Presenting an essential primer for the iPad designer, from the developers and designers making a difference on the App Store...
1 - Technology must serve the product
There is a temptation with any new technology to go a bit crazy and make things just because you have the technology at hand.
Remem ber Photoshop filters? This is not how it should be. The technology should serve the product, not vice versa.
2 - Reading content must be as clear and natural as print
The iPad has evolved from a trio of different streams - phone, print and web. It may be that it produces a new stream from those ingredients, but none should be degraded, least of all print. If it is to
be a successful content consumption device, the reading must feel as natural as reading print.
3 - Think about how the user holds the device, both portrait and landscape
Unlike most other digital deliveries, the iPad works perfectly in both
landscape and portrait mode. Any layout will have a natural
orientation and it should be easy for the user to understand, but
designers must cope with things not happening as they desire, and
even turn this into an advantage - designs need to be adaptive.
Michael Hainey, Deputy editor of GQ US, on extending editorial to the iPad
Computer Arts: in lerms of design, what did you want to bring lo the iPad from the print edition, and where did you see a space to evolve beyond it?
Michael Hainey:The mission I set out was clear and tightly focussed: Technology will serve and must serve the magazine. Too many people let the tech drive the design and the result is they start doing things just because they can.
I believe you should only do things that have a reason behind them. I wanted the reader to find the experience as clean, clear and logical as reading the print version. But then I wanted the technology to be available to enhance the experience, not overwhelm it.
It's a careful balance that requires vigilance throughout. 1 strongly believe that it's essential to give readers a strong reading experience. That's the mission. If you don't give them that, no amount of amazing gizmos can save you.
CA;What were the most challenging and rewarding aspects of designing for the iPad?
MH: The most challenging aspect was designing in a vacuum. That is, not having the device to see how a reader would hold it and so on.
The most rewarding was realising you are 'present at creation' for a new way of narrative storytelling. And then finally realising ideas I've long had about how to tell a story in pr int - there arc now incrcdiblc new possibilities.
CA: Did you handle the use of photography differently to when working with static print?
MH.:
We loved the device because great photography is such a big part of GQ. Nothing has changed in how we commission work. Rather, we are able on the iPad to create deeper slide shows of the work.
CA: Does having a new set of interactions effect your design decisions?
MH: Absolutely, because now we can think about creating a layout that will be different from anything you can do with print.
www.GQ.com
4 - Note how the user is oriented
The iPad can be used in a way which closely mimics traditional
print. Digital magazines have always felt clunky on the web
because it's not natural to lean forward and have a keyboard
between you and your relaxing reading. When we lean back, we
relax, so with the iPad the user is in a different mode too.
5 - Create depth using images
Content is king. And nothing is quite as regal as the image. The iPad
gives you a whole new playground in which to explore and enjoy
images. Combine them, move them, add text audio, video,
animation, effects and interaction, or some combination thereof
Let images open up possibilities.
6 - Don't be all fingers and thumbs
The iPad is a touch-screen device. It might sound obvious, but that
means you can't put things too close together, and visuals cannot
be too small - Apple suggests 44x44px for the smallest interactive
object. Sync images to your iPad to verify layouts.
7 - Embrace new gesture possibilities
Possibly the most important part of design for iPad is the move
from point-and-click to direct interaction.The iPad removes one
layer from the equation of human/computer interaction and
replaces it with 'gestures'. These will take some time to be fully
explored - so explore them.
8 - Be familiar
While exploring rhe gesture-interaction model is fun and exciting,
the applications which currently work best give users enough of a
familiarity factor to be easily acceptable. Changing the way things
work overnight is only going to appeal to a minority of people.
9 - Appeal to the grazers
It may look like one, but the iPad is not just a big iPhone {see our
feature on page 16). Early studies suggest that interaction with the
iPad is fundamentally different. Where iPhone usage is generally
below 30 seconds per case, users spend significantly longer on an
iPad. iPhone users snack, iPad users graze.
10 - Be prepared for shifts in technology
The door between Apple and Adobe was recently described as
being not just shut but bricked up. Whatever the reasons for this
statement, it suggests that the easiest way to produce interactive
content that works everywhere currently has a target on its back.
New ways are going to have to be found to move those
experiences to the iPad.
11 - Be aware of how technical shifts could change the look
Web designers will be aware of the importance of HTML5. but its
effects, and that of other new web standards, will reinforce the
visual signature caused by developing applications using Apple-
native technology.There will doubtless come a time when this
feeds through to an easily identifiable aesthetic, and being aware
of this as it happens will be a strength.
12 - Have access to a broad production base
The production phase of VIVmog's inaugural iPad edition had more
in common with a game development studio at full pelt than a
regular editorial studio.There are so many more skills that can
come into play that it pays to have good connections and make
use of them to produce something new and interesting.
13 - Watch for opportunities to partner with content providers
The big content providers have been waiting for something like
the iPad ever since the sad dem ise of the CD-ROM. Now that they
have a new outlet for their beautiful content, they are going to
need talented designers to make the most of it.This could be a bit
of a gold rush.
14 - Ideas alone feel naked
The iPad is such a rich environment that a good idea alone is rarely
enough. Without content standing behind them, empty ideas feel
all the more naked thanks to the level of expectation which the
iPad brings to the game. Don't be caught out.
15 - Make space for branding
On the iPhone it's difficult to find space to add branding without
getting in the way of the user experience The iPad not only has
enough space for some significant brand-building, but it has
pop-up-like functionality so you can ensure this does not
clutter your U I.
16 - Take emerging standards into account
New conventions are evolving for the iPad, and these need to be
taken into account. A simple example is page turning: Apple's
eReader turns left to right with a page-flick or a double-click. Apps
which move through pages top-to-bottom feel wrong when you
return to them.
17 - Place clients carefully
Some clients just want to be in every space available, regardless of
whether it's relevant to their business. Design should look for the
message to fit the medium and, if it doesn't, be prepared for it to
look out of place.
18 - Think about iPad's use outside the home
Though it might take a while before people are comfortable
enough with their iPads that they feel confident taking them out
in public it will happen eventually When it does there will be a
huge explosion of location-aware apps. Think travel guides for
the 21st century.
19 - Replicate the web - for now
Though Safari on the iPad feels like the old way to navigate, it is
still the way that users understand best for the time being. So, if
you need something to be understood, it's best to stick to using
the Safari defaults for now. Or at least keep them on hand as a
fallback. Remember that nobody likes being outsmarted by their
own device.
20 - Read the manual
For the time being there is one source of information on what
works and what does not work on the iPad - and that is Apple.The
documentation is comprehensive and deep, as Apple has had its
hands on the iPad for a lot longer than anyone else. So, for now at
least, it pays to trust Apple's judgement.
Computer Arts: Why is theiPad important to you at VIVmag Campion Primm: The thing! used to leave out of my definition of what a magazine is was that it's portable. In some ways, the ephemeral nature of a magazine is important. The iPad lias made the digital magazine portable. We no longer have to explain what a digital magazine is. The iPad has brought a lot of enthusiasm to our type of content.
CA: What were your ambitions for VTVmag on the iPad?
CP: We knew the iPad launch was monumental so we wanted to have something that would rise to the challenge. What we wanted to do was redefine the entire language by which the narrative of a magazine could be told.
CA: You used video and animation to achieve that?
CP: A magazine normally has an opening spread which says 'Hello, here is our content'. If you take that entire concept and add moving images, you have a very different proposition. So we liked the idea that we could lure someone in to the content by giving them this foundation. Sustai liability of that is a hard one, though-the question becomes: For all the extra effort, are we getting the reader adoption?
CA: What will make people pay for content on the iPad?
CP;Thcrc used to be the'republic of publishing', made up of all the big publishers, and the way they could distinguish themselves from everyone else was by having higher production values. Now, when we move onto the web, there's so much content created by anyone who wants to that the republic has to compete with die democracy. And the iPad is a great equaliser. Content that hasn't been honed by professionals still looks pretty damn good.
So we have to compete with that. What is the extra benefit of consuming a product made by professionals? We want to produce something so perfectly executed that you immediately understand it has been created with care. Wc may not have the exact answer yet but we will keep trying to establish that extra value can only be had from something created by professionals. I think there's a lot of people out there wrestling with that same question.
www.VIVmag.com
21 - It's about the user, not the designer
There's no denying that working for the iPad promises great
challenges and great rewards, but don't get carried away. At the
end of the day this is about the user sitting down with their device
and trying to accomplish some task or just enjoy themselves. It's
not about you, the designer.
22 - Don't forget EPUB
iPad works as an eReader and, as such, the EPUB open standard
is an integral part of its architecture.Though still focussed on
text-heavy uses, EPUB will evolve, and when it does it will become
a much more interesting technology to work with for designers.
23 - Let the user interact with the design
It's hard for designers to let go. After all. what's the point of
designing if you let Joe Public change everything once they get
their hands on it? There has to be a way to design not just the
original but also the user's experience of changing it. Text flows,
images slide. You'll find a way.
24 - Embrace the challenge of setting yourself apart
What used to set a magazine or a piece of print apart was its daring
use of the medium, such as foil block typography, a die-cut cover,
expensive paper stock. The same will be true for the iPad. There is a
need for work which has the confidence and flair to reassure
subscribers that they made a good decision.
25 - Balance effort with reward
You could produce a video on Monday, animate on Tuesday, create
a new interactive image grid on Wednesday... but you have to think
about sustainability. Can you keep up that production schedule?
Do people want you to? Early feedback suggest they do not want
endless bells and whistles, just bursts of them.
26 - Think information design
Think carefully about information design. On the web people are
very often surgical about the information they want - that's why
they search for it. If iPad users are happy simply enjoying the
experience then they consume information in a different manner.
It's presentation needs to reflect this.
27 - File size is the new page limit
The iPad's resources are not bottomless. File size is the new page
size. Some users are happy to download huge files, while others are
more reluctant. You have to find a balance that works for your
product.The same goes for the pay-off between content volume
and quality.
28 - Think of advertisers as partners
Advertising is going to be important to iPad developers, but it
needs to be done properly, just like the content itself. Flashing
banner ads have always been an eyesore on the web; just porting
that to the iPad certainly isn't going to work. You need to work with
advertising partners to ensure a seamless integration.
29 - Fail better next time
The iPad is too new for there to be definitive rights and wrongs
relating to it, so don't cripple your work by worrying about failures.
Thy will happen. The trick is to learn from them and produce
something that either succeeds next time, or the time after.
30 - Beware copyright issues
Apple is very strict about copyright infringement. Using icons,
images or other design elements that belong to Apple will
immediately get yourapp rejected from the App Store. The same
goes for music, moving image and other copyrighted material.
Copyright worries are the last thing you need close to a deadline!
1 - Technology must serve the product
There is a temptation with any new technology to go a bit crazy and make things just because you have the technology at hand.
Remem ber Photoshop filters? This is not how it should be. The technology should serve the product, not vice versa.
2 - Reading content must be as clear and natural as print
The iPad has evolved from a trio of different streams - phone, print and web. It may be that it produces a new stream from those ingredients, but none should be degraded, least of all print. If it is to
be a successful content consumption device, the reading must feel as natural as reading print.
3 - Think about how the user holds the device, both portrait and landscape
Unlike most other digital deliveries, the iPad works perfectly in both
landscape and portrait mode. Any layout will have a natural
orientation and it should be easy for the user to understand, but
designers must cope with things not happening as they desire, and
even turn this into an advantage - designs need to be adaptive.
Michael Hainey
Deputy editor, GQ USA
Deputy editor, GQ USA
Men's lifestyle makes the jump to the iPad
Michael Hainey, Deputy editor of GQ US, on extending editorial to the iPad
Computer Arts: in lerms of design, what did you want to bring lo the iPad from the print edition, and where did you see a space to evolve beyond it?
Michael Hainey:The mission I set out was clear and tightly focussed: Technology will serve and must serve the magazine. Too many people let the tech drive the design and the result is they start doing things just because they can.
I believe you should only do things that have a reason behind them. I wanted the reader to find the experience as clean, clear and logical as reading the print version. But then I wanted the technology to be available to enhance the experience, not overwhelm it.
It's a careful balance that requires vigilance throughout. 1 strongly believe that it's essential to give readers a strong reading experience. That's the mission. If you don't give them that, no amount of amazing gizmos can save you.
CA;What were the most challenging and rewarding aspects of designing for the iPad?
MH: The most challenging aspect was designing in a vacuum. That is, not having the device to see how a reader would hold it and so on.
The most rewarding was realising you are 'present at creation' for a new way of narrative storytelling. And then finally realising ideas I've long had about how to tell a story in pr int - there arc now incrcdiblc new possibilities.
CA: Did you handle the use of photography differently to when working with static print?
MH.:
We loved the device because great photography is such a big part of GQ. Nothing has changed in how we commission work. Rather, we are able on the iPad to create deeper slide shows of the work.
CA: Does having a new set of interactions effect your design decisions?
MH: Absolutely, because now we can think about creating a layout that will be different from anything you can do with print.
www.GQ.com
4 - Note how the user is oriented
The iPad can be used in a way which closely mimics traditional
print. Digital magazines have always felt clunky on the web
because it's not natural to lean forward and have a keyboard
between you and your relaxing reading. When we lean back, we
relax, so with the iPad the user is in a different mode too.
5 - Create depth using images
Content is king. And nothing is quite as regal as the image. The iPad
gives you a whole new playground in which to explore and enjoy
images. Combine them, move them, add text audio, video,
animation, effects and interaction, or some combination thereof
Let images open up possibilities.
6 - Don't be all fingers and thumbs
The iPad is a touch-screen device. It might sound obvious, but that
means you can't put things too close together, and visuals cannot
be too small - Apple suggests 44x44px for the smallest interactive
object. Sync images to your iPad to verify layouts.
7 - Embrace new gesture possibilities
Possibly the most important part of design for iPad is the move
from point-and-click to direct interaction.The iPad removes one
layer from the equation of human/computer interaction and
replaces it with 'gestures'. These will take some time to be fully
explored - so explore them.
8 - Be familiar
While exploring rhe gesture-interaction model is fun and exciting,
the applications which currently work best give users enough of a
familiarity factor to be easily acceptable. Changing the way things
work overnight is only going to appeal to a minority of people.
9 - Appeal to the grazers
It may look like one, but the iPad is not just a big iPhone {see our
feature on page 16). Early studies suggest that interaction with the
iPad is fundamentally different. Where iPhone usage is generally
below 30 seconds per case, users spend significantly longer on an
iPad. iPhone users snack, iPad users graze.
10 - Be prepared for shifts in technology
The door between Apple and Adobe was recently described as
being not just shut but bricked up. Whatever the reasons for this
statement, it suggests that the easiest way to produce interactive
content that works everywhere currently has a target on its back.
New ways are going to have to be found to move those
experiences to the iPad.
11 - Be aware of how technical shifts could change the look
Web designers will be aware of the importance of HTML5. but its
effects, and that of other new web standards, will reinforce the
visual signature caused by developing applications using Apple-
native technology.There will doubtless come a time when this
feeds through to an easily identifiable aesthetic, and being aware
of this as it happens will be a strength.
12 - Have access to a broad production base
The production phase of VIVmog's inaugural iPad edition had more
in common with a game development studio at full pelt than a
regular editorial studio.There are so many more skills that can
come into play that it pays to have good connections and make
use of them to produce something new and interesting.
13 - Watch for opportunities to partner with content providers
The big content providers have been waiting for something like
the iPad ever since the sad dem ise of the CD-ROM. Now that they
have a new outlet for their beautiful content, they are going to
need talented designers to make the most of it.This could be a bit
of a gold rush.
14 - Ideas alone feel naked
The iPad is such a rich environment that a good idea alone is rarely
enough. Without content standing behind them, empty ideas feel
all the more naked thanks to the level of expectation which the
iPad brings to the game. Don't be caught out.
15 - Make space for branding
On the iPhone it's difficult to find space to add branding without
getting in the way of the user experience The iPad not only has
enough space for some significant brand-building, but it has
pop-up-like functionality so you can ensure this does not
clutter your U I.
16 - Take emerging standards into account
New conventions are evolving for the iPad, and these need to be
taken into account. A simple example is page turning: Apple's
eReader turns left to right with a page-flick or a double-click. Apps
which move through pages top-to-bottom feel wrong when you
return to them.
17 - Place clients carefully
Some clients just want to be in every space available, regardless of
whether it's relevant to their business. Design should look for the
message to fit the medium and, if it doesn't, be prepared for it to
look out of place.
18 - Think about iPad's use outside the home
Though it might take a while before people are comfortable
enough with their iPads that they feel confident taking them out
in public it will happen eventually When it does there will be a
huge explosion of location-aware apps. Think travel guides for
the 21st century.
19 - Replicate the web - for now
Though Safari on the iPad feels like the old way to navigate, it is
still the way that users understand best for the time being. So, if
you need something to be understood, it's best to stick to using
the Safari defaults for now. Or at least keep them on hand as a
fallback. Remember that nobody likes being outsmarted by their
own device.
20 - Read the manual
For the time being there is one source of information on what
works and what does not work on the iPad - and that is Apple.The
documentation is comprehensive and deep, as Apple has had its
hands on the iPad for a lot longer than anyone else. So, for now at
least, it pays to trust Apple's judgement.
Campion Primm
Oeative director, Zinio
vww.ViVmag.com
vww.ViVmag.com
What digital publishing has been waiting for
Campion Primm, creative director at VIVmag on the blessing that is the iPad
Campion Primm, creative director at VIVmag on the blessing that is the iPad
Computer Arts: Why is theiPad important to you at VIVmag Campion Primm: The thing! used to leave out of my definition of what a magazine is was that it's portable. In some ways, the ephemeral nature of a magazine is important. The iPad lias made the digital magazine portable. We no longer have to explain what a digital magazine is. The iPad has brought a lot of enthusiasm to our type of content.
CA: What were your ambitions for VTVmag on the iPad?
CP: We knew the iPad launch was monumental so we wanted to have something that would rise to the challenge. What we wanted to do was redefine the entire language by which the narrative of a magazine could be told.
CA: You used video and animation to achieve that?
CP: A magazine normally has an opening spread which says 'Hello, here is our content'. If you take that entire concept and add moving images, you have a very different proposition. So we liked the idea that we could lure someone in to the content by giving them this foundation. Sustai liability of that is a hard one, though-the question becomes: For all the extra effort, are we getting the reader adoption?
CA: What will make people pay for content on the iPad?
CP;Thcrc used to be the'republic of publishing', made up of all the big publishers, and the way they could distinguish themselves from everyone else was by having higher production values. Now, when we move onto the web, there's so much content created by anyone who wants to that the republic has to compete with die democracy. And the iPad is a great equaliser. Content that hasn't been honed by professionals still looks pretty damn good.
So we have to compete with that. What is the extra benefit of consuming a product made by professionals? We want to produce something so perfectly executed that you immediately understand it has been created with care. Wc may not have the exact answer yet but we will keep trying to establish that extra value can only be had from something created by professionals. I think there's a lot of people out there wrestling with that same question.
www.VIVmag.com
21 - It's about the user, not the designer
There's no denying that working for the iPad promises great
challenges and great rewards, but don't get carried away. At the
end of the day this is about the user sitting down with their device
and trying to accomplish some task or just enjoy themselves. It's
not about you, the designer.
22 - Don't forget EPUB
iPad works as an eReader and, as such, the EPUB open standard
is an integral part of its architecture.Though still focussed on
text-heavy uses, EPUB will evolve, and when it does it will become
a much more interesting technology to work with for designers.
23 - Let the user interact with the design
It's hard for designers to let go. After all. what's the point of
designing if you let Joe Public change everything once they get
their hands on it? There has to be a way to design not just the
original but also the user's experience of changing it. Text flows,
images slide. You'll find a way.
24 - Embrace the challenge of setting yourself apart
What used to set a magazine or a piece of print apart was its daring
use of the medium, such as foil block typography, a die-cut cover,
expensive paper stock. The same will be true for the iPad. There is a
need for work which has the confidence and flair to reassure
subscribers that they made a good decision.
25 - Balance effort with reward
You could produce a video on Monday, animate on Tuesday, create
a new interactive image grid on Wednesday... but you have to think
about sustainability. Can you keep up that production schedule?
Do people want you to? Early feedback suggest they do not want
endless bells and whistles, just bursts of them.
26 - Think information design
Think carefully about information design. On the web people are
very often surgical about the information they want - that's why
they search for it. If iPad users are happy simply enjoying the
experience then they consume information in a different manner.
It's presentation needs to reflect this.
27 - File size is the new page limit
The iPad's resources are not bottomless. File size is the new page
size. Some users are happy to download huge files, while others are
more reluctant. You have to find a balance that works for your
product.The same goes for the pay-off between content volume
and quality.
28 - Think of advertisers as partners
Advertising is going to be important to iPad developers, but it
needs to be done properly, just like the content itself. Flashing
banner ads have always been an eyesore on the web; just porting
that to the iPad certainly isn't going to work. You need to work with
advertising partners to ensure a seamless integration.
29 - Fail better next time
The iPad is too new for there to be definitive rights and wrongs
relating to it, so don't cripple your work by worrying about failures.
Thy will happen. The trick is to learn from them and produce
something that either succeeds next time, or the time after.
30 - Beware copyright issues
Apple is very strict about copyright infringement. Using icons,
images or other design elements that belong to Apple will
immediately get yourapp rejected from the App Store. The same
goes for music, moving image and other copyrighted material.
Copyright worries are the last thing you need close to a deadline!
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