Nov 17, 2009
A new year resolution plea for digital product developers and designers
Where is the innovation in online visual languages?
Was sitting playing around with Google’s new flip the other day when it struck me how little innovation we see in visual languages online. While the tech community have made great new tools and frameworks (Ruby, Django, AJax), we really have done very little when it comes to new ways to display text, images and video together in a compelling way online (this blog being a great example). It seems that in our move towards extreme syndication we have reduced content consumption to RSS feeds and a few embeds. This is really ashamed. Take a look at Google’s Flip and notice how all these intereting articles are displayed with out any soul or passion. Especially if you compare it to all the magazines on e.g. issuu.com. It seems clear that while we now have effective distribution of stories via rss, blogs and websites, we still lack lots on the design/creative side. Better visual formats. Web-designers and product managers still have lots to learn from quality magasin art direction. A few examples:
- Creating increased emotional impact with clever layouts. Take a magazine like Wired and compare it to wired.com. The magazine manage to create an experience where each article becomes more than just the text. The awesome design and illustrations- write blog post (Where is the innovation in online visual languages?
- Easy content discovery. Magazines managed to create a notion of flow much better than most sites/blogs. Allowing users to enjoy content that the DIDNT know they wanted.
- Make content consumption easier. Reading endless list of text is hard for the eyes and the brain. Magazine design breaks up the design and clever editing allow the user to consume tons of content with out getting tired.
Google Flip = Webdesign vs. Issuu = Magazine design
So here is a new years resolution for product developers and web designers. lets man up, learn/steal/inspire from the magazine guys and create some more compelling and entertaining online experiences and formats.
Here's the most compelling concept work on the future of digital presentation of magazines that I've seen so far: http://tiny.cc/timarit
Unless a man starts afresh about things, he will certainly do nothing effective. Unless a man starts on the strange assumption that he has never existed before, it is quite certain that he will never exist afterwards, I learned about this at a Media training seminary. Unless a man be born again, he shall by no means enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.
Unless a man starts afresh about things, he will certainly do nothing effective. Unless a man starts on the strange assumption that he has never existed before, it is quite certain that he will never exist afterwards, I learned about this at a Media training seminary. Unless a man be born again, he shall by no means enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.