Aviary, a collection of web based design tools

Submitted by Ivan on Sat, 2008-01-12 17:08. Review

Once it launches, it will be fun to check out this new project called Aviary, which is a set of many different design tools. It is targeting a semi-professional market, so it's not really us. And, it's unlikely you gonna replace your Adobe CS suite for Aviary anytime soon, but I'm sure we will find a few interesting elements in this new package that can be used together with our traditional applications.

Apparently the flagship application Phoenix is a Photoshop clone with much of the functionality ported. Another exciting title is Peacock, a powerful pattern generator. Check out the sample images. It would be interesting for me to explore the 3D app called Hummingbird and Toucan the color swatches and palettes creator. Check out the whole long product range of Aviary.

Have I mentioned the most interesting part about the project? It's web based. Ironically the whole platform is based on Flex, which is an Adobe product to create rich internet applications. While I can imagine vector editing on a web based interface, but I'm highly skeptical about opening a 500MB image or editing a 10GB video in a browser.

I can't imagine an application made to run in a browser — no matter how well written — can outperform a desktop application in speed. But I can see how these set of tools can bring value into your work process in other ways. I can see your productivity soaring because you can use the power of internet connectivity to share and collaborate with your friends and coworkers to work on projects together. Same way as Google Doc's limited feature set is more useful than using the desktop MS Office or iWork packages in a highly team oriented environment, I can imagine Aviary to be a good tool to create and trade design work by collaborating online within a community.

You can sign up for a beta test here: http://a.viary.com/login/

Jamuse

I was recently invited to join the advisory board of a new online creative community at www.jamuse.com

The site will open soon to the public, but the advisory board members are already setting up their portfolios, and becoming familiar with the features offered on the site. I will post more info after the site opens to the public.

From the leaders who shaped companies like Apple, Microsoft and Madison Avenue agencies, jamuse is a better way for businesses and creative talent to share, collaborate and manage their assets.

jamuse is giving back to the creative community. What others charge $100s and even $1000s a month for, jamuse gives FREE to you including storage, transfer, asset management, portfolios, collaboration and more.

In January 2008 look for additional features and packages.

A better way to... Share your files jamuse makes sharing creative files simple by eliminating the hassles and limitations of email, ftp sites and package mail for sending files. And you control when files are shared, how they are sent, how they are viewed, and even if they can be downloaded. Protect your work jamuse gives you better control over the creative integrity of your work while expanding your capabilities for file sharing and client communication. Plus all data is backed up to multiple data centers, providing redundant, secure storage of your files. That's 100 MB FREE. Showcase your talent jamuse wants you to be found and recognized. And unlimited image, audio, and video showcasing means no more limitations on how you showcase your talents to the world. Display your interactive portfolio, show your work, and even run your own blog with built-in RSS. Collaborate with clients jamuse eliminates the challenges of getting fast, accurate client feedback by making it safe and simple to collaborate instantly from anywhere in the world. Introducing JAM files, the new PDF that lets you provide secure, real-time WEB 2.0 collaboration on all your files. That means you and your clients can view, mark-up and comment on the same files, anywhere, anytime. Manage your creative assets jamuse includes MuseWorx™, a powerful, enterprise level digital asset manager that's so easy and simple to us that you can be uploading and managing your creative files in minutes. MuseWorx™ automatically manages uploading, storing, archiving, and transferring of over 400 different image, audio, video and presentation formats. MuseWorx™ also converts assets into standardize files for secure viewing, sharing, and collaboration automatically.

IdN (International designers' Network)

IdN (International designers' Network)

IdN includes cutting-edge news and in-depth features on the biggest names in today's design industry, with a special focus on graphic design, motion graphics, and interactive media including the latest developments in design and youth culture.

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