Mobile usage increases daily and is expected to surpass desktop internet usage by 2014. Android OS devices, which are known for supporting Flash, are starting to overtake Apple’s iPhone in number of units sold. Why would Adobe decided to stop supporting Flash now?

Adobe’s reaction implies that they don’t believe that Flash will improve enough in speed and security to compete against quicker and friendly HTML5 that already has the lead in mobile browsing development. Add the fact that Apple made it beyond clear that Flash would never be supported on the iPhone and iPad, and you end up with half of the mobile internet market at best being able to view Flash in some capacity.

So, there’s still regular desktop browsing. Why can’t Flash survive there? The relatively new but fast growing concept of Responsive Design prevents the use of Flash. The idea of Responsive Design is to create and develop your site once with HTML5 and CSS3 in a way that allows the design to display correctly to the specifications of the device it is viewed on. For that to happen, the site must be compatible with mobile browsing practices, which again means no Flash can be used.

Flash has had it’s time in the sun for web development. Now, it appears, it’s time to move on.

First off, a loose definition. A site using responsive design will apply the following:

• The site must be built with a flexible grid foundation.
• Images that are incorporated into the design must be flexible themselves.
• Different views must be enabled in different contexts via media queries.

A few examples:

• Ethan’s example on A List Apart
• Today.com
• Earth Hour

When viewing one of the examples, re-size your browser window. Make the window as narrow as possible to simulate a mobile interface and notice how elements change on the page.

Sounds a lot like “Fluid design”, doesn’t it? (You may also know this as proportional, liquid, or hybrid design.) While all responsive design is “fluid”, not all fluid designs are responsive.

This is where Media Queries come in. Media queries allow you to tell your browser that depending on the current width, serve up different CSS stylesheets. As the width of the browser/device changes, media queries can pick up on that and change the CSS.

So what does this mean? Well, typically web developers would create an entirely different environment for mobile devices. For example, you’ll often see a m.website.com or mobile.website.com. What responsive design allows you to do is have one website, that adjusts to all devices.

The Morrison Agency helped Aquilex identify a compelling brand position and value proposition and created a plan to launch the new brand internally and externally. The launch included coordinated communications to all employees around the world, followed by a communications program to key customers of each business unit. In support of the launch, The Morrison Agency created a new corporate identity, new sales materials, and launched a brand new website www.aquilex.com.

The rebranding initiative consisted of the following:

• Company Naming
• Positioning and Value Proposition Development
• Graphic Identity
• Website Design and Implementation

Check out the new Childs Advisory Partners brand at www.childsadvisorypartners.com.