Wireframe tools are all the rage, but you have to take particular note of the design work done by Adobe Proto – partly because they’re an industry heavyweight, but also because the app itself is generally cool. (Why Adobe then insists on dry presentations of cool apps, I have no idea. Anyone want to do some spec marketing on this for them to show them how it’s done?)
The big draw: export to HTML, CSS and JavaScript. And those languages could increasingly become a lingua franca for creative visual development just as they have for sending things to the Web. I could imagine live visual and music applications based on working with this tool, as well.
Also interesting: Adobe bets on Android. The apps will ship for iOS, but they start on Android. That suggests, at the very least, Adobe isn’t being as bleak about the Android platform as … well, some of us who have even invested in the platform. (For the record, though, I do love my Galaxy Tab 10.1, and intend to run this on there alongside Processing for Android and other goodies. And yes, I own an iPad, too.)
Proto is just one of a number of new apps, but I have to say I think this one may be the most relevant. Fun color tools, drawing, presentation, mood boards, and Photoshop touch make it clear what the big picture is: this allows creative people to show off their work, and refine designs, on the go.
For that, Adobe deserves credit: they get their audience. It’s not about consumption versus creation. Pros will continue to work on the Mac and PC. But ask your creative friends why they’ve bought / are thinking of buying a tablet, and the typical reason is this: you want to show off your work to clients, whether you’re in the art and experimental world or this is a more conventional design day job.
US$9.99 each; shipping for Android first next month