I am currently in the process of creating my website as a graphic designer. My unique touch is having the navigation positioned on top of an image (which is animated via flash). This setup is featured prominently on my homepage, which is designed with minimalism in mind, showcasing only the navigation and a small banner. The main idea is for the navigation (both the menu and the image) to smoothly slide from the center to the left when a visitor clicks on a link, ultimately revealing the actual content of the site. The challenge I am facing is that I cannot use flash for this animation, which has led me to seek alternative solutions. Despite my best efforts, my searches have proven fruitless and I have yet to discover anything similar enough to suit my needs. I have attempted to learn from other examples, but this approach has not provided the clarity I am seeking for my specific situation.
As someone with a basic understanding of javascript/java and a solid foundation in HTML/CSS, I find myself at a loss after several hours of research. I lack the necessary starting point to even begin writing the required code. Any suggestions, resources, or explanations on how to efficiently animate this transition would be greatly appreciated at this point.