I always say that the cobbler’s kids have the oldest shoes. The last relaunch of era404.com had been in 2005, before the widespread use of iOS devices (which don’t support Adobe Flash) and the release of browsers capable of supporting HTML5, CSS3 and JQuery.

For the last few years, as all designers seem to do, I kept saying “God, I really need to update our site.” As my brother Chris always says, “the second worst problem in the world is having too much work, but it’s far better than the alternative.” era404 has been fortunate in that we’ve never found ourselves with too much idle time on our hands. That said, we’ve been seriously lacking in the capacity to explore new business development and professional upkeep and maintenance on our public image. Until now.

I’m pleased to say that era404.com just relaunched with a fully Flash-less site. The reel and about two dozen other HD videos all make use of HTML5 and browser-native players, eluding the requirement of Flash for FLV videos and/or Apple Quicktime for MOV videos. Each page of the site is fully saturated with social media options (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Google Plus) and the site has been completely re-engineered to be optimized for search engines, RSS feeds, Facebook OpenGraph, mobile (and tablet) devices and responsiveness to multiple browsers/platforms/resolutions.

Most importantly, however, the site embraces our updated aesthetic and philosophical beliefs much better than the simple re-skinning we performed in 2011. As per the rebranding initiatives (era404 Rebranding Press Release, era404.com site re-skinning, era404 stationery, era404 Creative Reel, era404 Regular Typeface) users can see at-a-glance our multi-disciplinary expertise and drill directly into the type of work that interests them, be it: print, identity, strategy, environmental, digital, or motion design. The interface’s responsiveness incorporates a clean, fluid grid (based on Zurb’s Foundation), color-coordinated based on discipline,  and a more robust content management system for periodic updates.

Any and all feedback is greatly appreciated.