Hi Guys
Anyone using Adobe Muse? i’m not a coder and think that Muse will help me get into web design and i’ll learn code as I go along.
Any thoughts?
John
Well, the aim of Muse is to let you design sites without coding, so if that’s what you want to do, it’s at least worth a try. But you also say want to learn to code as you go along. In that case, you would do better to learn to code from the outset. Learn the basics of HTML and CSS, and use them to start creating pages. You’ll find you can achieve quite a lot with just learning the basics.
I don’t know much about Muse, but their website is a mess, and it seems hard to get any concrete technical information about the product. But they do have a 30-day free trial, so you could always give it a try before you commit yourself.
If your aim is to create pages without coding, there are simpler (and cheaper) products available. If your aim is to learn coding, jump straight into HTML and CSS.
Mike
Hi Miki
I’m a Graphic Designer and Photographer and tend to focus on the look and feel of things. Muse is great for that but i’m also playing around with Dreamweaver to get my hands dirty lol
If you’re using muse to build a personal portfolio site or something go ahead. However, if you’re going to use it to eventually provide professional web design/development services learn HTML and CSS. Furthermore, if you would like to be hired professionally at a company no one will hire you if you only know muse unless you’re just there to design and not actually build things. Same can really be said for Dreamweaver unless you are talking about the bottom-dweller clients and companies. Than you might find a lot of work. Simply put learning Muse and/or Dreamweaver WILL NOT put you on a path to a successful career in web design within the context of building sites. If my chance you do freelance and get some clients you will be offering them very poor quality and inflexible work.
bottom dweller is kinda harsh!
funny but harsh.
D
I’ve got the entire CC suite, Muse is interesting, I can see using it for smallish projects and I must admit I do like the visual aspect of the site planner. I highly recommend Muse Essential Training at lynda.com. Its about 5 hours, but very comprehensive. Will say that I’m thoroughly enjoying the entire suite at this point, and it makes me happy I decided to get back into web dev, though I’m still a coder at hear, I’m actually getting the feeling that I can DO graphics design as well as I go. But, the best thing to do over time is get your hands dirty with code. Muse will only take you so far and it has NO facility for dynamic web dev.
I used it about a year ago to build NaturePictures.us. I got the feeling a non-designer like me could build a pretty site. There were tons of settings to tweak the look of the site. Lots of fonts, that sort of thing.
That said, once I realized It was a tool for building static sites (that may have changed) I lost interest.
I have played with muse too, it definitely has its good side but I wouldn’t recommend using it for paying clients, I think it is better if you hire a seperate coder and then design the PSD yourself. I am also playing with macaw at the moment and I am loving it more than muse just FYI
Like others I haven’t used Muse so I can only comment generically. I have used Dreamweaver extensively but over the past 5 years or so my use of it has dropped right off following the improved performance of CMS systems such as WordPress.
Since nearly all websites these days have dynamic elements, in my view the days of static website design software are numbered.
Also my experience of Adobe products in general is that there are almost always substantially less expensive alternatives available. Adobe positions itself at the top of the market, aiming at the larger design consultancies, but for the freelance designer/developer there are certainly more appropriate products.
I’ve been using CMSes for years, but TBH, I’m getting really sick of them. It’s a pain to keep them up to date, clients make a mess of them, security is a nightmare etc. I’m craving the old days of clean, static sites that I update for clients, and I’m tempted to move back in that direction. So hopefully there’s still some place for static sites! 