If you were a web designer in the late ’90s and early ’00s, then you likely remember how Flash websites dominated the design landscape with their slick animations and futuristic interfaces. Before Flash’s demise due to the rise of mobile web browsing, sites like EYE4U, Gabocorp, and Tokyoplastic were all the rage. And chief among them was 2Advanced.
Spearheaded by Eric Jordan, the site’s sleek design epitomized the Flash era’s aesthetic. (2Advanced was actually voted “the most influential Flash site of the decade” by FWA in 2001.) Surfing 2Advanced felt less like browsing a website and more like playing a video game, right down to the cryptic text used to describe the agency’s mission and philosophy (e.g., “Solace in technology. Belief in the future.”).
Earlier this year, 2Advanced relaunched their classic website using modern web technologies like React and Rive, and the results are impressive. Seeing that loading screen, hearing the sound effects and moody background music, and sitting through one animated page transition after another, it’s like the last 20+ years never happened. I’m reminded of that era’s excess, sure, but also the vibe and personality from when the Web was much more of an uncharted territory than it is today.
Looking back at them now, 2Advanced et al. can seem over-the-top and even pretentious compared to modern aesthetics. Given that most web designers of that era were coming out of print design, though, those sites helped prove that the web was a legitimate medium with a vibrancy and dynamism all its own. (And I say that as someone who was quite ready for Flash’s demise when it arrived, though not everyone would agree with me.)
Considering how same-ish today’s websites can look — thanks to the influence of social media and mobile-first design — it’d be fun to see designers merge the personality and flash (npi) of those early ’00s designs with modern best practices concerning mobile-friendliness, web performance, and accessibility.