Technology: June 2010 Archives

The Economics of the iPad

The Economics of the iPad

I spent the last couple days at the Power of the Tablet seminar at the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Florida. A lot of smart people were gathered together by newspaper redesign guru Mario Garcia to talk about the potential of the iPad and other tablets to transform magazines and newspapers. You can see a full report on the seminar here, including transcripts of all the sessions and interviews with some of the key presenters. Among the speakers were: D.W. Pine, art director of Time magazine, Jennifer Brook, interaction designer at The New York Times, Andrew DeVigal, multimedia editor of The New York Times, and Gary Cosmini of Adobe. One of the strongest presentations was by art director/illustrator/smart guy Joe Zeff of Joe Zeff Design. His talk, The Economics of the iPad, is available at his blog. It's a quick read/view and well-worth the time to get a smart, comprehensive rundown on the financial potential of publication apps.


More on the WIRED iPad app:

More on the WIRED iPad app:
"We make up the language as we go."

It seems safe to say we're all pretty interested in the ways that apps are impacting the magazines of today, and what they might mean about the magazines of tomorrow. There's admittedly some frustration too, about how much we DON'T know yet, including more of the specifics and the nitty-gritty details we'll have to really know, and quickly. For every great, sexy user-video, there are ten times more questions about workflow, tech, staffing, and on and on. The Loud Cloud Creative Agency posted a pretty extensive interview today with WIRED's Creative Director, Scott Dadich about their new app for the June 2010 issue that at least starts to lift the veil, and probably launch a hundred more good questions. Definitely worth a read.
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A Critical Look at the New Wired iPad App

A Critical Look at the New Wired iPad App

I ordered my iPad last week, but there's now a minimum wait of 10 business days before it shows up on my doorstep. So I'm spending my time reading everything I can about the new apps that I can't play with yet, and getting ready for Mario Garcia's The Power of Tablets seminar at the Poynter Institute on June 14.

Over at Information Architecture, web designer Oliver Reichenstein has a beef with the new Wired iPad app, and lays out his critique in granular detail. His focus in on the format grid and typography, and he comes down hard on the overall product: "The future of journalism is definitely not a stack of banners spiced with videos, exported from a paper layout program." He also makes room for responses from typographer Jonathan Hoefler and New York Times Online creative director Khoi Vinh. It's a pointed, provocative post that is essential reading.

Meanwhile, over at Mario Garcia's blog, they're running a daily post with lots of links and examples of iPad design and apps. It's a run up for The Power of Tablets seminar, but there's deep learning for all regardless of whether or not you're attending.

(Above): A look at the in-depth approach Information Architecture brings to its critique of the Wired iPad app.
 
Thanks to Magtastic Blogsplosion for the Information Architecture story.
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