthermore, the book does a wonderful job at showcasing the uses of ActionScript through various case studies making it really easy to learn from the best. Be sure to pick up this book if you are looking to improve as a Flash developer or if you are thinking of getting started with Flash. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Juxt Interactive's book Flash deConstruction in a nutshell is an awesome book that all flash developers should have if they plan on taking their flash users and interactivity to a whole new level. With its cool, edgy, and progressive approach the book is a great tool to have if you want to learn all of flash's capabilities. Furthermore, the book does a wonderful job at showcasing the uses of ActionScript through various case studies making it really easy to learn from the best. Be sure to pick up this book if you are looking to improve as a Flash developer or if you are thinking of getting started with Flash