Digital design and animation
It is difficult to imagine the amount of time and money that is saved by a huge variety of industries thanks to the development of digital design and animation. Imagine the business of an architecture firm in the era before digital design became available. The customers or clients would outline the new building they were proposing to build. They would tell the architects what the new building was intended to achieve in terms of functionality and aesthetic quality. The architects would draw up a model by hand and when the clients were happy, the project would move on to the technical drawing of the plans stage. Hundreds of man-hours could be spent in preparing the model and technical drawing and any changes required in either could set the design process back months.
Shortly after the advent of the PC, the first computer aided design programs began to appear. AutoCAD was the first package to achieve widespread commercial success and it revolutionized the way in which models and technical drawings were done. The early packages still required considerable manual input, could only do outlines and because of the limited capabilities of computer screens at the time the designs often had to be printed out using special graphics printers for client approval but changes could be made without having to, literally, go back to the drawing board. The modern digital design package software is umpteen times more sophisticated. Now the designer can build a complete model of any project right down to the pictures on the walls and the plants in the window boxes. The model can be viewed through 360 degrees and changes can be made instantly.
The digital design revolution has changed forever how animation is done. In its earliest form, animation was achieved by physically drawing or painting hundreds of virtually identical images on sheets which were then rapidly displayed in sequence to give the impression of movement. It was a highly labor-intensive business. Today, the era of computer-generated images, the same effects can be achieved by a skilled animator in just a few hours. Even amateurs can use digital image manipulation software to create their own animations and the online advertising industry has jumped wholeheartedly on board to make our screens come alive as we browse the Internet.
Digital design has made it possible for people with no experience in publishing to place their own websites and blogs before the public. There are hundreds of programs available to help you build your website complete with images, sound, music and animations if needed. You can select from existing templates and slot in your own content, or you can start from scratch and develop your own templates.
Try to not get too carried away with the power at your fingertips. Many people, perhaps the majority, find digital animations on the web irritating and distracting. There is a very real chance of driving away visitors if your web page has annoying color schemes or animations. If you do use animations, always give your visitors the means to switch them off.
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