Microsoft's new development suite for designers became a reality Monday, with the final release of Expression Web, one of Expression Studio's four components. The other three -- Blend, Design and Media -- will follow in Q2 2007.

First officially announced at PDC 2005, Expression was built to usher in a new generation of applications both in Windows and on the Web. With the impending launch of Windows Vista, Microsoft wants to make sure developers have the tools to create the user experiences it hopes will draw customers to the new operating system.

A core tenet of Expression Studio is that developers are often forced to design the external interface along with the code underneath. And the end result is often less than stellar. Right now, it's just too difficult or expensive to develop a good user experience, Expression product manager Wayne Smith previously told BetaNews. "We're targeting these people we like to call des-devs. They do a little of both."

The effort has been underway since before PDC, however, with the release of "Acrylic" in June 2005. The graphic design application creates 2D and 3D images that can be outputted into the XAML file format that is natively supported by Vista's Presentation Foundation. Since its debut, the product was renamed Expression Graphic Designer and has now been shorted to just "Expression Design."

But an interface isn't just about graphics - it also needs interactivity. That's where Expression Blend comes in, formerly known by the code-name "Sparkle" and later dubbed Interactive Designer. Blend has been in development for over three years, and was initially thought to be a potential competitor to Adobe's Flash. But the tool is primarily about interface design, and is tightly coupled with Visual Studio, even utilizing the same build mechanism.

Along with issuing a December CTP of Expression Design Monday, Microsoft has released a new beta of Blend. Forest Key, marketing director for Expression, told BetaNews the update is "almost like a completely new product" due to a brand new interface that is built atop the Windows Presentation Framework technologies that are part of the .NET Framework 3.0 and ship with Vista.

Expression Design shares the same new interface, which Microsoft dubs the "common Expression shell."

New to the Expression Studio family is Expression Media, a re-branded version of iView MediaPro, an asset management tool that includes a visual catalog for keeping track of digital media such as images, fonts, sounds and videos. Microsoft says it will "maintain the product" and keep the Mac OS X version alive.

The only Expression tool to be completed is Web, which debuted in May. Features of the application include the ability to build sophisticated CSS-based layouts, standards compliance and built-in support for ASP.NET 2.0 server technology.

Expression Web -- formerly known by the code-name "Quartz" -- replaces Microsoft FrontPage, which has largely been reincarnated as SharePoint Designer and is included in Office System 2007. Microsoft is endeavoring to target professional Web designers with Expression Web, and has removed features that relied on FrontPage Server Extensions in Beta 1.

A 60-day trial of Expression Web is available for download and the product can be purchased on its own for $299 USD, with a $99 USD upgrade for FrontPage users. Expression Blend, meanwhile, will cost $499 and includes a copy of Visual Studio Standard. Expression Media will be priced at $299 upon its release, and free for iView Media Pro customers.

Expression Design will only be available as part of the full Expression Studio suite, which will cost $599 USD when it is completed next year. Microsoft downplayed the contention that Expression is aiming to compete with Adobe's Creative Suite (despite also launching a new Web site for the professional design community), saying it merely complements its rival's offering.

But that doesn't mean Expression isn't important to the Redmond company. Microsoft sees Expression as vital to ensuring that developers match the user experience it plans to deliver in Windows Vista. The tools draw directly upon the .NET Framework 3.0 foundation in the operating system and simplify the creation of advanced interface elements.

"If you got no tools, [Vista's] not going to go anywhere," said Microsoft's Smith.