2Advanced Studios

Infobox Company
company_name = 2Advanced Studios
company_
vector_
company_type = Limited liability company
genre =
foundation = 1999
founder = Eric Jordan, Tony Novak and John Carroll
location_city = Aliso Viejo, California
location_country = United States of America
location =
origins =
key_people =
area_served =
industry =
products = interactive design
revenue =
operating_income =
net_income =
num_employees = 25 (As of 2007)
parent =
divisions =
subsid =
owner =
company_slogan =
homepage = [http://www.2advanced.com/ 2Advanced.com]
dissolved =
footnotes =

2Advanced Studios, LLC is an interactive design agency that creates rich media solutions for clients such as AOL, Ford Motor Company, Warner Brothers, Nintendo of America, Electronic Arts, Motorola, and O'Neill (brand). 2Advanced's services include design, development, rich media, video, 3D design, audio, identity, promotion and print. As of 2007, the company employs 25 people working at either the main campus in Aliso Viejo, California or their latest subsidiary in Tokyo, Japan.

In 2006, the company's website, V.3 [http://v3.2a-archive.com/ "Expansions"] , was named the [http://www.thefwa.com/flash10/ Most Influential Flash Site of the Decade] reflecting the studio's prominent role and influence within interactive design. Subsequently, in 2007, 2Advanced was inducted into the [http://www.thefwa.org/members/view/10 FWA's hall of fame] for "outstanding achievement in web design," as defined by the FWA. Induction into the FWA Hall of Fame is based on a points system that takes into account numbers of Site of the Day (SOTD), Site of the Month (SOTM) and Site of the Year (SOTY) Awards, as well as democratic votes in the FWA's 'People's Choice' polls.

History

2Advanced started out as nothing more than the domain 2Advanced.com which served as a small portfolio of Eric Jordan's works. But Jordan had a vision in which we wanted to "build a team of the best and the brightest web developers from all over the world, and become a significant force in helping shape the way people experience information on the Internet." [cite web | title = Interview with Eric Jordan of 2Advanced Studios by: jtclancy from C4DCafe | publisher = C4D Cafe | url=http://www.c4dcafe.com/interviews/eric_jordan/ | accessdate = 2008-04-18] After a publisher asked him to write a chapter for "New Masters of Flash" [cite web | title = FLASH FORWARD | publisher = Los Angeles Times Magazine | url=http://www.latimes.com/features/magazine/west/la-tm-flash19may13,0,4021008.story | accessdate = 2008-04-18] it was in doing so that he recalled having his "first opportunity to talk about what I do, why I do it, and how I do it." The segment helped him to gain recognition and exposure within the web industry, and very quickly companies were approaching him with projects for interactive work from "all over the globe". [cite web | title = Interview with Eric Jordan of 2Advanced Studios by: jtclancy from C4DCafe | publisher = C4D Cafe | url=http://www.c4dcafe.com/interviews/eric_jordan/ | accessdate = 2008-04-18]

At this point Jordan decided to turn 2Advanced into a company, and in 1999 2Advanced Studios, LLC was founded by Co-Founders Eric Jordan, Tony Novak and John Carroll.

Since then the company thrived in the interactive design business, going from strength to strength, and in November 2003 [http://www.2advanced.net 2Advanced.net] was launched. The division offered web hosting services from its on-site convert|6750|sqft|m2|abbr=on data center.

Later, in 2006, 2Advanced Studios Japan was launched with the opening of a Tokyo-based office.

In February 2008, 2Advanced Studios announced via their blog, [http://plat4m.com/ PLAT4M] , that they would be moving the company's headquarters at 65 Enterprise, Aliso Viejo to their new home at 21 Brookline, Aliso Viejo. Eric Jordan also mentioned on his personal blog that he would be designing most of the interior furniture for the new studio himself.

Website Releases

V1/V2 - Rebirth

Although there is no official archive of 2Advanced V.1, the 2A archive holds "V2: Evolutions of Design Technology". Featuring animation created using then Macromedia Flash 5, Macromedia FreeHand, and Swift3D. The site was never fully stocked with experimental items, wallpapers, or other downloads featured in future 2A websites.

V3 - Expansions

Expansions was the first to include the 2A circle logo as well as the current company font. The website was primarily using Macromedia Flash 5 featuring a blue "expanding" theme with animated clouds. Included with this website were desktop wallpapers, a Winamp skin, t-shirts, and a demo reel. In addition, their portfolio, experimental, and accolades sections all received much more content than included with V2.

In 2006 Adobe and the Favourite Website Awards hosted a series of community polls to name the "Most Influential Flash Site of the Decade" in honor of Flash's tenth anniversary. Almost 200,000 votes were cast and Expansions received the coveted title of [http://www.thefwa.com/flash10/ The Most Influential Flash Site of the Decade] .

V4 - Prophecy

Prophecy took advantage of newer technologies allowing enhanced 3D graphics and movements. The website featured a futuristic red space theme, including renders of water and ships. The transitions between site sections took advantage of the many features that were included in Macromedia Flash MX. V4 included a demo reel, enhanced portfolio/experimental sections, and a larger online store. This version of the website was the first to be designed and built by all or most of the team at the studio rather than Eric single handedly conceptualizing and building it, as was the case with the previous two versions of the 2A websites. [cite web | title = 2Advanced – Eric Jordan, President and Chief Creative Officer | publisher = CG Channel | url=http://www.cgchannel.com/news/viewfeature.jsp?newsid=2126 | accessdate = 2008-04-18]

V5 - Attractor

Attractor became public on 2006-06-01. In late May, 2006 the V.4 website was gradually altered, giving the appearance of being damaged or destroyed, with various components ceasing to function and altered visuals and animations depicting destroyed equipment, fires and torn metal. This was generally accepted as a sign to most that a new site was on the way. On 2006-06-01 the company released 2Advanced V.5, codenamed 'Attractor'. Newer developments include an emphasis on highly detailed centerpieces, digital matte paintings created by CCO Eric Jordan; a new proprietary content management system; and various innovative techniques for increased Flash usability, such as the ability to bookmark and link to specific sections within a 100% Flash site and an XML data cache feature that optimizes the web site performance for high traffic.

References

External links

* [http://v4.2a-archive.com/ 2Advanced Studios V4 - Prophecy]
* [http://v3.2a-archive.com/ 2Advanced Studios V3 - Expansions]
* [http://www.2advanced.net/ 2Advanced.net Precision Hosting Platform]
* [http://www.latimes.com/features/magazine/west/la-tm-flash19may13,0,4021008.story Interview with Eric Jordan by the Los Angeles Times]
* [http://www.2advanced.com/#casestudies/bydate/2006&id=18/ 2Advanced Case Study on V5 - Attractor]
* [http://projects.2advanced.com/ V3 to V4 Countdown Timer]