Most online shop-fronts follow a tried and tested formula. Users expect to be able to browse the shop in exactly the same way as every other online shop they browse. But sometimes this can be a little bland. Wouldn’t it be great if we could bring online stores to life for a truly interactive and fun shopping experience?

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When developing MPU and banner advertising in Flash, designers have to work within strict file size limits. Publishers usually limit the initial load to 30k or 40k (which doesn’t get you much) and sometimes allow a subsequent polite download of a further 50k or 60k (which doesn’t get you much more).

Below are some of the techniques and rules that designers should follow in order to reduce and minimise the file size of their Flash animations.

Avoid bitmap images

Try and use as few bitmap images and graphics as possible. Instead use vector graphics imported from Illustrator or drawn natively in Flash. Vectors have a much smaller footprint than bitmaps and are easier to manipulate and animate too.

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