Adobe is transitioning into HTML5 territory. A not surprising development as far as Apple has been concerned in the past few years as their iPhone and iPad take hold of the precedent for mobile browsing standards. To illustrate the supposed END of the whole Apple vs Adobe Flash story, “Adobe began building HTML5 development tools, and it charged reasonable prices and built cross platform products and the people rejoiced and Adobe’s death was spared and it lived comfortably for many days next to Apple. And Steve Jobs said thank you and Adobe said no, thank you. And they all lived happily ever after,” from the biography Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson.

ZDNet got the exclusive announcement from “Sources close to Adobe”:

“Our future work with Flash on mobile devices will be focused on enabling Flash developers to package native apps with Adobe AIR for all the major app stores. We will no longer adapt Flash Player for mobile devices to new browser, OS version or device configurations. Some of our source code licensees may opt to continue working on and releasing their own implementations. We will continue to support the current Android and PlayBook configurations with critical bug fixes and security updates.”

We’re seeing the shift to necessity coming slowly, but surely. Adobe isn’t going to drop all of their tools and run for the door just yet. They are transitioning into developing HTML5 animation applications that may help web designers (like myself) develop a product faster. Designers have been at the forefront of these advances and Adobe is not going to passively let their main customer base down.

Personally and professionally, I have a distaste for the hold Flash animation has had on web design since the late 90′s. Their clunky plugins for every desktop web browser give me the corporate-imprisonment-chills. I despise the idea of being held captive by monopoly companies and I think, Adobe in particular, would benefit from publicly moving into a standards compliant tool, not an add-on to browsers. Adobe’s AIR runtime environment has been around for a while now, but recently they have been pushing out mobile apps across various platforms:

“The Adobe® AIR® runtime enables developers to deploy standalone applications built with HTML, JavaScript, ActionScript®, Flex, Adobe Flash® Professional, and Adobe Flash Builder® across platforms and devices — including Android™, BlackBerry®, iOS devices, personal computers, and televisions.”

In layman’s terms; AIR allows professionals to create applications with different types of code. As a user, you download the AIR app on your Mac, PC, Android device, Blackberry, or iOS device and then apps run within it. This way we see Adobe moving out of that Flash web prison. They are really catering towards ease of development for professionals that already know these scripting languages.

They’ve got their HTML5 animation building tool in development and available to play around with (which I have, and I’m enjoying it) called Edge. Check it out if so inclined.

Adobe’s Official Announcement →

Our latest website launches are for two clients whose businesses focus on the needs of children.

The first, JumpBunch offers sports activities for children from preschool through school age in the United States and internationally. Their activities are offered in schools, camps and birthday parties. Their new website brings into focus all of the different ages they serve and highlights the benefits they offer to children.

The second, The Young School, is a private preschool with several Maryland locations. Their educational philosophy promotes child directed exploration, teacher learning and parents as partners. They use Resources for Infant Educarers (RIE) and Reggio Emilia curriculum in a cottage environment inspired by home and nature. Their new website allows them to showcase how this defines them from other preschools and infant care centers.

My, my, how we have grown! We are happy to announce the addition of Nevin Laughlin to our Creative Department.

Nevin joins us with knowledge of all things web and will be acting as an Interactive / Search Engine Marketing Coordinator. He graduated from Shepherd University with a BFA with a concentration in Graphic Design. He will be helping us create some seriously awesome work.

He is originally from Greencastle, PA (or Smalltown, USA, as he likes to say) and is currently living in Towson, MD. He likes making homemade pizza, traveling, watching live music, and web design.

We look forward to working with you, Nevin!

Recently, we worked with HeimLantz of Annapolis and Alexandria to define a new corporate identity for their brand. You can see what their old site looked like in this image.

From Old:

Former website for heimlantz.com

They gave us the freedom to work our magic to design based on the needs of their target audience. We created a new brand identity from an updated logo to signage, print collateral and a website. Take a look below, click images to see larger size.

To New

Partners at HeimLantz in Annapolis, MD with new wall signage

Corporate identity for HeimLantz

Brochure for HeimLantz’s Alexandria location.

HeimLantz.com

Recently, we launched a new website for Harbourtowne Resort in St. Michaels on the Eastern Shore. The site reflects recent renovations to the hotel and golf course, and helps show off the property to people looking for a golf getaway…or a place to get married near the water…or a convenient location for a meeting. Needless to say, we had several audiences to cater to.

The new site more accurately highlights the strengths of Harbourtowne in general, but more importantly the site speaks directly to Harbourtowne’s main audiences: meeting planners, weddings, golfers, and people on vacation in St. Michaels. With more succinct copy, and better organization, people can find what they want more quickly.

One of the main reasons that Harbourtowne decided to have us redo their website was that their old design was outdated, even though it was done just four years ago. With the rapid pace that the internet is evolving, sites that are only a few years old are now undergoing full redesigns in an effort to keep up with the trends. Heck, even Google, the most popular website ever, recently redesigned their website.

We didn’t just re-design, but we also added some really cool functionality. Now meeting planners can download RFP’s directly from the website. There are also more robust photo galleries with better functionality. Finally, we added social media icons so that our audience can connect with us on Facebook or see our photos on Flickr. Overall, the site is much more user friendly. Click on the picture of the new site below to see it in action!