Established in 1992 by twins Sally A. and Sarah J. Edwards, BLAG features exclusive photo shoots and interviews with top musicians and actors from around the world. BLAG’s creators say they have taken a completely new approach to designing BLAG’s iPhone and iPad apps.
“As designers, creatives, and magazine publishers, we certainly consider print a high value medium,” said Sally A. Edwards, co-founder of BLAG. “But, as we explored the digital format and began designing for the iPad, we realised how truly radical it is as a new way to communicate. It’s more playful. It gives us more room to experiment and to create a connection with our readers.”
Two iPad issues and one iPhone issue of BLAG are available on the iTunes Store now. The apps have been completely redesigned to take advantage of AppStudio’s new functionality offered through HTML5, such as searchable text and social sharing.
Sally said, “We set out to offer our digital readers a completely new, different experience than the one they get with our print edition. I wanted them to engage with the content and find something new each time they visit the issue. With App Studio I can use scrolling layouts to make pages look like pop-up books, create customised buttons that lead to more content, add layers to give it an almost three dimensional feel, loads of video, and soften text for a highly-readable experience.”
The second iPad issue will showcase video and images that will not be available in any other format. Ninety percent of the video in the second issue is exclusive to the versions for iPad and iPhone, as are the “Bathtime” photos and filmed interview Tom Hardy (The Dark Knight Rises, Lawless, Inception) and Noomi Rapace (The original Girl with the Dragon Tattoo trilogy, Prometheus) conducted in a bubble bath.
“The digital edition of BLAG captures our vision of the magazine as an interactive, engaging showcase of innovative talent and ideas. It is meant to be explored and investigated and revisited again and again. Combined with our print issues, we are able to offer our readers a complete experience.”
Late this summer BLAG will publish a special issue to commemorate its 21st birthday and is inviting all creatives, from designers and photographers to illustrators and typographers, to create a piece for the issue using only three items. For example: one pencil, one paintbrush and one pot of black paint. Or one camera, one light and one subject. Perhaps, one style, one word and one colour. Or one character, one location and one challenge. The top 10 will appear in the birthday edition and app.
About App Studio
App Studio says: “App Studio is the next generation digital publishing solution that uses HTML5 to push the bounds of user experience without the high cost and effort associated with custom app development. App Studio is the only digital publishing solution that allows users to create branded content apps using QuarkXPress, InDesign, HTML5, and XML. Through a managed cloud environment, designers, authors, and extended teams are able to collaborate to create rich, interactive content that can be delivered across multiple platforms and devices.”
