Slideshows – JavaScript or Flash

JavaScript / jQuery

jQuery is a popular JavaScript library.  The great thing about animations built with jQuery is that the library has built in cross browser compatibility and will even work on smart phones, like the iPhone.  For this reason, slideshows are a great example of a common web animation that has been transitioning from Flash to jQuery.

You can see multiple examples of this on the site for Amy Broker's Inspired Designs.  One of them is the slideshow on the homepage (be patient, the slides are set to move slowly so that you can appreciate the beauty of each image).  Other jQuery animations on the site do allow you to interact and scroll through the images at your own pace.

There are links to more of the jQuery animations on Amy's site in our web graphics portfolio.

Flash

Flash is largely being replaced by JavaScript based animations but there are times that clients will still need or prefer to have Flash used for a project.  Flash is often used for complex or highly interactive animations.

The Photo Gallery on the US Sushi site (click here to view) is a great example of a Flash slideshow.  Sites that don't utilize Flash can use JavaScript slideshows to produce similar effects.  This same animation, complete with the on-click thumbnails, could also be done in jQuery.  Some Flash animations, however, are too complex to be replaced with jQuery until HTML5 is more widely supported across browsers.

Animated GIFs

Animated GIFs are great for banners or other images you want to attract attention.  They provide movement without needing a library like jQuery and this makes them very portable.  Things like badges, ads, and other animations that get placed on lots of different sites or allow users to copy and paste the code for them to other sites are often animated GIFs for this reason.  The small animation in the box on the upper right titled "Flexible Animations" is an animated GIF.

Examples of Animated Graphics

There are a couple of examples either shown or linked to on this page but you can view more in our web graphics portfolio.