Adobe Digital Publishing

By Teresa Demel

MaraMedia uses Adobe Digital Publishing Suite to build educational digital manuals for students in grades 7-9. With a goal of supporting active participation in students’ education, MaraMedia provides opportunities for interaction with learning material, from acquiring new information to ultimately applying that information to the real world.

My past career was in education, and I have been curious to see how educational institutions and publishers will embrace Digital Publishing Suite. Printed textbooks appeal to one learning style, but interactivity in a publication allows kinesthetic and auditory learners to consume and apply new information with ease. As an added bonus, having all textbooks on one iPad certainly lightens the backpack.

Some great Digital Publishing techniques employed by MaraMedia:

• Students can actively break down the steps of a process by tapping on buttons and viewing slideshows of instructions.
• Readers tap on thumbnails of artwork to zoom into a larger image and learn more.
• Navigating among modules is intuitive with a clear organizational hierarchy. Nav-to buttons allow students to identify and jump to the next relevant module.

Download MaraMedia digital manuals from the iTunes store.

Watch the MaraMedia App of the Week video:

As a follow-up to yesterday’s post about how Adobe Digital Publishing Suite fits into Renault’s brand engagement strategy, we are featuring Renault Captur in our App of the Week Video Series. This gives our readers a chance to see specifically how Renault uses the features in Digital Publishing Suite to “capture” the attention of readers and tell the brand’s story.

Highlights from the video:

• Slideshows outline the design from concept to reality
• Pan and zoom shows the car in gorgeous detail
• Image sequence gives readers control over their view of the car, from 360 rotation to breaking the car into its constituent parts
• Audio can be played throughout the app, and paused by the reader

Check out the Renault Captur App of the Week video.

By Teresa Demel

Sockupied is a digital-only magazine designed for knitting enthusiasts. It is published by Interweave Press, which owns 15 consumer art and craft magazines such as Crochet and LiveWire (both of which are built with DPS and available on Apple Newsstand). I am not a knitter myself, but many of my friends are. They pore over pictures and patterns of sweaters and socks, looking for their next creation. Sockupied feeds their appetite, with images of inventive knitting patterns, and easy to follow instructions.

“Sockupied is that feeling you get when you wish your ride were a little longer so you could finish your heel turn.”
          -  Sockupied Editor Anne Merrow

As I have mentioned before when I reviewed Cook’s Illustrated and National Geographic Kids, Adobe Digital Publishing Suite is a great way to enhance any tutorial in a publication. Slideshows, nav-to and videos allow publishers to break down instructions and visually demonstrate how to do something. Sockupied is no exception.

In this app of the week video, I demonstrate three levels of engagement with the Sockupied audience. For inspiration, the publication uses slideshows to show multiple views of pairs of socks. It provides basic instruction on how to measure a foot in preparation for knitting, as well as what patterns to follow. For more complicated techniques, such as heel turns, it uses video to flesh out the procedure.

• Watch the Sockupied by Interweave app of the week video to see an example of a motivational and instructional knitting magazine.
• Download Sockupied for your iPad

By Teresa Demel

Ever since I graduated from Macalester College (ahem… awhile ago), I’ve received the college’s alumni magazine, Macalester Today, on my doorstep. Accustomed to the peripatetic nature of new graduates, they successfully found me when I moved not just from St. Paul to Seattle, but also between about 10 apartments and houses.

Imagine my recent delight when I discovered that my alma mater had adopted Digital Publishing Suite to create an iPad version of Macalester Today. I always enjoyed reading the beautifully designed quarterly print magazine, staying on top of the news about my professors, organizations, and colleagues. As the Adobe “DPS app of the week video guru,” I embraced the chance to show my Mac pride.

In this week’s video, I highlight the ways in which the alumni magazine—with all the same great content as ever—has added interactive touches that truly bring the print publication to life. The cover page uses a lively auto-play slideshow to show students assembling into the new building. Videos illustrate current campus activities, from intense rowing down the Mississippi River to a quirky how-to video on cafeteria concoctions. The alumni news section has an interactive timeline that DPS designers must check out. Merging scrolling frames and nav-to buttons, it lets me quickly select my year and navigate immediately to the news about my own classmates.

“We believe that the special features available in an iPad version of our magazine are bringing the college to life for our alumni,” says Macalester Today editor Lynette Lamb. “From an audio snippet of a professor reading from his just-published book to a video of the crew team rowing on the Mississippi, the iPad magazine allows us to reach our graduates around the world in a new, multi-sensory way.”

We are seeing great examples of higher education uses of Digital Publishing Suite. Notre Dame and University of Oklahoma are using it for their Gameday Apps. Other examples include University of Dayton Undergraduate Viewbook,  Academy of Art University’s Alumni magazine, UCLA Anderson Assets magazine, and Indiana University’s IU Libris.

• Download Macalester Today and these other great apps to see examples of how you can create magazines
• Watch the Macalester Today App of the Week video.

Rolling Stone was released using Digital Publishing Suite on January 16, 2013. This week, I’m sharing a few highlights in the app of the week video.

Back in the day, my brother and I used to pore over issues of Rolling Stone. We read through the music reviews, and when the authors described an album in a compelling way, we would head to the record store and grab a copy. Often, we liked what we heard. But not always. Music preferences are subjective, after all.

As you might expect, Rolling Stone on the tablet is a much improved experience over the print version because readers can listen to the music. They used the audio overlay in DPS to reveal a 30-second snippet of a song. If readers like it, they can head straight to the iTunes store and purchase the album.

Rolling Stone doesn’t limit its editorial to music. In fact, I used to cut out the photos of actors from the issue and tack them to my bedroom wall. (Okay, so that’s where print has its advantage.)  This issue features a collection of great photography of the 30 Rock cast. Using the slideshow feature in Digital Publishing Suite, I can explore a plethora of photos that would not likely fit in the print version.

• Watch the Rolling Stone app of the week video.
• Download Rolling Stone from the iTunes store.

By Teresa Demel

It is football week! On Monday, we introduced the Notre Dame Gameday app for the BCS football championship. Today, I’m sharing an app of the week video featuring the University of Oklahoma Sooner Gameday app. The Sooners used Digital Publishing Suite to create their weekly gameday program for football games on both the iPad and the iPhone. Their app is a great example of taking a successful print piece and adding interactive features available for mobile devices, heightening excitement around the content.

Some of my favorite features:
- The title page opens with a football announcer and cheers from the crowd (video overlay). I feel the enthusiasm already…
- The stats and information on the players go deep. Scrolling frames allow for longer bios and more stats on a single page.
- Fans can watch sponsored videos of great plays from past games: The Power Play, Catch of the Game, Delivery of the Half, and Teeth-Rattling Hit of the Game
- An audio timeline of last week’s match highlights game-changing plays.

Check out the Sooners app of the week video to see how DPS apps can deepen fans’ engagement and excitement for their favorite team.

By Teresa Demel

Just in time for the holidays, David Jones, an up-market Australian department store chain, released its catalog built with Adobe Digital Publishing Suite. Often when I do my holiday shopping, I peruse through a print catalog on the couch and then power up my laptop to make a purchase. The digital catalog hits the sweet spot between those two stages of the buying process. I can look for ideas and when inspiration hits, buy the item without leaving the app.

In this app of the week video, I walk you through the “Gift Ideas” section of the catalog, as well as the “Gift Wrapping” feature.

Highlights include:

-       Unwrapping a gift with the swipe of a finger (created with the image sequence overlay)

-       Flipping through gift idea options for a family member (built with the buttons and slideshow overlay)

We are seeing more digital catalogs built with Digital Publishing Suite every day. Publishing to a tablet allows catalogs to preserve the branding and browsing experience of a print publication, as well as incorporate the interactive features provided by a website.

Download the David Jones Catalog from iTunes.

Check out the app of the week video here.

by Teresa Demel

Just in time for the giving season, Heifer International and Bates Creative Group released World Ark magazine and catalog, powered by Adobe Digital Publishing Suite. World Ark not only showcases the inspiring stories of individuals and communities impacted by Heifer International, but also includes “The Most Important Gift Catalog in the World,” which allows readers to invest in the lives of individuals in developing nations.

In this app of the week video, I share the story of a woman in Bangladesh, who was able to become financially independent through gifts from Heifer International. Her story of transformation is inspiring, brought to life by slideshows and video footage. In this example, we can see photos of children happily learning in school and a video of community members dancing together.

I also walk through the process of purchasing a cow through the catalog. Using buttons and slideshows, it is easy to navigate through the gifts, such as goats, chickens, and stoves, and learn how they will benefit recipients. Without leaving the app, readers can purchase a gift from the online store and return to reading about Heifer International’s work.

And yes, I did donate part of a cow on behalf of my dad. That wasn’t just my fine acting skills.

• Download World Ark magazine from the iTunes store
• Read the press release from Heifer International
• Watch the app of the week video here

By Teresa Demel

Meredith Corporation uses Adobe Digital Publishing Suite to create Fitness Magazine for the iPad. This app of the week video features easy to follow workouts and recipes created through interactive overlays, as well as high value product placement that drives readers toward immediate purchase.

While the digital version of Fitness appears similar to the print version of the magazine, style sections with product placement allow readers to view a fashion layout, tap on the product description, and then open up a web overlay to visit the product store and make a purchase – all without without leaving the app. The reading and shopping experience blend together, resulting in instant gratification for both the reader and the retailer.

Flipping through the magazine, readers can follow workouts that use a combination of how-to videos as well as photos and written descriptions, catering to readers who may be following the workouts in public, or in the privacy of their own home. In the nutrition section, recipes are neatly displayed as slideshow overlays, allowing readers to flip through different versions of omelet preparation.

Digital Publishing Suite Overlays Featured:

• Web overlays for product placement
• Video overlays for workouts
• Slideshow / Multistate objects for workouts and recipes
• Bookmarking

Watch the Fitness App of the Week video here:

Better Homes & Gardens uses Digital Publishing Suite, Enterprise Edition, to cross- promote content, enable easy navigation, and provide high value product placement opportunities in its timeless publication.

Better Homes & Gardens is the 4th best selling magazine in the United States. It embraces monetization opportunities through several Enterprise features available in Digital Publishing Suite. The attractive custom store allows the publisher to promote back issues and special editions, as far back as April 2011. By using direct entitlement, print subscribers can gain access to interactive, digital versions of the magazine. In addition, the custom navigation bar allows readers to easily jump to the Table of Contents, current cover, and Help site.

Because Better Homes and Gardens features style and design ideas for a DIY-inclined audience, it uses the slideshow feature in Digital Publishing Suite to toggle between attractive, clean layouts and detailed product information. In this episode I share my favorite use of Digital Publishing Suite: readers can view a room in six different colors, see how the mood changes with each hue, and then navigate to the website to purchase.

Watch the app of the week video here: