The problem is fundamental (and reflected in Apple’s lack of interest in the magazine app. Abandon Newsstand!) An exception is as an alternative to physical distribution. If a print magazine is expensive and slow to arrive in a far-flung part of the world, an app is a great get-round. I designed the Frieze magazine app, and that’s their strategy.
Who is creating exciting, dynamic magazine apps, and will we see more of them in the future?
David Jacobs: Obviously, I think our apps (29th Street Publishing) are the best. I would say, though, that we are 1 or 2% of where we have to be in terms of offering design flexibility and the user experience. DPS was necessary – it was a brute-force solution (and really a rather remarkable one) to get every title in the store and doing business. And for the last few years, from a business perspective, it’s basically a cool perk for print subscribers.
The most successful stand-alone app has mid-four figure subscribers. But if you look at every other form of media – books, music, television, media, video games, it’s all gone majority mobile, and at some point this year may even go to 66%+ penetration for mobile. Magazines are still stuck in single-digits. So we can’t really say DPS was good or bad. It is dominant, but it’s dominant in a relatively small fishbowl. But what we’re allowed now is the chance to figure out what comes next. And DPS deserves credit for priming the pump.
Josh Klenert:National Geographic continues to do amazing multimedia storytelling and that ports to their magazine app really well. I really like how Esquire and The Atlantic have started to put out weekly editions. Popular Mechanics explodes every month with unique story telling devices. GQ & Time have been doing an amazing amount of incredible work in video. Just looking over the list of finalists for this years SPD Awards show how much awe-inspiring, vibrant, and creative work is being done in the digital medium.
Joe Zeff: Conde Nast has been the most forward-thinking publisher. Wired has been out front since Day One, creating new content for their tablet editions that make their apps feel special. The New Yorker and Vanity Fair have wonderful iPhone editions that combine smart design with sensible HTML programming. The company’s partnership with MasterCard to infuse magazines with e-commerce capability is a step in the right direction.
Mario García: I’m not so sure. I haven’t heard of many in the traditional magazine app mode that are doing interesting things lately. The most interesting apps for me are those trying to rethink the mobile news experience altogether: Circa, Breaking News, NYT Now, NowThis News. I am also interested in the few experiments in new packages of content (rather than adapting a printed magazine to the tablet), notably Esquire Weekly.
The publications that are more able to experiment by breaking out of the confines of translating a printed page to digital are the most promising. (Thanks to García Media art director Reed Reibstein for assistance with this question.)
Jeremy Leslie: I think we’ve seen many apps shine brightly for an issue or two then fade. They take a huge investment in time and money for very little response from a skeptical public. DPS happens to work very well for The New Yorker— that magazine’s strength of vision meant it translated instantly to the tablet. It didn’t feel the need to add bells and whistles, it understood what it’s readers valued about its print edition — reading.
The only other app worth mentioning remains Letter to Jane; that app is the single one I’m aware of that sought to link content design and ux design to produce a simple intuitive and enjoyable experience. Some of Tim Moore’s other work at 29th Street Publishing shares his thoughts in this too, but the necessary templating restricts invention. Steve Gregor made clever use of DPS for an iPad edition of his Gym Class Magazine, hiding some of the clumsy nav tools. Other bespoke apps have made some interesting experiments, but are generally too reliant on video and animation and become heavy files — too long to download and too large to keep on your tablet.
