check out the fireworks
I use Macromedia Fireworks almost start to finish when designing and slicing a website, and I’m not sure why it hasn’t become more popular among web designers. It may well be just a matter of habit, sticking to the program you know best, but there was a time when I used Photoshop, Illustrator and Image Ready to design for the web, until I was forced to learn Fireworks overnight in order to finish a deserted half-finished website designed and sliced in Fireworks.
In hindsight, that was a situation I am glad happened, because Fireworks has made my web design life far easier than I remember it being. Fireworks has most of the same tools (save some filters and path features), layers, masks and bitmap editing abilities of Photoshop, the vector capabilities and easy one-click selection of any text, graphic or bitmap object of Illustrator, fantastic optimization and slicing capabilities better than or equal to that of Image Ready, the library feature of Flash, navigation, animation and JavaScript functions as well – to name a few. I’m not going to list all of the features that make it easier, becasue articles like this do it far better than I ever could. All I know is since I’ve made the switch, I haven’t had a need to go back to web designing in Photoshop. That’s not saying it’s better than Photoshop for editing images, or better than Illustrator for creating complex vector graphics, but I think it joins the best of both those worlds and then some.
When I am asked why Fireworks is better, it’s difficult for me to go into a long detailed defense, as it’s true that it shares many of the same features with other graphics programs. And admittedly, I may not be the world’s best salesperson for the program. I am hesitant to defend it simply for the fact other respected web designers I know, don’t use the program. Which in turn, makes me question my reasoning and think about if there are any real advantages to using Fireworks.
Looking deeper into the reasons that I am such a loyal user, I have to consider my own personal web design needs in the past. In my experience as a web designer I have always done the graphic design as well as the HTML, CSS and scripting. So, for me, having a high-end graphics program that could seamlessly switch from design to dreamweaver was the best thing possible. Having one program open versus three, is preferable. Fireworks may not the all-time best photo editor – but unless I’m doing print work, I don’t need it to be. For me, it combines the best functions possible from the popular graphics programs that are suited specifically for the web.
The marketing team behind Fireworks has done a less than stellar job, in my opinion, as the program has never caught on in the web design world to the extent that I think it deserves. Mainly only a problem when trying to share files with other designers. As a designer, you should use whatever programs and tools work for you to get the job done. However, I think Fireworks deserves a fair shot from web designers who are skeptical. Don’t knock it till you’ve at least tried it.
