I am on the FWA this morning, reading through the thread of remarks surrounding the recent decision made by Adobe to halt all future development of Flash on mobile platforms.
Who’s really surprised by this news?
The consensus, overwhelmingly, among many industry leading digital/interactive pros is that Flash, while an incredibly versatile tool for building immersive digital experiences, is probably better left off the mobile Web.
Aside from the political undertones influencing this turn of events, I agree with Adobe’s decision.
It’s easy to dwell on the technology/toolset side of the debate, for example HTML 5 vs. Flash, which seems never ending. Certainly designers and developers who’ve built a career around the Flash platform (I am one of them) feel compelled to voice their opinions on an issue that will no doubt have significant repercussions on the future path of the Web.
But rather than get caught up in posturing and emotionally charged rhetoric, it might be easier to come to terms with the purported death of Flash if we briefly look at the bigger picture as Jared Kroff, Creative Director at RED Interactive Agency, has done:
The most exciting and impactful digital experiences are those that transcend the technology they are built on to truly connect with and empower the user. Great, mediocre and bad design will always be the same regardless of the underlying technology.
As creative professionals it is our responsibility to master the most effective technologies to accomplish our clients’ objectives. But because it is ever evolving, no technology is ever perfect or complete.
In short: become technology agnostic. Work for the idea, not the tool(s), and the future will be yours.