We can do this the easy way... or the hard way. The easy option is to convert printed publications into a PDF-like format – a service offered by the likes of Zinio and Yudu. The hard way means having to totally re-imagine a magazine to suit a touchscreen tablet device, which is what we've done with Focus. At first the choice seems obvious: PDF is good enough. So why did Focus take the harder path?
As a magazine that aims to get readers excited about the future of technology, we’ve gained insight into how to predict tomorrow’s trends. Our hi-tech crystal ball tells us that interactive apps are key to the success of digital magazines – users expect everything on a touchscreen device to be tap-able, swipe-able and pinch-able.
We’ve included these features in the Focus app, and added rich media – audio, videos and animated graphics. So users aren’t just passively reading a magazine, they’re also listening, watching and touching a digital edition, transforming it into an interactive experience.
Creating our iPad app hasn't been easy, and it’s raised questions at every step of the publishing process. For instance, what kind of content works best on a touchscreen? Is it too labour-intensive to design pages in both portrait and landscape orientations so they can be viewed both ways? Should print subscribers get free access to digital issues?
To answer these questions, you have to start by deciding which publishing platform will enable you to convert print to digital editions. Several platforms are now available, such as Woodwing and Adobe’s Digital Publishing Suite. BBC Worldwide wanted more flexibility in the creative process, so it partnered with app developer Mobile IQ to produce bespoke applications.
Working directly with Mobile IQ has let us to do things that most off-the-shelf publishing solutions don’t offer, such as presenting selectable text rather than making each page one big image. As a result, each digital issue of Focus is only about 60MB – only one-tenth the size of some competitors – which means users aren’t forced to store just one issue on their iPads for fear of filling the hard drive. Distributing digital issues through Apple’s App Store has also provided the opportunity to sell Focus outside the UK with minimal hassle.
Today, the iPad has a 95 per cent share of the tablet market, but that may well change. The best technology is future-proof. With Focus, magazines are effectively turned into web pages (not ‘iPad pages’), which will allow us to easily offer digital editions on other devices – if they become popular. So while creating interactive apps from scratch is initially harder than simply converting magazines to PDFs, in the long run it’s best to avoid the easy way.
About Focus
Focus is BBC Worldwide’s award-winning popular science and technology monthly. Leaving the jargon in the lab, each issue offers in-depth features on science, technology and the future, covering everything from astronomy and archaeology to geology and genetics. The magazine has a monthly circulation of 73,614 and is published by BBC Magazines Bristol.
