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[interview] 2Advanced

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[interview] 2Advanced
Old 2003-05-28

Self-proclaimed masters of 'progressive design technology', 2Advanced’s team talks to Ultrashock's Craig Grannell about animation and cutting-edge Flash-based design.


It’s the tail end of the 1990s and you’ve grown tired of negative experiences within the IPO-bound Web machine, pumping out product, so what do you do? Set up your own agency, of course. However, unlike the many fly-by-night organisations that have since vanished without a trace, 2Advanced has gone from strength to strength and is now rightfully recognised as one of the leading forces in Flash-based design.

Despite its high-profile clients, including Bacardi, Ford Motors, AOL, the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins and Warner Brothers, 2Advanced’s beginnings were rather more humble, as a consultancy and personal work portfolio for now President and Chief Creative Officer, Eric Jordan. Significant growth led to the official formation of the company in 2000 and the rest, as they say, is history.

“We now have an extraordinary group of individuals with a diverse, yet balanced set of talents,” says Chief Operating Officer, Tony Novak. “Our team possesses a wide array of knowledge, enabling us to constantly leverage for multiple and varied tasks.” This has led to forays in Flash and interactivity, video, animation, 3D, and traditional application solutions. In fact, the latter are becoming increasingly popular with the team, as they provide the opportunity for collaboration.

Perhaps surprisingly, the traditional application solutions often turn out to be advanced Flash projects, too, as Eric Jordan explains: “We recently did a project for a company that develops hardware solutions to control physical large plant machinery from an interface board within a personal computer. Our Flash-based application sends, receives and actively monitors the controller interfaces.” Flash enabled to team to produce an interface that allows a user to intuitively manipulate 3D replicas of the actual machines and the buildings in which they reside, so that they can control various functions visually.

This highlights the reasoning behind 2Advanced’s advocacy of Macromedia’s darling application. “It appeals to the senses, merging motion, art, sound and interactivity, making a project more of an experience,” explains Eric. “You can capture someone’s imagination in a way once never thought possible on the Web—something you just cannot achieve with static design. It’s also self-contained; whereas HTML navigation has inevitable interruptions and pauses, Flash is far more elegant.” 2Advanced’s Art Director, Pixelranger (a.k.a. Shane Mielke) agrees, commenting that Flash fuels the company’s vision for the future of the Web, which is a convergence of media: “Through it, you can take motion principles from television and bring them to the Web. Flash can then compete at the same marketing tier, but with the added benefit of interactivity.”

Interactivity is key to much of 2Advanced’s work. Because of Flash, the rigid constraints of HTML are obliterated, and the company finds it can construct sophisticated components that streamline and enhance the user experience. “Because sound and motion can be incorporated, we can create interactive environments that emulate anything we can imagine,” explains Eric. “It also enables us to add emotion and provide an experience to distinguish our work from the myriad of URLs already out there,” interjects Tony.

A FLASH IN THE PAN?

But can Flash really make such a difference to online design these days, or is its penetration now so high that it’s in danger of becoming old-hat? “Not really,” claims Eric, “Flash is still very exciting, and also still the only means by which to really engage people on the Web.” He cannot foresee a time when 2Advanced will stop using it: “Flash is a springboard for what comes next when broadband proliferates and the Internet is as fast as television…”

While 2Advanced uses Flash on a daily basis, the team still yearns for it to evolve—and fast! Eric would love to remove the tedium from incorporating full-motion graphics and broadcast quality effects. “Right now, you have to use external programs and develop effects there, output frames of images and bring them back into Flash,” he explains. Pixelranger would like to see usability enhancements, putting Flash on a par with straightforward HTML, whereas Tony wants ActionScript to become more powerful: “As we’re adding advanced functionality to Flash movies, we need more in the way of OOP, controls, libraries, and low-level control.” As a company all-too-familiar with Web piracy and so-called ‘rips’, Tony would also love to see greater protection of SWF files, to keep source code away from prying hands.

All this technology would be useless without the expertise to use it, though, and 2Advanced’s team have various tricks up their collective sleeves with regards to animation—one of the most important ingredients to any project. “The biggest skill you need to succeed with motion graphics is a strong sense of rhythm,” claims Eric. “Try checking out the way things move on the Sci-Fi channel or a good movie.”

He goes on to explain that you should scrutinize every frame, and ensure everything is choreographed to flow together. “You must understand the physics of how things move,” he continues, “when an object arrives on screen it should speed up in an instant and slow down when it has come into view, thus providing an organic or life-like feel to the animation.”

Pixelranger cites speed as a useful ally when creating animation: “The eye can be tricked on the basis of psychology and depth perception; when things happen slowly, people have the chance to pick apart what you’ve done. Condensing work usually improves it, and makes someone want to watch it again to see what is really happening.”

Such speed also helps keep bandwidth down. “You can serve lower quality graphics when animating at faster speeds,” explains Eric. “When in motion, graphics can be a little fuzzy, but such details often go un-noticed.”

PLANNING AHEAD

You have to take care, though, to not bog down older PCs, and also Apple Macs, whose users have to suffer a sluggish Flash plug-in. “We optimize everything, no matter what medium it’s going to be presented on,” says Eric. “Varying platforms and graphics cards are factors that affect animation, and you can never foresee differences to deal with. Therefore it’s better to plan ahead and optimize for the worst-case scenario!”

Choosing a ‘middle ground’ frame-rate is 2Advanced’s main solution to this problem, along with optimisation techniques that involve careful planning in the creation of Symbols, in order to achieve optimal reuse throughout the Flash movie. Avoiding large graphics and doing too many things at once are other obvious, but much ignored tips.

So what does the future hold for 2Advanced? “We’re determined to always be at the edge of interactivity, as we believe the convergence of new media technology is only going to continue,” says Tony. “As such, we’re rigorously exploring video and 3D, along with advances in Flash.” He also claims that 2Advanced doesn’t envisage growing in numbers: “As a company expands in size, it becomes harder to sustain, as evidenced by the many failures within our industry; ultimately you end up taking projects purely for profitability.” And it’s creativity that drives the company, rather than money. “2Advanced has given people the opportunity to soak up the real potential of Flash and interactive design,” says Eric. “We’ve taken risks along the way, but in doing so have stimulated our designers’ creative abilities by immersing them into motion-rich environments rather than plain, static Web sites.”


EXAMPLES

1. Bacardi Sound Studio (www.bacardidj.com)

This ongoing, unique and revolutionary effort emulates a sequencer, enabling you to create music from dozens of custom audio loops. With a design that changes depending on the current contest, this Flash MX-based creation contains plenty of highly complex ActionScript to emulate the functionality of a real-world audio product environment. The back-end is comprised of a robust administration and control system in ASP.NET and Microsoft SQL Server.

2. Josh Todd (www.joshtodd.com)

This entirely Flash-based project was created for musician, Josh Todd, who wanted to get attention with the site, in an effort to remain independent from a record label. The feel was meant to be dark, dirty and interactive, and enabled 2Advanced to branch out into a different visual style. AfterEffects was recruited for some of the complex transitions and effects, such as burning photography, sliding rusty panels, and wires falling into place as navigational items. The navigation was created with ActionScript, which gave the effect of sliding navigational items scripted to the actual physics of the movements.

3. Skyworks, Inc (www.skyworksinc.com)

This rather more corporate affair combines Flash and HTML, providing a clean, sophisticated, well-organised site for Skyworks’ newly formed brand and identity. Because Skyworks sells semi-conductors and phone-related products, 2Advanced hit upon the curvy design to symbolise the final product. A cell phone might be described as a window to the world, and this is used as the main imagery throughout the Web site as a window into what Skyworks does. Uniquely, there is functionality that allows for bookmarked pages that can pass variables through Flash.
Snub Communications
www.snubcommunications.com
writing and design
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Ultrashock Member Comments:
imaginer imaginer is offline 2003-05-29 #2 Old  
Very inspiring, and I could not agree more with what the team said Congrats guys, you deserve it. Yes, even you shane
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YamillV YamillV is offline 2003-05-30 #3 Old  
I agree alot for what the 2advanced team has says. And I have taken some tips on optimization for the future
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HEKTECH HEKTECH is offline 2003-05-30 #4 Old  
2advanced - says it all
Great article.

I saw someone wearing a 2advanced T-shirt on TV the other day! Hanging out on top of an Xgames ramp. lol

sweet -

I wonder how 2advanced is aproaching the internet appliance age...
Would love to learn what you all invision as the next evolution...

Keep up the great work.
2advanced inspired me, 3 years ago to become a flasher, so I guess I owe you guys alot... thnks a million

Adam Rosenhek
Chief Flash Developer
ICI Design
418-527-3900
www.icidesign.com

HEKTECH Interactive
418-658-8055
www.hektech.com
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modifier modifier is offline modifier lives in Germany 2003-05-31 #5 Old  
Hello there at Ultrashock!

The origin of good Flashdesign is simply no question! It's 2 Advanced.

Many other people from the Internet have copied, copied, and copied again the style of 2A.

But I ask me all the time, how much money can you take from a customer for a website which looks just like one from 2A? (including dynamic content like asp or CF or php)

I would be very much interested in it. Primarily if I look at the studio of 2 Advanced : -)

@2A: great job guys. your minds are interactive!

btw: did you use google's appliance server on skyworks for the search form? :-))

best regards
mod
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sek33 sek33 is offline 2003-05-31 #6 Old  
WICKED
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miko's Avatar miko miko is offline Administrator miko lives in United States a lot of Creative Assets 2003-06-01 #7 Old  
In my opinion, the 2A Team rocks the planet full circle, from design to back end development. Mucho respecto!
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noonelasts noonelasts is offline 2003-06-01 #8 Old  
I really like 2Advanced, and I respect their hard work, but I didn't find the interview too interesting, as there wasn't much to learn from reading it (I don't expect them to give out their best kept secrets, but this seems more geared towards someone with next to no idea of what Flash, new media, back end, design, and other buzzwords mean). I guess I should understand that it's an interview, and not an in-depth look at how they tackle different scenarios, or what they prefer to do when faced with a problem that has more than one solution (maybe a hypothetical one that you as an interviewer could give them). What I mean is, some hands on info would be cool, instead of showcasing (it seems, at times, that 'professionals' are just about showcasing, awards, and repeating some vague, general concepts on how they 'approach what they do'), since most of us know about 2Advanced, and their track record. I like this community because it's not (too) elitist, and it's not hard to find help when you need it, free of charge, which is encouraging.
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method5 method5 is offline 2003-06-01 #9 Old  
peace folks,
2advanced was insipring to me from the beginning and the tec-skillz, the sharp, clear design and the consistent ci and cd skillz are cutting edge, but there is one thing which i must mention, the usability often stucks...to small fonts and a color-climate which makes nearly all web-projects quite blurrish. for example the real estates website (forgot the domain, just check out 2advanced.com portfolio) is not readable for the targeted customers like eldery people, also the color climate is just one, big, blue filter over the whole site which makes it very difficult..blabla. for the sake of jakob nielsen and usability purposes please recognize this also. but again. respect to the great work.
tim from germany
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jassh jassh is offline jassh lives in Malaysia 2003-06-01 #10 Old  
wordup to Ultrashock & 2A

Gee.. what an interview..
honestly, 2A has been inspiring flash enthusiast
all around the world..
me myself has been inspired of their work..
not just all those mind defying animation...
but also the mechanism behind it...
the technology they use..
and of course... the technique as well..

imho, i wish this interview would...
at least be educational in a way..
not matrix like metaphore..
i'm sure most flash enthusiast
would love to learn something from them..
so they can start 'learn how to fish'
rather than having to wait for the 'fish' to be showcased..
or in other word, waiting for 2A new project
to get 'too inspired', or to imitate it,
or even worst, rip it..
(theres millions of websites out there,
how the heck they came across with one eh..,
still a mistery to me.. )

but again, i wish that the interview would be more educational

just a thought...


keep up the good work 2A,
owh, and you too, Ultrashock..
you guys are the BOMB...
a real huge one..
keep those inspiring materials coming eh..


take care peeps..

peace, over n out..
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Shane's Avatar Shane Shane is offline Moderator Shane lives in United States 1 Creative Assets 2003-06-01 #11 Old  
Originally posted by method5
one thing which i must mention, the usability often stucks...to small fonts and a color-climate which makes nearly all web-projects quite blurrish. for example the real estates website (forgot the domain, just check out 2advanced.com portfolio) is not readable for the targeted customers like eldery people, also the color climate is just one, big, blue filter over the whole site which makes it very difficult..blabla. for the sake of jakob nielsen and usability purposes please recognize this also.
There are certain things which will forever be constant.

1) Everyone has their own opinion on proper font size
2) Everyone has different color preferences
3) Everyone has different musical tastes
4) Everyone has different styles of design they like/dislike

the only thing that ultimately matters is what the client wants to target and what they feel is the best target audience for their business. At the time the client requested that size font, that style of website, that color and everything else about the website. As a designer your job is to do the best you can within the given constraints and using the assets you are given to use.

Thanks for the comments on the interview. Hopefully in the future maybe Miko will allow us to expand upon it. In the meantime there are more interviews located on both 2Advanced.com and my own site that might fill in some of the gaps not talked about on this interview.
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modifier modifier is offline modifier lives in Germany 2003-06-01 #12 Old  
that's the fact Shane.

Most visitors forget that the style of a site is as requested of the customer, and the only way to display a crystal clear font is to use one of the 8PX bitmap fonts like for eg. the ones from www.miniml.com. They are small, thats right, but even better than using a 10 px arial embedded one

if we look back in time, the standard resolution of a website was 800 x 600 ... now most sites are at a minimum resolution of 1024 x 768 ... and a small group of users ( like me ) are using 18' TFT with a resolution of 1280 x 1024 ..

so in 2 or 3 years the standard resolution will change to a higher level than now. If we were still using these 8px fonts, no one will be able to read this small text anymore... and changing these 8 px fonts for eg. to 12px looks terrible ... maybe it will be better to use a embeded one again or the font designers have to move their standards to 12 or 14 px

regards from germany
mod

ps. i know my brain is confused of all these stuff, and it would be better to invest my money into and english lesson instead of the inet
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miko's Avatar miko miko is offline Administrator miko lives in United States a lot of Creative Assets 2003-06-01 #13 Old  
Yo shane,

perhaps we can build on this interview and create a part 2 or something going into greater detail. Lemme know
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sublime311 sublime311 is offline 2003-06-02 #14 Old  
Time for change
Last edited by sublime311 : 2003-06-02 at 02:32.
They inspired us in many ways and they started a new era. Thank you so much for your contributions to the flash community.

But all of this was 3 years ago.
2advanced is talking about being "on the edge" at all times, but in my personal opinion their stuff does not excite me as much as it used to. Honestly, they dont come up with anything amazing, except that Bacardi DJ mixer.

If 2advanced started a revolution in flash design, and if they think they are stronger now than ever, that means they have the capability of starting a new era once again.

In my opinion, they have to focus on integrating 3d to flash especially with amazing 3ds max+Maya 5 (now has a built in flash integration as u all know). But in my opinion, it sounded like they are shifting more thru backend technologies, programming etc. than pure design (which has more money, i know they said creativity is what drives a company not money, but i dont feel that way for 2advanced these days). And dont forget, pure design was the origin of 2advanced.

This will sound a little harsh but "are you guys scared of changing your website?" Cutting edge technology of year 2000 does not stay the same in year 2003+.
--Progressive Design Technology--, but i want my "progressive" part back!

They come up with one (maybe 2) website per month the most according what i see on their website, and a lot of their work are hidden from the public in my belief, cuz clients want it that way i guess.

i luv you guys all, but it is time to shock us all again or you will be shocked by someone soon which will take the lead.

Good luck to all 2advanced crew.

p.s. obviously 2advanced is inviting us for a challenge, and but other than couple well-known design studios, everybody is just sitting and watching, and saying nothing but "wow". It is time to sacrifice some of our sheer egotism and unite for the sake of internet's future.
-----------------
a word to west coast from T.O. --home of the killa SARS. dont come here or u will die. To all those who were too scared to come to flashInTheCan fest. 2advanced wuz there... and they are still very much alive, or r they?
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apoc06 apoc06 is offline 2003-06-02 #15 Old  
Re: Time for change
Last edited by apoc06 : 2003-06-02 at 05:54.
Originally posted by sublime311
They inspired us in many ways and they started a new era. Thank you so much for your contributions to the flash community.

But all of this was 3 years ago.
2advanced is talking about being "on the edge" at all times, but in my personal opinion their stuff does not excite me as much as it used to. Honestly, they dont come up with anything amazing, except that Bacardi DJ mixer.

If 2advanced started a revolution in flash design, and if they think they are stronger now than ever, that means they have the capability of starting a new era once again.

In my opinion, they have to focus on integrating 3d to flash especially with amazing 3ds max+Maya 5 (now has a built in flash integration as u all know). But in my opinion, it sounded like they are shifting more thru backend technologies, programming etc. than pure design (which has more money, i know they said creativity is what drives a company not money, but i dont feel that way for 2advanced these days). And dont forget, pure design was the origin of 2advanced.

ouch! you forget, these guys run a company. the evolution of corporate websites isnt to make things more and more pretty. clients want functionality.

think it through, as a companys communications rep, how could you convince your budgetting department to spend hundreds or thousands on a web-site if you cant even use it to sell your product? even 2A's site has one purpose: to showcase 2A's work and woo potential clients. if their site wows and inspires the flash community, thats the added bonus that makes them great.

3d really does nothing to further the web. the internet is about information; not just pretty pictures. design is about how to get users to view and interact with the information in an environment friendly to the subjectmatter.

overall 2A is doing a great job. they are making clients who would normally seem overly stuffy and stiff seem uptodate. that are making sites that would normally be torture to use and navigate into what the web was always supposed to be.

the internet designed for information, not art. bringing art and design to the internet is what makes each of our jobs and pastimes that much more special. take any design/ multimedia /programming or even a regular art class and youll learn a pretty result is nice, but if your patron loses your message, you just have pretty garbage.

good work guys and perhaps next time the interview thread would be more satisfying if say it were an actual ongoing question and answer thread. what do you think? or would it get flooded by everyone asking "how did you do x, y, z effect" questions?
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Knight-X Knight-X is offline 2003-06-02 #16 Old  
i think e.jordan is the best web and graph designer out there.
i follow his work since 1998 and i allways get impressed by his newest projects.
franti.canales
============
www.vilore.com/franti
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cklassen cklassen is offline 2003-06-02 #17 Old  
Re: Time for change
a word to west coast from T.O. --home of the killa SARS. dont come here or u will die.
Totally ridiculous statement. Toronto is fine, people who are suspected of having SARS are in quarantine, etc. and we'll get rid of SARS soon. Don't be afraid to come visit Toronto, it's a beautiful city!
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Goten's Avatar Goten Goten is offline Goten lives in Mexico Creative Assets 2003-06-02 #18 Old  
Pixel Ranger and Webagent 007
Originally posted by Knight-X
i think e.jordan is the best web and graph designer out there.
i follow his work since 1998 and i allways get impressed by his newest projects.
franti.canales
============
www.vilore.com/franti
maybe

But you do not forget of so that Pixel Ranger and Webagent 007
they also are good webdesigners and grapich designers

and they made team with 2A
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sublime311 sublime311 is offline 2003-06-02 #19 Old  
Originally posted by Knight-X
i think e.jordan is the best web and graph designer out there.
i follow his work since 1998 and i allways get impressed by his newest projects.
franti.canales
============
www.vilore.com/franti
yo, i was being sarcastic, duh! We love T.O. !!
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KiNgStiNg KiNgStiNg is offline 2003-06-02 #20 Old  
hey yo......i work with 2 advanced all day
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KiNgStiNg KiNgStiNg is offline 2003-06-02 #21 Old  
www.king-mag.com

they are helping me build the most complex boards on the planet for my label torque, so sorry 2 say 2 advanced still got it locked.
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Shane's Avatar Shane Shane is offline Moderator Shane lives in United States 1 Creative Assets 2003-06-03 #22 Old  
no idea what this guy is talking about.
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apoc06 apoc06 is offline 2003-06-04 #23 Old  
Originally posted by PIXELRANGR
no idea what this guy is talking about.
which guy? the guy trying to hock magazines? or the sars guys?
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Mounty's Avatar Mounty Mounty is offline Moderator Mounty lives in United Kingdom Creative Assets 2003-06-04 #24 Old  
I work with 2advanced everyday, they are helping me take over the planet with my secret invisible nanobots....
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MEDIAGENES MEDIAGENES is offline 2003-06-04 #25 Old  
Last edited by MEDIAGENES : 2003-06-04 at 15:01.
Ha ha thats just some "llama" trying to get some free publicity on the backbone of 2advanced haha! Prime examples!

I give alot of respect to 2advanced because I do feel they have in a flash sense influenced the web. I wouldnt say they've changed the internet but flash must definitely so. How many people saw the 2advanced websites evolving over time (even tho v3 hasnt been changed since 2001) and been "wowed" by its sheer interactivity and eye candy appeals. I know I certainly did. 2advanced made most people who saw the website want to download at least the trail of Macromedia Flash and get flashing. If you were already bang into your flash then it will have influenced you in at least a way of your thoughts behind your designs.

I dont care want anyone says but on the flash sides of things 2advanced pip all the others out there to the most influential in flash. Teknision for backend are only just starting to become big now. Neostream has been around for a long time and im serious admirer more of their older website. That was another influential flash website. They were flashing before 2advanced and started it all off but I believe 2advanced took it that step further and created their own style which even today years on is still getting ripped because it works so well most of the time.

While ive mentioned Neostream can anyone tell me how it got featured so much on favouritewebsiteawards when its incomplete. It doesnt even work properly yet.

Back to 2advanced people are saying why not change your website? They didnt for the simple reason that it has been doing the job and still does! It sells their company as their showcase model.

But I do believe ive heard that v4 is coming out soon and will have information on case studies etc which should be enlightening for us all even those who have been designing for ages as they are generally who most of us flash designers look up to.

Keep up the work all lets change the internet again with a style which suits this ... /cough "Broadband" Malarky...
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HEKTECH HEKTECH is offline 2003-06-04 #26 Old  
v4 is coming soon...
http://www.neverrain.com/
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MEDIAGENES MEDIAGENES is offline 2003-06-04 #27 Old  
Told you Yeah the unveiling it at some party which if it were possible id be personally there! Though I must say im starting to get excited... Mediagenes will have the get their new website out before 2advanced so that I cant be seen as copying their ideas but they copying me hehe!
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sublime311 sublime311 is offline 2003-06-04 #28 Old  
now thats what i am talkin about, being "progressive"! It took only 2 days for them to announce their upcoming new website V.4, after my post of "are you guys scared of changing your website"?

I will post a same kinda message again rite after your V.4 launch so 2A can announce the V.5 rite away. Good luck 2A and thanx for the upcomin new era! it is all starting all over once again. Life goes on...
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modifier modifier is offline modifier lives in Germany 2003-06-05 #29 Old  
yeah, we want to come to neverain'03 too, if we get tickets !!!! anyone knows a good hotel to stay?? **WE are coming from germany**

maybe you shane, can PM me some info/link for a good hotel ??
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MEDIAGENES MEDIAGENES is offline 2003-06-05 #30 Old  
nice1 modifier!! all the best to you travelling that far hope you post on here what it was like to let us all cry at what we missed out on!

Sublime311 they unofficially announced the website v4 about 2 months ago just thought id dissapoint you! HEHE!
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subquark subquark is offline 2003-06-05 #31 Old  
much respect
thanks 2advanced for being one of the biggest "yardsticks" to measure my work against. your incredible attention to detail, to every pixel, motivates me to learn and discipline more and more in both the design and scripting of flash-based projects

thanks for the glimpse at your passion and your method
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predikt predikt is offline 2003-06-05 #32 Old  
That article was definitely insightful. I look forward to seeing more great work out there.

Ryan Regalado | ryan@ryanregalado.com
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DDG-Austin DDG-Austin is offline 2003-06-06 #33 Old  
I always have been keeping track of 2A because I am also a huge fan of them. I support you guys by wearing your shirts and hopefully one day I will apply for work. Article was very well organized and I think you guys are if not one of the best flash design firms around your right at the top. Keep up the good work.. I browse every day for updates =)

Austin M. Hurst
Dominant Design Group LLC
www.dominantdesign.net
CEO
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g_vaccarez g_vaccarez is offline 2003-06-07 #34 Old  
Sorry folks but 2Advanced is a trashbag of cliches. Cool animation ain´t enough for good design. These people only worry about how smooth the animation goes and how well ¨flowed¨ everything is. They overused the tech style (already getting outdated) to unimaginable levels and it´s seriously getting annoying. 2 advanced may be cool, but by no means is good design. It´s repetitive and monotonous. The slick animation will be dead in short time. I never saw them doing something actually original (everything is a copy of themselves) and their typographic skills suck big time.

In a few years, nobody will remember what 2advanced was. Of course, Eric jordan will have his pockets full of money by then, but as designer myself I think that´s a shame.

Trust my words.

-cure
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MEDIAGENES MEDIAGENES is offline 2003-06-07 #35 Old  
Hmmmm different
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Shadowlord Shadowlord is offline 2003-06-08 #36 Old  
Lamer
Originally posted by g_vaccarez
Sorry folks but 2Advanced is a trashbag of cliches. Cool animation ain´t enough for good design. These people only worry about how smooth the animation goes and how well ¨flowed¨ everything is. They overused the tech style (already getting outdated) to unimaginable levels and it´s seriously getting annoying. 2 advanced may be cool, but by no means is good design. It´s repetitive and monotonous. The slick animation will be dead in short time. I never saw them doing something actually original (everything is a copy of themselves) and their typographic skills suck big time.

In a few years, nobody will remember what 2advanced was. Of course, Eric jordan will have his pockets full of money by then, but as designer myself I think that´s a shame.

Trust my words.

-cure
Okay... you can sit here, and Critisize the works of 2A, yet, i dont see any of your "better" work that gives you even the right to critisize something of their quality. YOU sit here and talk about how your getting annoyed about "out dated" style... so, if it is so out dated, and your soo much better, and you THINK you have the right to critisize work which you dont, and probly never will match... than please, feel free to post a "sample" of your work, that gives you reason to critisize them.
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g_vaccarez g_vaccarez is offline 2003-06-08 #37 Old  
I criticzise whatever I want because I´m a user, and that automatically gives me the right to criticzise whatever. Freedom of speech retard. According to your stupid theory your mother shouldn´t complain about her washing machine not working just because she can´t build up one herself, and no one should complain about the president just because they can´t be president´s themselves. Seriously what you said is about the stupidest thing I ever heard in my life.

I just do decent stuff, and I´m trying to improve, I didn´t say 2A people are not skilled, I just say that their concept of usability is washed out by their insistance on slick design. Style over content. You wanna see that? turn on the TV, internet is much more than that.

And don't say Windows is crap because I'm pretty sure you can't program an OS yourself doofus!!

-cure
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nrg's Avatar nrg nrg is offline Administrator nrg lives in Belgium 11 Creative Assets 2003-06-08 #38 Old  
2 new Ultrashock users who are starting another 2A flame war. Miko, where did you put the popcorn?
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shane_gw shane_gw is offline 2003-06-08 #39 Old  
So much hate :)
Guys, give credit where credit is due, stop being blinded by your own jealousy.

2Advanced have always been atop my watch list, I've been in this game a long time and I can say they've kept things within their focus the entire time as far as I can see.

They've been pushing the buck while so many others have faded out and died trying.

They are still around, still doing what they love to do, and for that my hat goes off.

As designers we can often rant about aestetics however in the long term it really comes down to functionality, interactivity, and what the "client" wants.

2 advanced do a bang up job on incorporating the key items in a great website in my opinion, functionality, interactivity and the clients want ( market goals/audience ).

That's a pretty nifty accomplishment in an industry where "everyone" is a designer (Well so they think ).

shane@gw
www.graphicalwonder.com
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slimsrib slimsrib is offline 2003-06-09 #40 Old  
2advanced has been the hottest company for a while
No doubt, I have loved 2advanced for a long time, from the different interfaces to the now. Many have tried to duplicate as well as myself but many have failed, as well as myself. But I don't stop I keep producing hot sites for all types of people and keep it simple. That is what I believe intrigues people about the 2advanced company---How do they make it flow in a simplistic way and look so clear. These are some of the things I get from 2advanced that keeps me pushing ahead for better things on the internet. To those at 2advanced, the World can do you no harm. Keep it moving!

SRibeiro
www.streetdzine.com
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