Design mixing with Blend.

Okay, so you all know how I’m not the biggest fan of Microsoft products, but I have to give them a hand on this one. I started learning their new software program, Blend, last week. It’s like Illustrator, Flash, AfterEffects, and…well…maybe VisualBasic (except that it writes C# and XAML, not VB) all in one. Given that it is trying to be so many things at once (typical of MS), I was pleasantly surprised by how aesthetically pleasing and relatively intuitive the interface is. The type tool is a little bit awkward, and I’m working on learning how to create gradients and reflections more effectively, but overall, I like it. Especially the default UI color palette (although there is an option to switch to a lighter one).