Fireworks Interview with Trevor Kay
For this interview, we have new kid on the block, Trevor where he talks about his experience in his world of Fireworks.
To begin with, who are you and where are you from ?
I am an Icon and Interface Designer from Sydney, Australia. I trained as a Print Designer but found icon and interface work to be much more exciting. I currently work from home for Exvo (http://www.exvo.com), which is based in the Netherlands.
What do you work as in your day job?
My primary job is to design interfaces for web apps, whether they be desktop or mobile. I also design some icons and from time to time will do print work if required.
What type of projects do you work in Fireworks and are there any challenges you faced that Fireworks have helped you ?
I've done a heap of web apps using Fireworks. I started out using Photoshop to design them but once I discovered Fireworks I found it to be so efficient. Pages and Symbols really help out with that.
How long have you been using Fireworks?
I've been using Fireworks for over a year now.
Why will a designer use Fireworks?
A designer would use Fireworks to be more efficient. It really does provide some amazing tools that most designers just overlook.
Tell us why Fireworks is your preferred choice for doing interface design?
I love Fireworks because it is the best tool for interface design. It hides a lot of the nuances of UI design and just lets you create.
Fireworks is so much faster in its relationship to design with layers. How do you see that benefit the design workflow?
It's a benefit because you don't have to manage layers to the point most times you forget they are even there. In Photoshop you're stuck constantly naming them, grouping them, re-ordering them. Fireworks' ability to directly interact with objects on the canvas means layers are largely irrelevant.
Fireworks excels as a rapid prototyping tool. How does Fireworks helps you in your daily design workflow?
It allows me to create interactive mockups. My mockups are no longer static, this enables the developers to get a good idea about the context of each screen.
Can share with us your experience designing for mobile in Fireworks?
Designing for mobile in Fireworks is the same as designing for desktop. Just set the right canvas size and away you go. The same benefits of Pages and Symbols come in to play no matter what your screen size.
If you can only list 5 favorite best features in Fireworks, what will they be?
1. Pages
2. Symbols
3. HTML Export
4. The Image Compression Engine
5. PNG based files
Many people compare Photoshop with Fireworks. What is your viewpoint in this?
Well, a Chocolate Cake and a Carrot cake are both cakes but each has their own taste. Photoshop is really for manipulating images whereas Fireworks is for screen design. Using the right tool for the job really helps.
Do you have a Fireworks tip for the Fireworks community?
Backup your Common Library of Symbols. On OS X they are saved to ~/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Fireworks CS5/Common Library. Once you've built up this massive library of symbols keep them safe. They are the lifeblood of your mockups.
Do you have a blog? Where can we find you?
I'm always active on Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/trevormkay). I also have a website at http://www.trevormkay.com which gets updated from time to time.
Thanks for the opportunity to talk you, Trevor. Last question, any advice to the designers out there exploring Fireworks?
My advice would be to just open Fireworks and start playing around with it. You'll figure out all the basics and fall in love with it within an hour.
