Influx

Traditional magazine art directors seem to love the iPad because it respects the classic rules of the grid and pagination.

When we see examples of future concepts for tablets, most of the time they reference the physical magazine and just build interactivity around it. This is because the tablet is a “lean-back” device, something you read and look at on the couch, rather than “the lean-forward” experience of the computer.

Smart Design has tried their hand at imagining a future magazine concept on a tablet and have some good suggestions, based on solid research with magazine subscribers that gets translated into ideas around browsing, deeper diving and productivity. Their thoughts on the integration between mobile and magazines are especially good.

Smart Design magazine UX concept from Smart Design on Vimeo.

However, Smart’s concept take a bit of a “rear view mirror” approach by exploring consumers current experiences to project into the future. In 24 months time we might be looking back at this concepts and finding them surprisingly dated. It’s likely publishers and developers will come a long way in that time and create new experiences that don’t mirror current magazine or online consumption, but are radically new ways to consume media.

Posted by Ed Cotton