Align » Trends

Web Trends in 2012

Vince Tardy — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 15:58:17 +0000

Twelve Web design trends to look for in 2012

1. Responsive Design

What if online content responded to the way the user chooses to experience it (desktop, tablet, smartphone), instead of the user being forced to adapt to the way the content is rigidly presented? That’s the idea behind Responsive Design, and it’s more than just the biggest thing in web design for 2012: it’s quite simply the way forward.

2. Magazine-Style Layouts

Large, glossy images, smartly organized content, and an emphasis on art direction are all part of the DNA of magazine design. Instead of completely “reinventing the wheel,” designers quickly discovered that the lessons learned from magazine design translate quite nicely into the tablet form factor.

3. Rich Typography

Advances in browser technology have expanded the typographic tools in the Web designer’s toolbox. With dynamic font replacement, designs can safely utilize fonts outside of the standard Arial, Verdana, Georgia, or other “web safe” fonts. The era of art directed online content has arrived.

4. Greater Emphasis on Art Direction

Advances in browser technology, rich typography, and responsive design are all key developments that allow designers to craft a true online experience in ways that previously weren’t possible. Art direction is more than just text and images presented on a screen; it is the thought that goes into the artistic and design elements of a project, and how that project is ultimately executed. This is a key development in the continuing maturation of the Web design industry.

5. Infographics

Because of a greater emphasis on art direction in Web design, the presentation of information and data in a visual way will continue to be a growing design trend this year.

6. App-Inspired Design

Are apps the future of consuming online content, or will the Web continue to be the channel of choice? While the answer to this question is still up for debate, there is a trend toward designing sites that take UI elements from app design, and translate them for use on the Web.

7. An Explosion of Mobile Devices

From smartphones to tablets, mobile devices are a ubiquitous and ever-expending part of our daily lives. Expect to hear much more about “content shifting,” i.e., the idea of saving articles, videos and podcasts for later viewing on the device of your choice. Designers can no longer expect for their content to be viewed on a specific device of a specific resolution.

8. Illustration

With all of the emphasis on technological advancement, there’s a noticeable increase in the number of sites that utilize illustrations to add whimsy, warmth and personality to the user experience.

9. Large photos as background images

“Content is king” as the saying goes, but the impact of a full-screen image is undeniable. Javascript frameworks, media queries, and high-speed content delivery networks (a system of computers containing copies of data placed at various nodes of a network) now allow images to proportionally fill the entire browser window regardless of resolution, and with minimal image degradation and impact to loading time.

10. Fixed Navigation

Keeping the navigation links and/or logo locked in position while the content scrolls is a great way to enhance the user experience, and to eliminate any confusion when web content is viewed on different devices at different resolutions.

11. Breaking the Grid

Grid-based layouts are the foundation of successful web designs, both fixed-width and responsive. However, designers are continuing to experiment with ways to add unexpected design elements that don’t fit neatly into the grid/column structure. In the hands of a skillful designer, “breaking the grid” can elevate a passive design into an active, vibrant one.

12. Vertical Scrolling Effects

In my previous article, “The Myth of the Page Fold,” I recommended rewarding users for doing what comes naturally: scrolling. Continuing on an increasingly popular trend, 2012 will see a rise in websites that depend on scrolling actions to activate amazing visual effects and create beautifully immersive online experiences.

*BONUS* HTML5/CSS3 Standards

In April 2010, Steve Jobs wrote his famous “Thoughts on Flash” article, in which he championed open, modern web technologies like HTML5, CSS and JavaScript over closed, proprietary technologies like Adobe Flash. Fast-forward to 2012, and its clear that HTML5/CSS standards have emerged as the web technology of choice for the mobile era. Almost all tablets, smartphones, and modern browsers support these open standards, and becoming well versed in building sites with these technologies is essential for Web designers in 2012.

http://www.apple.com/hotnews/thoughts-on-flash/

Creating Digital Publications for the iPad

Emily Randisi — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 14:45:16 +0000

A comprehensive list of iPad publishing options

Since its debut in April 2010, Apple’s iPad has been called “the best gadget of the year” (Stuff magazine) and “one of the best inventions of 2010” (Time magazine). With more than 7 million sold, the iPad has taken the publishing industry by storm, leading many publishers to promptly find a solution to transform their print magazines to fully functioning iPad applications.

After releasing our first digital app for the iPad in October, the free Marines iPad magazine, Bates Creative Group has experienced firsthand the challenges of this new forum. (To view a teaser video of Marines iPad magazine in HD, click here.) To help you in your digital publishing efforts, we’ve created the following list of options to help you take your publication from print to pad.

Adobe InDesign Plug-ins:

Adobe Digital Magazine Solution lets designers work in software they’re familiar with and easily export publications directly to the iPad. Although this software is not currently available to the masses, you can check out its functionality on the WIRED and The New Yorker apps, as they are currently test-driving the software before it makes its official debut.

Almost identical to Adobe Digital Magazine Solution is WoodWing, a third-party solution that uses Adobe InDesign to create digital content. Its Content Station allows the designer to set the page order and export the content, which is then placed in a branded iPad reader application. Time, Fortune and People magazines all use WoodWing’s software.

Pros: Pricing for Plug-ins software differs based on which solution you choose and your magazine’s pricing structure; makes use of magazine designers’ skill set (no need to learn any new programs); builds a quality product; easy to use
Cons: Limited customization for TOC treatments and navigation; publications may have to use the same navigation elements as all other publications using the program

Custom Developed Solutions:

Hiring an Objective-C programmer is currently the only option for creating a unique iPad app. If you can find a programmer and have the money to spend, the one-of-a-kind design and navigation elements available in Objective-C will make your publication stand above the crowd. The formatting is unique, functional, smooth and refreshing—and the price will reflect the quality. Depending on the publication, your decision to hire a programmer will most likely rely on juggling your budget and content needs.

Pros: Exceptional navigation and design elements; publishers/designers have complete control over every component; publications have the opportunity to be industry leaders and fierce competitors
Cons: Expensive; time-consuming; could entail hiring additional staff members; requires extra time and resources to find a programmer who is a good match with the current team members and client

App-based or Web-based Readers:

There are numerous options out there for readers, each with a different set of limitations and characteristics. The two main categories of readers are Web-based, which give your publication the ability to be available on any device with a browser, and app-based, which must be purchased or downloaded from the iTunes App Store.

Pros: Publications on Web-based readers can be viewed on any and all Web browsers. App-based readers have no loading time and content is iPad optimized. Because app-based readers are featured in the iTunes App Store, they give your publication access to new audiences, meaning you wouldn’t have to rely solely on existing readers because anyone perusing the iTunes Store has the opportunity to find your work.
Cons: Web-based readers have significant loading time, content is not iPad optimized and resolution issues are frequent. Every reader has its own list of limitations, along with the unavoidable common layouts and navigational tools. To create a visually stunning publication from a reader, designers must be knowledgeable in iPad optimization and design techniques, which is rare and generally very expensive.

Reader Examples: Zinio (app-based), Zmags (Web-based), Texterity, Nxtbook Media, Yudu Media

Because this industry is still emerging, it’s constantly flooded with technology’s latest innovations and the superfluous opinions of self-professed iPad experts. As such, this list is meant to be a starting point or the foundation of your iPad publishing education. Taking your publication from print to pad should be an exciting project to share with your readers both old and new, but if you find yourself in need of some experienced iPad-savvy graphic designers, please give us a call and let us do the legwork.

Taking a Collaborative Approach to Web Design and Development

Mike Barkley — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 17:14:41 +0000

Why It Pays to Work with Web Specialists

When the Web was younger, one needed to know a lot less to create a website. Many clients believed, and still do to some extent, that a Web design firm should do it all. One vendor, beginning to end, dealing with all the aspects of creating a website.

As website creation has matured, however, and end users and clients have become more savvy, they want more from their sites. Their websites need to look good, be well organized and do their tasks easily and efficiently. With the exponential growth of technological progress and new technologies developed for the Web, how is one firm supposed to keep up? This is where the specialist comes in.

Back in the dark ages, specialists were still used to fill various roles in the creation of a site, but it was all rather hush-hush. Now, as people and businesses are becoming more Web savvy, the realization that specialists are not only necessary, but in fact a good thing to have on a project, is coming to light.

As an analogy, let’s look at doctors. Most have the same fundamental knowledge background, but from there they branch off into specialty fields because, as a whole, there is too much medical knowledge for any one person to take on. If you injure your knee, would you want a general practitioner to take a shot at fixing it, or would you want a specialist who’s mended hundreds of knees before yours? I’d want a specialist.

Most people who design websites have the same fundamental understanding of how a site works, but these days, the creation of a highly functional and appealing website involves an abundance of specialized skills. Depending on the phase of the project, some of the specialties one might see are Requirements Gatherers (what does the site need to do?), Information Architects (you have content, but where should it live), Designers (make it appealing to the eye), Usability Experts (does a site do what a user expects and is it clear?), Developers (those that make it all work), Testers (does it really work?) and more.

So why shouldn’t someone looking for a website engage a series of specialists to create it? Sometimes it’s fear. With multiple specialists, you have more cooks in the kitchen and more chances to get burned, so it’s reasonable to worry about using multiple vendors. Working with multiple vendors means more communication, which can lead to confusion. Other times it’s a lack of understanding. Websites, even what seem to be simple ones, take a lot of work and skills to create, and a lot of people don’t grasp the complexities that are involved. With due diligence, one should be able to ferret out problems like this when interviewing firms. The most important thing is to keep clear and open channels of communication between all parties, during the entire life cycle of the project.

There are a number of other reasons why a client might have worries about using multiple specialists on a project. But, as the general populace becomes more educated about and comfortable with the Web, many of these reservations are disappearing. It’s becoming clearer every day that using multiple specialists for a Web project isn’t something to fear, but rather the most effective way to get the best website you can.

What Young Consumers Want

Emily Randisi — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 19:46:26 +0000

Content Strategy for the MTV Generation

Raised on a collage of rapidly shifting images, the so-called “MTV generation” refers to the group of young adults who spent their youth hooked on a steady diet of music videos and pop culture. Subsequently, the term MTV generation has become synonymous with fast-paced lifestyles, cynicism, uncertainty, impatience and an overall ability to process information quickly.

When assembling content for this fickle group, timing and impact are the most important elements to consider. When individuals from this generation open a magazine or enter a website, the first thing they want to see is pictures–big, eye-popping, thought-provoking images. Consequently, reading and writing have become less fashionable and more about achieving the means to an end. These individuals might read a short caption and, if there’s time, the first paragraph of a great article. If they do decide to read an article in its entirety, it will most likely be on their iPhones or BlackBerrys and at their convenience.

Finding information easily, immediately and free of charge is also essential to these young adults. They want a multitude of options without having to commit to subscriptions or memberships. Keep in mind that the MTV generation grew up with the Internet and countless other informational options at their fingertips. As a result, they have acquired unconventional reading styles and fastidious shopping habits.

Customization is also a key factor to consider when creating content. For example, I could go online right now and, in a matter of minutes, purchase a pair of customized Nikes, a bag of M&M’s or even a personally accessorized car. To many twenty-somethings, paying a little extra to be able to express their individuality in unusual places is worth the extra time, money and effort. For content development, this could translate to implementing interactivity elements, such as allowing members to select which information they want and then suggesting additional content based on the users’ likes and dislikes. Find out what the customer wants most and get it to them in a way that will make them feel like a big fish in a small pond.

For the most part, the descriptors used for the MTV generation seem to outline a rather selfish collection of juveniles, but in reality, this generation has a noticeably large soft spot for cause marketing. These younger consumers are concerned not only about their own future, but also the future of the planet and those who are less fortunate. As a result, they expect companies to share their concerns and act accordingly.

A recent television commercial from AT&T and TOMS Shoes is a great example of how to appeal to this generation’s tastes. In the ad, a young entrepreneur promises to donate a pair of shoes to a child in need for every pair purchased, all done from his trusty AT&T BlackBerry. Attention to personal esteem, passion for the welfare of the world at large and an uncanny devotion to information technology all wrapped up in one neat marketing package. To date, there are countless campaigns of this nature geared toward young adults and the issues they are passionate about.

Enticing one of the largest and most influential consumer groups to pick up your magazine, go to your website or buy your product means keeping content brief, relevant, customized and free wherever possible. It also doesn’t hurt to add some meaningful marketing behind your brand to attract the softer side of this media-driven, technology-obsessed, attention-deficit-prone MTV generation.

What Can Red Do For You?

Donna Vincent Roa — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 15:00:05 +0000

A Color Trend With Traction

In the past few years, a keen observer might say that green has made its way to the top of the color power list. Anyone keeping up with the news will find green philosophers waxing poetic about the environment, corporate social responsibility (CSR), sustainability communication, greenwashing, and green tea. The combination of new environmental mindsets and corporations positioning social responsibility efforts under a green label has raised the profile of the color green.

In a recent corporate social responsibility and sustainability Google alert, I saw a listing titled, “RED is the new green.”¹ Intrigued by the possibility that red may be scooping the trendiness of green, I did a Google search on the phrase—45,000 hits.

Further research suggests that we may be experiencing a red revolution. The semantics of red have shifted back to positive, and there’s evidence of a trend with traction. Give it to the Pantone execs who predicted the strength of red and in 1998 tagged it as a favorite for the century.

Nearly 10 years later, Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute®, said “Whether expressing danger, celebration, love or passion, red will not be ignored…nothing reflects the spirit of adventure more than the color red.” In 2007, Pantone named Chili Pepper as the color of the year and for 2010, PANTONE 18-1661 Tomato Purée was in the top 10 colors for women’s fashion.

Companies Known for the Colors They Keep
Red, with blue in a close second, inspires and dresses some of today’s most celebrated icons. These colors are important to corporate brand recognition and commerce color coding.

An analysis of Interbrand’s top 100 brands’ logo and corporate colors reveals a preponderance (70% of the total) of red and blue logos. Thirty-six of the 100 logos were entirely red or paired red with other colors. Thirty-four of the 100 logos were blue or paired blue with other colors. IBM, affectionately known as “Big Blue” for its official corporate color, ranked mostly in the second position for the nine year period. (Green appears in no more than 4 logos in any given year).

Many larger US corporations have red logos: CNN, TIME, LIFE, Business Week, ExxonMobil, Verizon, Xerox, and others. As for consumer awareness of red logos, ask 100 people what company is best known for its red logo, and it’s likely that at least 90 percent of them will say Coca-Cola. Not surprising, from 2001 to 2009, Coca-Cola maintained the #1 position in Interbrand’s Best Global Brand’s List. Coca-Cola knows the power of red and banks on the color’s bold simplicity and authenticity for its packaging and designs.

The Red/Blue Debate

Coke – red. Pepsi – blue. IBM – blue. Xerox – red. Red state. Blue state. The two colors are pervasive in advertising, politics, and politicians’ tie colors. Which is stronger? A new University of British Columbia study, reported earlier in this year in Science Daily, reconciles the marketing and psychology debate on which color, red or blue, most improves brain performance and receptivity to advertising. Both, but, it depends on the task. Red enhances our attention to detail, while blue boosts creativity.

Is Red the Color of Business?

Red attracts attention
Large phone companies use red. Verizon’s trademark check mark/V and typeface are red. In a major rebranding and renaming effort, Vodafone Ireland Limited, the largest mobile phone company in Ireland moved from deep purple to a trademark shade of red and adopted a new tagline: “Red is the new purple, Vodafone is the new name for Eircell.” They also created the Mission Red website, a forum for customer communications.

Using Red for Good – Creative Capitalism at Work
Today companies are selling (RED)-branded products and donating a portion of their profits to Bono’s Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. It’s been reported by Time that the companies participating in the (RED) campaign drew in new customers and that the corporate socially responsible action was the tipping point they needed to choose those products over others. The color prominence contributed message, meaning, and visibility.

Red is the new…(name a color). Google Search: Red is the new…
Red is the new black	90,600
Red is the new red	79,900
Red is the new white	45,800
Red is the new green	45,200
Red is the new blue	29,700
Red is the new yellow	21,000
Red is the new purple	13,700
Red is the new brown	5,130

Red is power. Red is prosperity. Red (and blue, but mostly red) will always be important to high-stakes business, graphic design, results of elections, and tie colors…for politicians, like President Obama who wore only red and blue ties in his first 11 days in office.

While Donna does have one pair of red shoes and a red blazer, she favors purple (a Vincent Roa Group, LLC and Purple Pony Websites corporate color). Admittedly, she was pleased with Pantone’s 2008 Color of the Year announcement: purple (blue iris), a color that “satisfies the need for reassurance in a complex world, while adding a hint of mystery and excitement.”

¹ RED (Restorative Environmental Design) is a new development framework based on the biophilia principle that proposes a new approach to sustainable design that combines the objectives of avoiding adverse environmental impacts, while promoting positive connections between people and nature in the built environment.

Design Innovations

Donna Vincent Roa — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 22:31:36 +0000

A Critical Component in the Sustainability Equation

In today’s business climate, design is a critical part of product lifecycles. Changes in design and manufacturing processes to support sustainable packaging, for example, and working to ensure that product design meets downstream concerns can favorably affect a company’s triple bottom line.

Companies are adjusting business processes to ensure that design innovation is in line with sustainability principles and are developing metrics and guidelines in the design and development processes to stimulate awareness for and focus on environmental issues.

The majority finds that examining environmental pros and cons up front ensures that the design doesn’t undermine the market success of the product, whether it’s a magazine, product packaging, or a consumer product.

Packaging Innovations Good For The Environment

Wal-Mart—Recently, Walmart asked General Mills to replace curly noodles in its Hamburger Helper with straight noodles because straight noodles take up less space and require smaller boxes…same weight, less packaging, but good for the environment.

Coca Cola Company—In May of this year, the Coca-Cola Company announced the PlantBottle™, a first generation recyclable PET (polyethylene terephthalate) plastic made partially (30%) from plants (sugar cane and molasses). In mid-November, the company delivered beverages in PlantBottle™ to select markets throughout the world.

Touted as a sustainable packaging innovation by Muhtar Kent, Chairman and CEO, the move positions the company to rely less on a non-renewable resource (petroleum).

A Coke-sponsored life-cycle analysis conducted by Imperial College London revealed that the “PlantBottle™” reduces carbon emissions by up to 25 percent, compared with petroleum-based PET.

HP—The technology company that operates in more than 170 countries around the world recently reduced packaging on their Pavilion Notebook by 97 percent. Designers and engineers follow stringent packaging guidelines to minimize environmental impact.

Recently, engineers reduced PC packaging by 20 percent for units shipped from China and were able to increase the number of PCs per pallet from 28 to 40 units resulting in a 40 percent decrease in energy required to ship each unit. They rely on an in-house designed Robust Orientation Size effect (ROSe) calculator to develop packaging designs that minimize the amount and cost of materials used.

Are You Sitting on Soy?

Ford—Ford leads the industry in the use of soy, a renewable bio-material. Soy-based seats (backs and cushions) can be found on more than 1.5 million Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury vehicles, decreasing Ford’s use of petroleum oil by one 1 million pounds and reducing its carbon dioxide emissions by five million pounds annually.

“Natural fiber-reinforced composites and polymer resins made from plant resources provide positive environmental impact by utilizing renewable resources, reducing CO2 emissions, by being entirely compostable and—in some cases—reducing weight, which helps improve fuel economy,” explains Debbie Mielewski, Technical Leader, Ford Plastics Research.

Ford’s innovative use of environmentally friendly, soy-based foam has earned six prestigious awards to date, including the including the 2009 R&D 100 Award which honors the latest technology developments across numerous industries that are designed to meet societal, scientific, or business challenges.

Design Innovations Can Contribute to Sustainability

Responsible and sustainable packaging and product design innovations have a favorable effect on the environment, reduce costs, save space, and accrue benefits in product transportation. For many companies, the changes have resulted in improved efficiency, life-cycle effectiveness, and eco-innovation.

Adopting and acting on sustainability principles give consumers tangible evidence of a company’s commitment to the future of our planet.

Social Media for Business

Ian — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 15:52:34 +0000

The push to bring your business presence to the social media sphere is nothing new. But it’s been gaining momentum as legitimacy as a real business tool in the last year – so now the pressure’s on.

In the rush, any strategy seems to have been lost in a lot of cases. For example when using Facebook or Twitter, many peoples default mode of thinking is very casual and that colors the content posted to those media. It’s surprisingly common to see what I would deem as personal info, posted to media outlets that are in theory, for a company.

While there’s nothing wrong with a blog/Facebook/Twitter being more casual than a corporate site, and it is a great way to engage customers and colleagues on a more personal level. There still needs to be plan to the casual nature, the business blog is not the place to talk about an employees child’s 1st birthday party.

The problem is a ‘casual’ strategy is difficult to develop since planning to be unplanned seems rather antithetical. To be honest, we’re struggled a bit with it recently. Every individual in a business has different levels of comfort with lifestreaming and how much is personal/private vs. public. So beyond any content strategy, those concerns must be part of the larger strategy.

Some of us sat down and discussed which outlets we want to tackle and their uses. Content ideas were bandied back and forth (yes the 1st birthday was a real mention) and finally some of the rules were decided upon.

No private lives –Everyone has their own outlet for their private lives, that they can filter as they see fit. It’s not the place of a business blog to talk about what folks do in their off time. Also, in my opinion, much of the personal traffic on a business is just noise. I will always favor any source that has a better ‘signal to noise’ ratio.

Keep it work related – Of course this is open to interpretation. In our case, we decided work related events outside the office (awards, conferences, teaching, learning etc) were fair game. Beyond that, was determined to be the personal life border

It’s not just about us – Well it is, but the core meaning is that the medium is not just going to be used to promote things we have done. Of course, items like that will appear since we’re proud of the work we turn out. But we want any streams to be more. Interesting things we find, useful resources and thought leadership are all items on tap. Looking back at the 1st rule, it’s a reaffirmation of the high signal to noise concept.

Add value – This works hand-in-hand with the previous ‘rule’. Though 100% of posts can’t add value, it should be something you actively pursue. Adding value can be as simple as linking to that cache of images or an intriguing article that was found. By adding value you’ll attract more interest and followers. If all that’s ever posted are no, or very low value items no one will listen to you – you’ll just be shouting into the void.

So, hopefully these rough rules, and just the thought of outlining a real strategy will help your forays into the social media sphere. Or if you’ve plunged in headlong with no set plan, perhaps they might cause a little reflection on what you’re putting out.

Twitter Misuse or Use for Business

Ian — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 18:16:05 +0000

I’ll admit I have a very mixed opinion of Twitter. I first came across it in 2006, when it was founded. Then, no one really knew what to make of it. There was a lot of junk (low-value tweets like “going to the grocery!”) going out and it gave it a black eye, and gave me a poor attitude towards it. I boxed it as a failed experiment and moved on.

But then 2008, came and Twitter exploded onto the central stage.

In 2009 it’s seen continued growth in the public eye. As such, it’s being touted as one of the top tier social media tools – which it has become. And as time has gone on a culture and etiquette have evolved – it’s gotten past those initial growing pains that turned me off that first time around, so it’s time to look at it again.

For this article, we’ll just be looking at business use. A lot of businesses use it – some well, some poorly. But how do you use it as a business?

If you’re in the promotional business, it’s pretty simple. But for other businesses the picture isn’t so clear. So here’s a small list of things to help you get started.

Don’t go in without a strategy. Are you thought leaders? Trendsetters? Focused experts? Is this a customer service tool? Plan out your Twitter persona and stay with it.

Do be responsive. If you are trying to encourage dialog, or using it as a customer service tool, you MUST be responsive. Don’t leave people hanging –that’s the fast track to getting people griping. Also, do make use of direct messages if you don’t feel a question/topic is of use or appropriate for the public at large.

Don’t follow everyone who follows you. If you are taking the position as a thought leader, trendsetter, etc., then you should think of yourself as a thick branch on a tree. In theory, you follow some people, bigger branches, and then have a much larger number of followers, your smaller branches.

Do post quality over quantity. If you want to be seen as a thought leader, large volumes of low quality items are the anathema. Maintain a high signal-to-noise ratio.

Don’t tell people ‘What are you doing?’ – Do tell them what has your attention – It might be your project (though be wary of too much self promotion) but should be something in line with your strategy/position. Of course you can always go off topic or off persona at times to keep things personable. Just don’t make that the bulk of your traffic.

Do use Twitters search to see if someone is talking about you. If appropriate, participate in that discussion.

Do be interactive. Besides being responsive to items put to you – put things out there. Ask questions, start discussions if appropriate.

Obviously this is just small amount of food for thought, but hopefully it will help you develop a plan on how to use (or not use) Twitter.

Digital Publishing – Content Managed Sites

Ian — Tue, 05 May 2009 16:09:51 +0000

The brave new world for magazines

Web site Content Management Systems (CMS) – if you’re not familiar with that term it might sound like some ponderous technological beast, and well, they can be sometimes. But really, despite their name they can make creating and posting content to the Web quick and easy.

In a nutshell, a CMS is a system that allows relatively quick and painless publishing to a web site and organization of that site. CMS are all over, from the Microsoft and Apple corporate site to The NY Times, to your blog – they are all using a CMS.

There are dozens, perhaps hundreds of CMS available. Some are free; some cost tens of thousands of dollars and everything in between. Depending on you needs, budget and technical facility, there is a system out there for you.

Though any given CMS can do a million things, one of the most important is helping workflow. Any CMS worth its salt will allow for multiple users in the system and those users rights can be specified. It’s possible to have a large number of contributors who can add content, but do not have the ability to publish the content to the public. Those contributors’ articles can be reviewed, edited, published or passed along to the next level by the managers. No question, if you are managing a Web site with a lot of content going up on a regular basis, a streamlined workflow is very important.

Equally important is the ease of adding new content. Besides just managing the content, a CMS adding content to the stream more accessible. Before CMS were common, it usually fell to someone on staff with the appropriate skills to code the new content and add it to the existing site structure. If that person was too busy, on vacation, etc. the content sat in limbo due to the seemingly insurmountable barrier of converting text to HTML and adding it to the site. Now, with a CMS, one doesn’t need to know any special code to add content – all one needs is the ability to run a word processor.

Now that we understand some of the value of a CMS, we can talk about how to take advantage of that value in the context of a magazine.

Let’s assume that your CMS is set up and ready to go, just lacking content. To create new content one just needs to log into the system and get to work. At the most basic level you can just copy and paste into that editor. If there are images for an article, those need to be uploaded, which is usually as simple as uploading to flickr or FaceBook. Once that’s done you can start adding content. The same tool that lets you add an article to the site, will let you insert those images, tweak text, add links, and more. Once you are finished with the content, the article is saved to a database and ready to be posted to the Web site. For most, the process isn’t any more complicated than creating an MS Word document.

Keeping this regular stream of new content to the site is a prime way to take advantage of the value a CMS-based site offers. Though you could put up an “issue’s” worth of content in one fell swoop – there’s no need to. In fact there are incentives to generate a constant stream of regular updates. Search engines rank sites that have a constant stream of new content higher than one that does a monthly bulk update (for a bit more on this you can read about SEO). So if you keep the right content coming, you can elevate your position in searches – which drives traffic to your site – which can increase your ad rates.

Previously we talked about how one can create an online edition of a printed magazine using PDF viewer systems. Using a CMS-based Web site is a bit more of a leap of faith in some ways. Creating a PDF version that goes out as one whole package, with all its pages in the proper order is more familiar for traditionally print minded people. This free-form content production can seem chaotic to those who are used to planning out a block of content for a month or two all at one time, over the span of a year – but really it’s the same. One should still have an editorial calendar, production process, etc. – it’s just scaled differently.

Of course with a more flexible schedule there are more chances for missteps – but that same latitude can used as an advantage by focusing on hot topics, relating and linking new articles to older ones – even editing older articles to reflect more current developments. This sort of fluidity is difficult to achieve with a more traditional issue-based model, like we see with the PDF viewer.

Now, I’d be remiss if I didn’t follow up on a comparison I made in my PDF viewer article. If you’ll recall, I mentioned how MAKE magazine used a PDF viewer service to offer their subscribers an online analog of the printed version. Each issue was its own, and required a login and password to access. So whether it came in the mail or via email you got your paid-for issue. In the CMS camp, we have WIRED – they put all the content from each issue on their site and even add to the articles by posting photos and rich media not seen in the printed edition. All the back issues reside online, and it is all FREE. Obviously this is about as opposite a method from the single password-protected issue as one can get and might freak some people out – “They just give it away?!” Well yes, and no. That openness drives a lot of traffic to their site, which boosts their ad rates. Also this constant stream of content means that Google and other search engines are constantly combing their site, and their potential search position is high.

Though CMS-based versions of a magazine require some more thought, consideration and initial set-up than their PDF viewer counterparts, they offer many of the same advantages and open a number of other avenues for publishers to reach their audience.

Digital Publishing – PDF Converters

Ian — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 20:45:27 +0000

The stepping stone from print to online

Previously we had a quick overview of two ways to bring a print document to the Web – the PDF viewer and the content-managed site. Now for a more detailed look, since there are too many companies in this field at this time to list, so for the sake of discussion, any production details following will be from the Zmags DIY process.

We’ll look at the PDF viewer first, since it’s the most ‘print like’ of the two options. There are a few methods that companies are using to bring the content to the Web, and many tout that their viewer replicates the page-turning experience of a printed product.

As you have probably already assumed, the whole process begins with a PDF. Of course this means that the document has to be designed and converted before it ever makes its journey to the Web. This means there’s a cost to get the content to look its best, but if you’re looking at a hybrid solution of traditional printed versions plus digital editions like MAKE did, then the design costs are already part of your production process.

So all of that is nice – but how much does it cost? Every project is different, but here are some thoughts on the two most common price models.

The most straightforward price model I have seen is the per-document, do-it-yourself (DIY) license. Very simply, you pay a flat rate per document you have online; the more documents you have, the less you pay per document. You handle the creation of the document, uploading, linking, customizing the viewer, etc. You incur a labor cost on your end for doing that work, but because you control it, that cost is generally lower than if the service provider handled those tasks. Also, if you are very particular about the look of your product, doing it yourself gives you direct control over that look, as opposed to handing it off and hoping it comes out right.

The other common model is the service bureau model. This price model is a lot more convoluted and harder to nail down. Here, the service provider handles all the dirty work for you. You hand off the PDF and they take care of it all… at a price. Generally these are priced per page of content and items like rich media, links and any other extras are charged à la carte. Also, any future edits, changes or page swaps may incur fees. As you can see, this price model might distress those trying to layout a budget. Though the initial creation prices were similar between DIY and service bureaus, any changes could get expensive under the latter. Also, if you want a lot of control over your document, this might not be the model for you. You have to hand off your PDF, supporting art and some instructions to the service provider and let them create your online edition.

Once the PDF is ready, you upload it to the PDF viewer service for processing. It takes a few minutes for their system to go through the PDF and make a searchable index of all the text. This index is important since it’s not just user-searchable in the viewer, but also searchable by Google and other search engines. Once that processing is done, you can put the PDF on the Web for public consumption with just a couple more clicks.

From starting the upload to publishing to the public, you might spend 15 minutes if you’re not using any of the available extras. Such a quick turn is definitely enticing, allowing a minimum time cost and the ability to stick to tight deadlines.

The look and feel of the final product varies a bit from company to company. Many of the companies in the field have developed (Adobe) Flash based page-turners. The best looking of these allow the user to grab the page corners with their mouse, lift it up and peek at the next page, pull it around, etc – like one might do with a real page – making the effort to mimic the real experience as much as possible. Some of the Flash-based page-turners use a more simple click-to-turn interaction with canned page-turn animations and varied levels of adroitness.

Another facet of the PDF viewer is image-based. The service processes your PDF and displays your document as a series of flat images. Though this isn’t as immersive as the ability to turn pages, its advantage is that it doesn’t need the Flash plug-in to work. The vast majority of people on the Web have the Flash plug-in already but it’s not a given. Also, an important emerging market – iPhone users – cannot view Flash… at least for now. But everyone with a computer, iPhone or BlackBerry can view flat images. So you trade some of the look for the ability to hit a broader audience.

Now, to discuss those extras mentioned earlier. The Zmags system offers a number of ‘canned’ viewer looks and layouts to choose from as part of the creation process or change later on if the mood strikes. If you have an established brand, however, you’ll want to have a custom look. This can be accomplished through the Zmags administration tool. You can create a customized viewer that allows you to tweak colors, background art, button positions and a number of other details to suit your brand, and all these settings can be saved for use in any current or future documents you create.

Some of the other allow the user to create internal and external links, insert rich media and other interactive elements, and offer a comprehensive analytics suite and even e-commerce abilities. Things like analytics, rich media, interactive elements and links are standards for the field; many of the other services share a lot of these features.

Though we’ve covered a lot of information in this article, due to the number of different providers for PDF viewers there’s really no way to give a comprehensive review of them all, or even just a handful of them. We have an in-house document that explores the main points for just 4 viewers in table form and we had to shrink it to fit on an 11×17 sheet of paper!

We hope this gives you a better idea of what to expect from the page-turner genre. Next time, it’s the CMS on the block.