Over the last five years, conventional paint manufacturers have improved the sustainability of their products, and a niche market of eco and natural paints has developed. The environmental impact of paint centres on its embodied energy, VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) emitted during its lifetime, and waste disposal.
Natural paints – those made from natural materials – are distinguished from ecopaints, which seek to reduce their environmental impact. Durability is also important.
The composition of paints is well-documented in Lynn Edwards’ Handbook for Eco Paints and Finishes (Eco-Logic, 2008). Titanium dioxide, the pigment often used for opacity, is the main culprit when it comes to embodied energy, while synthetic solvents such as white spirit emit VOCs.
The second phase of the EU directive, which sets emission limits for VOCs, will go into effect in 2010. Manufacturers are scrambling to comply. The trend is away from solvents towards water-borne paints.
Transparency of labelling is key. Auro, Earthborn and Biofa list all their ingredients
on the tin.
Although ecopaints are more expensive, 90 per cent of the cost of painting is labour. Ordering lead times, on-site mixing requirements, and drying times drive the contract price up, not the cost of the paint itself.
Imperium
Imperium is a metallic, decorative-finish paint in 25 colours, including gold and silver-leaf effect, made up of acrylic resins in a water dispersion. It is free from heavy metals, toxic solvents, aromatics or chlorides.
Manufacturer Oikos
Supplier Bluebell
Uses Interior walls and furniture
Application Brush
Coverage 6-8m² per litre
VOC content 5 per cent maximum
Titanium dioxide content None
Full disclosure of ingredients Yes, in technical literature
Recycling Recyclable plastic containers
Made in Italy
Start of UK distribution Spring 2009
www.oikos-paint.com
Auro
Auro is a natural paint made with organically grown linseed oil resins, and the colour range increased from 32 to 92 shades last year. The paint is 100 per cent biodegradable and can be added to household compost.
Manufacturer Auro
Supplier Greenshop and others
Use Interior walls
Application Brush, roller, spray
Coverage 9m² per litre
VOC content Minimal – 0.29 per cent from essential oils that act as natural fungicides
Titanium dioxide content 15g per litre
Full disclosure of ingredients Yes, labelled on tin
Recycling Fully recyclable pot
Made in Germany
Start of UK distribution 1989
www.auro.co.uk
Earthborn Claypaint
Earthborn Claypaint has a thick, ultra-matt finish. It is a breathable paint that minimises condensation and deters mildew, making it ideal for lime-plastered walls. Earthborn is the only UK brand with the EU Eco-label Flower.
Manufacturer Earthborn
Uses Interior walls and ceilings
Application Brush, roller, spray
Coverage 8m² per litre
VOC content None
Titanium dioxide content 20.6g per litre
Full disclosure of ingredients Yes, labelled on tin
Recycling Affiliated to Community RePaint, which uses old paint for community projects
Made in Germany
Start date of UK distribution 2003
www.earthbornpaints.co.uk
Timonox Scrubbable Matt
Timonox, which is available in over 1,350 colours, has exceptional durability and dirt-resistance and uses a water-borne flame-retardant coating. Crown Paints is partnering with i-plas to recycle waste packaging into outdoor street furniture.
Manufacturer Crown Paints
Uses Internal walls and ceilings, especially high-traffic areas
Application Brush, roller or spray
Coverage Up to 14m2² per litre
VOC content Maximum 30g/litre
Titanium dioxide content 21 per cent
Full disclosure of ingredients No
Recycling Currently trialling ‘can back’ recycling scheme
Made in the UK
Start of UK distribution Spring 2009
www.crowntrade.co.uk
Ecosure Matt Light & Space
Developed with environmental charity Forum for the Future, this product has 35 per cent lower embodied carbon and 29 per cent less solvent content than standard Dulux Vinyl Matt. It also reflects twice as much light, reducing the need for artificial lighting.
Manufacturer ICI Paints
Uses Interior walls and ceilings
Application Brush, roller or spray
Coverage Up to 17m² per litre
VOC content ‘Virtually zero’
Titanium dioxide content Not disclosed
Full disclosure of ingredients No
Recycling Cans made from a minimum of 25 per cent recycled materials
Made in the UK
Start of distribution June 2009
www.duluxtrade.co.uk
Farrow & Ball Full Gloss
Farrow & Ball’s Full Gloss has a sheen level of 95 per cent, can be used on ceilings and walls, is completely washable and is available in 132 colours. The company has been affiliated with Community RePaint since September 2008.
Manufacturer Farrow & Ball
Uses Interior and exterior wood and metalwork
Application Brush, roller or spray
Coverage 12m² per litre
VOC content 23.2g per litre
Titanium dioxide content Variable – depends on colour
Full disclosure of ingredients No
Recycling Tins have a high-recycled content, and are recyclable
Made in the UK
Start of distribution January 2009
www.farrow-ball.com
Two Zaha Hadid projects in the Middle East are on hold, while Foster scoops Saudi rail contract
Zaha Hadid’s £82.3 million Dubai Opera House is set to be cancelled as struggling developer Sama Dubai slashes projects that are still on the drawing board.
A source at Sama said: ‘Due to economic conditions the opera house is pending.’ The project has stalled despite the recent merger of Sama Dubai with Dubai Properties and a £6.9 billion government bailout. The building, which was to hold 2,500 people, would have formed a key part of The Lagoons, a mixed-use development in Dubai Creek covering almost 7 million m2.
Zaha Hadid issued a statement to the AJ saying: ‘As with almost every new development in Dubai, the project is under review.
‘We strongly believe these civic cultural programmes, such as the Dubai Opera House, are a vital component of every nation, along with its social, political and economic developments.’
Doubts also surround one of Hadid’s Abu Dhabi projects. The firm is designing the Performing Arts Centre on Saadiyat Island, but the client, Abu Dhabi’s Tourism Development & Investment Company, is locked in talks with banks to secure additional funding.
There is, however, better news for Foster + Partners in the Middle East. It has been chosen by the Saudi Rail Organisation to be sole designer for the five stations on the £4.1 billion Haramain high-speed rail project. The 444km railway will link the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, via Jeddah, Rabigh and King Abdullah Economic City.
Stuart Hart, head of GIA’s building consultancy, explains how a sustainable project manager can benefit the building process
Unless they have had their head in the sand for the last 10 years, architects, the consultant teams they work with, their clients and, contractors will be aware of the vast increase in legislation relating to sustainability performance in the building process, from planning requirements to energy efficiency provisions. By employing the principles of sustainable project management, architects can more easily achieve the sustainability objectives of their projects.
In essence, the sustainable project management process is the implementation of a whole-of-development approach. This considers the design and development aspects, as well as the facility management and operational practices that need to be put in place to ensure that the building functions as intended throughout its operating life.
By instigating an integrated design process at the outset of a project, the entire project team is engaged in every step thereby ensuring that their needs and requirements are factored in and that environmental, social and financial outcomes are achieved. This is more commonly known as the Triple Bottom Line or TBL.
The project manager can also influence the performance of a sustainable building at each stage of the building project, so that the vision and direction of the project is maintained, despite the inevitable pressures the team will face to save time and costs. A sustainable Project manager will integrate the challenge of meeting sustainable objectives with his/her traditional tasks and responsibilities. This may range from helping set targets for the required method for assessing environmental performance (BREEAM for example) at an early stage of a scheme to ensuring that the building will be operated in the way its designers intended and prescribed environmental performance levels are achieved.
Samuel A. Budiono, M.Arch, BSAS, IAI is the founder of the firm and hold a Master of Architecture and a Bachelor of Science in Architectural Studies from the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee, USA. In addition, Samuel A. Budiono received architectural training from the Europe Study Program in Paris, France & Berlin, Germany and also worked in the United States before moving back to Indonesia to open hios own office. As an accomplished jazz pianist & composer who have also produced record albums, his passion for music and architecture are inseparable which gives a lyrical touch to his architecture.
Samuel A. Budiono & Associates' projects have received International Awards and been exhibited in Cityscape Architectural Review Awards in Dubai - UAE, ArchiFest in Singapore and World Architecture Festival in Barcelona - Spain. Samuel A. Budiono has also been invited as a speaker at many architecture forums including World Architecture Congress in Singapore.
Nominated for SIA-GETZ Architecture Prize 2008 for Emergent Architecture in Asia
SAMUEL A. BUDIONO & ASSOCIATES
Architecture - Planning - Interior Design
Jl. M. H. Thamrin 38
Surabaya 60264
Indonesia
E-mail : SABAssociates@gmail.com
Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre
Amid all the current architectural conformity, we still find amazement in the simple,
calm in the unselfconscious. We still understand the value of the simplest fundamentals,
which, when wielded with intelligence and the integrity of process, produces remarkable
work: we understand the importance of getting back to basics.
The thread of continuity which runs through DATUM:KL 2009 concerns the relevant, the
elegance of basic design, a time for reflection and a reassessment of those intrinsic
values we as architects apply to our work.
more information : http://www.pam.org.my/Library/DatumKL_2009_Preview_1.3[1].pdf
Anniversary Gold Logo IAI load:
* Logo IAI Yuswadi paper Saliya
* 50 years and Figures 1959-2009
* Feel gold
* Text: Indonesian Architects Association
Anniversary Gold Logo IAI reflects:
* Devotion professional architects on the Indonesian island of progress and the nation;
* The spirit of work of innovative architects Indonesia-progressive;
* The role of architects active in the Indonesian environment and preservation of cultural heritage.
Anniversary Gold Logo IAI must:
* Interesting and informative;
* Easy to apply in the different media souvenir (T-shirt, stickers, pins, etc..);
* Can be used as part of a memorial stamp.
* Able to maintain its quality even though black and white printing and relief printing.
Anniversary Gold Logo IAI disayembarakan among architects over the Internet and assessed by a single jury: Yuswadi Saliya.
Contest winner presents his work voluntarily for the purposes of providing Anniversary Gold IAI and the winner will receive a certificate from the National Chairman of the IAI.
Time conducting competition:
The announcement on the Internet: 27 April 2009
Income at the latest: May 13, 2009
Penjurian: 14 May 2009
Contest participants can submit logo designs in the form of JPG / GIF / PNG / TIFF to panitia50thn@iai.or.id email with the file size no more than 1Mb.
IAI Committee 50 years,
Bambang Eryudhawan, IAI
more information : http://www.iai.or.id/index.php?id=57
Overview
GBC-Indonesia is a non-profit organization committed to fully implement and develop the use; Green Building "in Indonesia. It will be supported by the professional field of construction, government, non government organizations, institutions and environment that observers will collaborate to build Indonesia kea direction more responsive environment, sustainable and preserve the environment for the sake of the future.
Part of the world community's awareness of the safety of our earth and the opportunity for future generations to keep the quality of life medapat well as the same time this is one of the main establishment of Green Building Council.
Indonesia State as one of the abundant natural resources has had a role must be active preserve our environment. One of the establishment akan GREEN BUILDING COUNCIL INDONESIA.
WORLD GREEN BUILDING COUNCIL long-standing, and many countries have organizations such as the United States, Taiwan, India, Philiphina, India, Australia and others (for more details can open web sitenya)
Travel Perintisan GBC-INDONESIA in 24 starts since August 2007 with the Global Warming Seminar in International Merchantile held by Collier International Seminar and Global Climate Changes in Bali 1-13 December 2007.
Merchantile month meeting in December 2007 began to be formed Dicanangkan akan GBC-Indonesia. On 12 March while on the set in sekertariat JL no 12a Ciputat Raya Pondok Pinang Kebayoran Lama Jakarta Selatan.
Develop the application of the Building which are environment (sustainable building) in Indonesia with a practice based on 'green building' and to consider aspects of the economic value (market value).
Increasing awareness of the preservation of natural environment around the workplace is changing with the green building 'in the plan, membanguna, and maintain.
PURPOSE
- Promote the implementation of "Green Building" in the property sector in Indonesia, both in the design, implementation, operations and maintenance by making the guidelines.
- Perform the certification of buildings through the LEED India rating system to apply.
- Provide information and increase pengetahunan about Green Building through seminars, training and training.
- Industry standards to help the environment-friendly
http://www.gbcindonesia.org
Wouldn't it be great if you could have all your favorite image editing tools directly in a single 3D environment? Wouldn't it be great if they worked in conjunction with your 3D application rather than against it? Well, that is exactly what BodyPaint 3D does!
Wave goodbye to UV seams, inaccurate texturing and constant back-and-forth switching to your 2D image editor. Say hello to hassle-free texturing that lets you quickly paint highly detailed textures directly on your 3D objects.
Forget flat compromises and paint in three dimensions. BodyPaint 3D offers the ultimate control over your textures with complete layers, filters and tablet support - all optimized for working in 3D. With BodyPaint 3D you can paint on up to ten channels with a single stroke, so a single brush can define an entire material rather than a single color. Plus, BodyPaint 3D's exclusive RayBrushTM technology lets you view the results of your painting in real-time as a rendered image.
BodyPaint 3D's Projection Painting tool makes distortion-free painting a snap. This quick and easy tool lets you paint across UV seams or even multiple objects. Even the most complex UV coordinates can be tamed with the help of a complete suite of UV editing tools. BodyPaint 3D includes three automatic UV unwrapping algorithms, including the new Optimal Cubic Mapping system.
BodyPaint 3D was created for all 3D artists and includes free plugins to exchange models and textures with popular 3D applications. These plugins transfer models, textures and UVs between BodyPaint 3D and many 3D applications, with no hassle at all.
Gallery :
More product information :
http://www.maxon.net/index.php?id=20
Cinema Architect
Hari | : | Jumat |
Tanggal | : | 01 Mei 2009 |
Tempat | : | R. Flamboyan, Jakarta Design Center Lt.6, Jl. Gatot Subroto Kav. 53, Slipi, Jakarta |
Registrasi | : | - |
Biaya | : | GRATIS |
More info :
http://www.iai-jakarta.org/agendasinemamei2009.html
Waktu | Durasi | Acara |
---|---|---|
17.00-17.15 | 15' | registrasi ulang |
17.30-18.30 | 60' | Sinema arsitektur: |
Thermal Bath karya Peter Zumthor | ||
18.30-19.00 | 30' | Break |
19.00-21.00 | 60' | Presentasi arsitektur: |
UI Central Library, Student and Business Activity Center oleh Ir.Dicky Hendrasto (DCM) |
MoGraph Module, Global Illumination Engine and NET Render Deemed Essential Elements in Broadcast Customers’ Motion Graphics Production Pipelines.
Las Vegas, NV – NAB, April 20, 2009 – MAXON Computer, a leading developer of professional 3D modeling, painting, animation and rendering solutions, today announced that MAXON CINEMA 4D continues to be the 3D digital content creation software of choice for the broadcast industry’s most widely recognized networks and production facilities. CINEMA 4D’s motion graphics module, MoGraph, is noted by customers as being particularly essential due to its quick workflow, fast rendering and easy export to compositing applications. Entities of note who count CINEMA 4D as a key part of their creative toolkits include: The Weather Channel, MTV, CMT, Comedy Central, TMZ, NBC, FOX, NFL, TRU TV, TNT, TBS, HGTV, Capacity, Cosmocyte, MSNBC, ESPN, HBO, CNN, USA Network, Troika Design Group, National Geographic Channel, Univision, ABC, E!, Telefutura, Third Eye Design Group, Al Jazeera, Red Car, d.inc design, Innovative Show Design (ISD), The Mill, NHK (Japan), NTV (Japan), SAT (Germany), RTL (Germany), Protokulture, Perception, the BBC and more. Overall, customers cite efficiency, cost savings, ease-of-use, and a significant boost in workflow productivity as the primary benefits for adopting CINEMA 4D into production pipelines.
“Broadcast designers are challenged to produce highly complex, technically perfect and over-the-top creative content every day; and they require a reliable, fast and flexible production workflow to meet those expectations,” said Paul Babb, president and CEO, MAXON USA. “The fact that so many broadcast customers have placed CINEMA 4D at the heart of their production pipelines and count on it to help them meet real world motion graphics goals is extremely gratifying and very clearly demonstrates the value that CINEMA 4D can bring to any graphics production environment.”
MAXON broadcast design customers currently finding success with CINEMA 4D, include:
Studio: Capacity
Project: Cartoon Network Rebrand
Capacity is a motion design studio / strategic agency focused on concept, branding, and visual storytelling. For the past five-plus years, the studio has relied on CINEMA 4D as a cornerstone application; using it on a daily basis for nearly all of its 3D work. Most recently Capacity tapped CINEMA 4D to model, rig, texture and animate characters for its multi-faceted and complex rebrand of Cartoon Network. Other Capacity projects of note developed with the help of CINEMA 4D include their award-winning rebrand of NBC, packages for NFL Network, HGTV, CMT and MTV, commercials for Target, VH1 and Honda, and imagery for their short film, Upgrade + Mobilize.
“CINEMA 4D has been our weapon of choice for years. We’re extremely pleased with its performance, stability and seamless integration with other applications and find its interface and workflow to be amazingly intuitive. We also like that it’s a very stable and flexible environment for building, rigging, texturing, and animating characters; capabilities which definitely came in handy during our recent rebrand of Cartoon Network, which is practically all character animation, and for our latest short film, "Upgrade + Mobilize". We’re also huge fans of Net Render and BodyPaint 3D, and consider both to be key elements in our pipeline.”
- Ellerey Gave, Creative Director
Capacity
Studio: The Mill
Project: Award-Winning Episode of TV’s Doctor Who
The Mill, a world-leading visual effects company based in the U.K., was recently recognized by the Visual Effects Society (VES) with a coveted award for ‘Outstanding Matte Paintings in a Broadcast Program or Commercial’ associated with the Doctor Who episode entitled 'Silence in the Library'. The centerpiece of The Mill's award-winning effects, a library the size of an entire planet, was created in CINEMA 4D, MAXON's 3D modeling, rendering and animation program. This element of the project proved particularly challenging due to its immense size and scale coupled with the limited timeframes available for television production. To meet this challenge and achieve the realism required, The Mill turned to CINEMA 4D and its new Global Illumination (GI) render engine; which made short work of rendering scenes that could contain up to six million polygons; and resulted in the creation of superior, flicker-free animation in a fraction of the usual time.
"The results [achieved with the new GI render engine] were amazing. I could render a 175 frame camera animation at widescreen PAL resolution overnight on a Mac Pro without a trace of GI flicker. Without that, these shots would never have been completed on time...I have used several 3D apps and CINEMA 4D is like the 3D equivalent of just pulling out your sketchpad and pencil and being creative."
- Simon Wicker, Lead Matte Painter
The Mill
Company: Innovative Show Design (ISD)
Projects: On-Air Commentator Sets for Super Bowl XLIII, Daytona 500 Speed Week, Poker After Dark, NBC's National Heads-Up Poker Championship and High Stakes Poker
Florida-based ISD is an Emmy Award-winning design firm specializing in scenic and lighting services for television productions, corporate events, and live theater. Recent projects of note have included on-air set design and build-outs for Super Bowl XLIII on NBC, 2009 Speed Week at the Daytona 500, Poker After Dark, NBC's National Heads-Up Poker Championship and High Stakes Poker. CINEMA 4D, and Xpresso in particular, are used for all of ISD’s previsualization work; enabling the designers to create the most accurate depictions possible of what the final sets will look like—both live and on-air; including color schemes, lighting, video screens, camera sweeps, animations, etc.
“CINEMA 4D always plays a critical role in our set design; most especially when it comes to textures, color and lighting. To configure lighting in particular, we first take a look at the ‘real’ methods a show will use and move forward to build imagery showing lighting that uses the same color temperatures, intensities, directions, etc. Using CINEMA 4D Xpresso, we’re able to show lighting as it would look from the same lighting instrument that will be on the final set using a library of lights controlled in the software; so anything that particular light does in the rendering will be what the light can really do. All of this takes place prior to the actual physical set being manufactured which is an incredible boost to our workflow.”
- Nate Mitchell, Graphics Supervisor
Innovative Show Design
Studio: Perception
Project: Super Bowl XLIII
Perception’s client roster reads like a veritable laundry-list of heavy hitters; including Fortune 500 companies, powerful brands and major networks like ABC, Bravo, SpikeTV, ESPN, Playboy Entertainment, HBO/Cinemax and many others. For the last five years, Perception’s designers, animators, art directors and editors have relied on CINEMA 4D for the bulk of the studio’s 3D work and have implemented it into the workflow in a myriad of ways. Most recently, Perception turned to CINEMA 4D when tasked to create a series of extraordinarily sophisticated promos on behalf of NBC for Super Bowl XLIII with very little lead time; and the additional requirement that each scene of the promo could be adjusted as necessary once the final line-up of teams, announcers, and musical acts had been determined; information that wouldn’t be known until the very last moment.
“The Super Bowl pitch to NBC involved creating an infinite field of confetti appearing to flow freely and at a moments notice swarm together to form personalities, a task usually assigned to a particle system. Because of our tight turnaround, we opted to avoid the sometimes unpredictable process of wrangling free-roaming particles with the more predictable controls of CINEMA 4D’s MoGraph module and its various cloner effectors. The software’s ease-of-use has given us the ability to make miracles happen in the face of laughably tight timeframes; especially during the pitch process. We’re able to blow clients' minds with original style-frames that have a distinctly ‘epic’ scope to them, while our competition only has time to write a carefully worded paragraph.”
- John LePore, Associate Creative Director
Perception
Studio: Protokulture
Project: Gillette “Gameface” TV Commercial
Protokulture is a Chicago-based design and motion graphics studio geared to creating high-end visuals for the commercial broadcast industry. For the past 8 years, MAXON CINEMA 4D has played a major role in helping Protokulture create memorable campaigns for a spectrum of high profile agencies and national brands, including Leo Burnett, Young and Rubicam, McDonald's, Gillette, Nokia, Kellogg’s, Pepsi and many others. Most recently, the Protokulture creative team relied on CINEMA 4D to help them create a 30-second TV commercial for Gillette entitled "Gameface"; tapping the MoGraph module to populate an entire football stadium with random crowds in a matter of minutes and using the cloth functionality to create visually dynamic streamers and confetti.
“CINEMA 4D is an essential part of our pipeline. Its efficient scalability and simplistic network rendering allows us to take advantage of our idle machines processing power to create visual complexity using a simple toolset, which is a godsend when working under tight deadlines. Currently, CINEMA 4D is used in every department to create titles, liquids, characters and more; and is so critical to our work that having a solid working knowledge of the software suite is considered mandatory for all designers and animators creating digital content at the studio. The MoGraph module in particular has been invaluable to our creation process and has even replaced helpful plug-ins that we relied on in the past.”
- John Michaels, Creative Director
Protokulture
Studio: Cosmocyte, Inc.
Project: World’s Toughest Fixes; National Geographic TV
Cosmocyte is a high-end 3D scientific and medical animation studio dedicated to creating visual representations that provide impact and increase understanding of any scientific topic. CINEMA 4D has been an essential part of Cosmocyte’s pipeline for years, and is currently used to help Cosmocyte artists deliver on one of the largest single projects they’d ever undertaken: creating 3D graphics for The World's Toughest Fixes on National Geographic Television. MAXON CINEMA 4D is used exclusively as Cosmocyte’s 3D toolset to animate each “fix”; creating imagery that helps immerse the audience and clarify what is being done. CINEMA 4D modules, including MoGraph and Sketch and Toon, are considered essential for modeling and animating scenes, as well as for developing the blueprint style of the animations.
“All scenes we produce for this series are 3D, and as a result there is no part of the project to which CINEMA 4D hasn't contributed. Because of its easy-to-use farm rendering, comprehensive multi-pass capability and streamlined integration with Adobe After Effects, CINEMA 4D was the natural choice for producing High Definition broadcast animation where accuracy, beauty and clarity of the final product is essential and the deadlines are written in stone. As a practical company we frequently check to see if there are other software packages that will better suit our production pipeline needs, but always conclude that CINEMA 4D equips us with everything we need to produce solid animations of the highly technical and detailed nature that are Cosmocyte's specialty. We always look forward to the next release of the software and will undoubtedly be CINEMA 4D users for life.”
- Cameron Slayden, M.S., CEO
Cosmocyte, Inc.
About CINEMA 4D
CINEMA 4D is a robust 3D animation software application. Its core application contains everything needed to quickly and easily create high-end 3D images and animations. Additional modules provide added functionality and customization to suit a wide array of industries. Modules can be purchased individually or in bundles. CINEMA 4D renders scene files directly to popular editing and compositing applications including After Effects, Final Cut, Shake, Combustion, etc., and is completely cross-platform for Windows and Mac.
About MAXON Computer
MAXON Computer is a developer of professional 3D modeling, painting, animation and rendering solutions. Its award-winning CINEMA 4D and BodyPaint 3D software products have been used extensively in the film, television, science, architecture, engineering and other industries. MAXON has offices in Germany, USA, United Kingdom, France and Japan. MAXON products are available directly from the Website and its worldwide distribution channel. Specially priced learning editions of the company’s software solutions are also made available to educational institutions. For additional information on MAXON visit www.maxon.net.
All trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.
Although Adobe Dreamweaver CS4 is packed with many innovative helpful tools, the following were my favorite new features:
- New “User Interface” allows for easy navigating between work environments
- Preview and test web content in “Live View” instead of outside browser
- Quickly access code and CSS styles using “Related Files” bar or “Code Navigator”
- Employ “CSS Best Practices” without writing code
- Insert Photoshop images as “Smart Objects” to automatically web-optimized images
New User Interface
When first opening Dreamweaver CS4, the differences between the previous CS3 version and CS4 will not be immediately identifiable. However, upon closer exploration of the new and improved User Interface, there is a noticeable clean, uncluttered, simple to navigate layout; making it even easier to get from one work space to the next.
Also, the new Welcome Screen features a quick reference function of listings and links to “Top Features” (help) videos; providing a convenient way to access the Dreamweaver CS4 instructional data base.
Adobe Dreamweaver CS3 and Dreamweaver CS4
Adobe has named their new look, OWL (OS Widget Library). Within the new User Interface, the title bar has been replaced with the application tool bar.
One especially nice element of the new User Interface is the easy access preset workspace icon with a dropdown window. Where you can select a large variety of workspaces, as well as create and save your own custom workspace.
Adobe Dreamweaver CS4 Workspace Menu
Two additional revisited features that I felt were helpful: the Insert Toolbar is now located on the side panel; and the Split Screen now comes in both horizontal and vertical.
Live View
One of most welcomed changes in Dreamweaver CS4 is the time-saving ability to preview and test web content in record speed, with the new “Live View” function. This feature allows the web designer to validate and preview code; and make changes in Dreamweaver…instead of viewing each page and updating within a separate browser. To non web designers, this may seem like a minor upgrade, but to those who design web sites on a regular basis, it is a major advancement. Any function that saves time is worth praising.
I especially liked this new feature, as I create sites working in a split screen (that way I can manipulate code, and still get a “visual” of the site design). As all designers know, what you see on the designing screen is not necessarily what appears on the final “Online” design.
Adobe Dreamweaver CS4, new “Live View” and “Live Code” feature
As well as Live View, there is also the Live Code function. While I loved the Live View feature, I was disappointed that not even minor modifications could be made to the code within Live Code. Any changes to code had to be made within Dreamweaver’s Source Code (although Code Navigator does function in Live View).
Adobe Dreamweaver CS4, “Split Screen” feature
In previous versions of Dreamweaver, it was annoying to create a roll-over button and not be able to view the action within the design space. In Dreamweaver CS3, you had to stop designing, save your work…then, open your page to preview within a browser. Then close the preview and go back to designing in Dreamweaver.
The new “Live View” feature of previewing action-elements within Dreamweaver is a huge improvement, and of course, as Adobe promised, it is also a huge time-saver. As a side note: although “Live View” allows for viewing actions within Dreamweaver, it is not a replacement for reviewing your final project in “Preview in Browser.” However, the fact that “Live View” allows viewing of non-static design options is a welcomed and long awaited function.
Related Files and Code Navigator
With Dreamweaver CS4, designing a website can easily be accomplished by a weekend-novice or a hardcore-coder. Of course, as with most everything “computer related” even the most simple of tasks have many underlying layers of complexity.
For example, a website’s code is divided into related elements of hierarchy: Source code (main HTML)…First Level Child Documents (Main.css, TabbedPanels.js, Server-side includes, Spry Datasets)…and then the Deeper Level Child Documents. As a rule of thumb, lower-level child documents (unless they are within CSS) are not displayed within Dreamweaver.
However, Dreamweaver CS4, has developed workflow improvements in the “Related Files” options; allowing designers to view the code and make tweaks within external lower-level files while the main file is open.
In the same vein, the new “Code Navigator” gives instant access to related code when selecting specific elements on a page. To open the Code Navigator, simply place your cursor over the specified spot within your design, hold down the Alt key and left-click the mouse (which in turn will open the Code Navigator popup box).
The Code Navigator box displays all the “rules” that pertain to a specific item. Within the box, you can then click on each rule and display its contents. Double clicking on a code line will take you directly into the code pertaining to the Source Code view.
CSS and Property Inspector
Within the Property Inspector are now two new buttons: HTML and CSS, allowing designers to work with styles within the Property Inspector.
An important note: when working in CSS within the Property Inspector, be very cognizant of what you are doing; as a seemingly quick small change to a specific item on a page, can result in a global design change. So, be sure to work within the pull down menus, especially in the Targeted Rule section of the Property Inspector. Preplanning your CSS steps, instead of just clicking buttons (which I am known to do), is always a wiser move.
Within the Property Inspector CSS box, there is the New CSS Rule dialog box, allowing for easy access to a bevy of style changes. New in Dreamweaver CS4 is the ability to easily make less specific, or more specific, changes by using the Less Specific or More Specific buttons. From within the New Rule dialog box, you can then access the familiar CSS Rule Definition dialog box, and fine-tune your CSS rules to your site design’s specifications.
Photoshop Smart Objects
My all-time favorite new Dreamweaver CS4 feature is the ease of converting Adobe Photoshop images into Smart Objects; to use within a web base design. I use Photoshop on a daily basis. Thus, every image that I create is originally saved in a PSD format. Smart Objects saves me a ton of time. It also eliminates frustration when designing on the fly. Admit it, we have all done this: in the middle of a design project…finding the perfect image…and then realizing it has to be reformatted from a PSD file.
With Dreamweaver CS3 began the first-stage development of integrating Photoshop PSD images directly into Dreamweaver; with the introduction of copying PSD files and pasting them directly into a Dreamweaver document (to be resized and reformatted within Dreamweaver). However, manipulation of the reformatted image was not available in Dreamweaver CS3 (as a side note: Dreamweaver CS4 still has the copy/paste function for a quick “down and dirty” insertion of PSD images).
The new and improved version of Dreamweaver CS4 utilizes Smart Objects to facilitate the reformatting, editing, and resizing of PSD images, while “keeping” an avenue open to the original Photoshop PSD file format for future reuse and manipulation.
Next to working with code, image insertion and manipulation is a major part of web design. Being able to pull any image format from your files is a huge time-saver. Dreamweaver CS4 has made this possible with three easy steps all done without leaving Dreamweaver.
First, click “insert image” from the Dreamweaver toolbar. Then locate the PSD image you wish to insert into your web design. Once the image is selected from your files…the magic begins in Dreamweaver’s Image Preview window. Within the File selection, you can reduce the resolution and resize the pixels of the original PSD image.
The Options selection allows you to select (and preview) samples of different image settings. Within each setting are additional tools to optimize and manipulate the final image to perfection.
Dreamweaver then saves the new file as a Smart Object, allowing you to resize and optimize the file further from the Property Inspector. The most amazing thing…the new changes to the image, are made from the original Photoshop PSD image file. This in turn means that each time a change is made to the image inside of Dreamweaver CS4, you are working from the clear, non-distorted original image file.
New and Enhanced
As mentioned at the beginning of this review, I have just touched on a few of the outstanding new and enhanced features that make Adobe Dreamweaver CS4 a must have.
Adobe Dreamweaver CS4 – New and Enhanced Features
Adobe Dreamweaver CS4 is a must have upgrade for long time Dreamweaver users, as well as an invaluable new application for anyone just beginning to design web sites.
Dreamweaver CS4 has the perfect time-saving options, and ease of use (for both the pro and novice designer), making it the best time to Go Adobe!
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