The October issue of Milwaukee Magazine was a WOW! It is, if you have tried it with your mobile devices.
Basically, this special issue is a traditional magazine for traditional readers plus an interactive magazine with augmented reality for emerging media fans. A collaborative work between Quad/Graphics Inc. and Milwaukee Magazine enabled this front-to-back issue through the app Actable™. With the app installed, you can use your mobile device to scan each page of the magazine and experience one WOW moment after another as you go through the pages. You will see printed pictures of the editor talking alive on the page, you will see a fabulous watch popping out of the page in a rotating 3D image, you will take a tour in houses on sale...
I had the luck to hear from the editor in chief in person about the whole project. Behind the WOW effects that we see, there were a lot of hard work and creative ideas as well as technology that had made this "Harry Potter moment" became true. As a magazine, they needed to keep catering to their subscribed readers which means they can't totally change it into something else. Therefore, the magazine is still a magazine itself as ever. But to infuse new life into a so-called dying print industry, they created the augmented reality to this magazine and made it a hot piece among not only readers but also within the industry. Not anymore shall the readers be bored of the limited and static content of a print publication, not anymore shall the readers take the extra time to google for the item they see from a print ad, not anymore shall the advertisers worry about how to pack useful information into one (or 1/4) of a page size... This interactive magazine shows us so many possibilities of how wild we dare to think and do!
One thing I want to highlight is the technology used to make this happen. The content should be coded into the app so that when we scan the pages the app will be able to read it and enable the interaction. According to Ms. Cristina Daglas, the editor in chief for the Milwaukee Magazine, they encountered many problems trying to input the content into the app. A major challenge is contrast. The app depends on reading the contrast within a page to recognize each page, so they had to pay extra attention when designing the layout. If you read carefully into the details, you would find there are shapes and letters that are specially designed to create better contrast on a page. But it was still challenging for them to code the football player's portrait into the app as the hue of the image was too similar and did not offer much contrast. It is indeed a tough question to keep the magazine work both traditionally as a print and innovative as a new media.
Basically, this special issue is a traditional magazine for traditional readers plus an interactive magazine with augmented reality for emerging media fans. A collaborative work between Quad/Graphics Inc. and Milwaukee Magazine enabled this front-to-back issue through the app Actable™. With the app installed, you can use your mobile device to scan each page of the magazine and experience one WOW moment after another as you go through the pages. You will see printed pictures of the editor talking alive on the page, you will see a fabulous watch popping out of the page in a rotating 3D image, you will take a tour in houses on sale...
I had the luck to hear from the editor in chief in person about the whole project. Behind the WOW effects that we see, there were a lot of hard work and creative ideas as well as technology that had made this "Harry Potter moment" became true. As a magazine, they needed to keep catering to their subscribed readers which means they can't totally change it into something else. Therefore, the magazine is still a magazine itself as ever. But to infuse new life into a so-called dying print industry, they created the augmented reality to this magazine and made it a hot piece among not only readers but also within the industry. Not anymore shall the readers be bored of the limited and static content of a print publication, not anymore shall the readers take the extra time to google for the item they see from a print ad, not anymore shall the advertisers worry about how to pack useful information into one (or 1/4) of a page size... This interactive magazine shows us so many possibilities of how wild we dare to think and do!
One thing I want to highlight is the technology used to make this happen. The content should be coded into the app so that when we scan the pages the app will be able to read it and enable the interaction. According to Ms. Cristina Daglas, the editor in chief for the Milwaukee Magazine, they encountered many problems trying to input the content into the app. A major challenge is contrast. The app depends on reading the contrast within a page to recognize each page, so they had to pay extra attention when designing the layout. If you read carefully into the details, you would find there are shapes and letters that are specially designed to create better contrast on a page. But it was still challenging for them to code the football player's portrait into the app as the hue of the image was too similar and did not offer much contrast. It is indeed a tough question to keep the magazine work both traditionally as a print and innovative as a new media.
Personally, I think prints with augmented reality will be popularized in the near future. It is not only a savior for the print industry, it is also a great tool for the audience. No matter the audience wants to read it as a print or play with it for more interaction, the magazine satisfies their need. More importantly, people are now bombarded with all kinds of information from the internet, and it becomes hard to compare and select useful information for oneself sometimes. But with a subscription that they favor, they can receive hard copies of the information as well as direct link to the right source online. I can picture myself subscribing to the October Milwaukee Magazine which covers information about best local places, and 3 months later going back to scan the restaurant that I always wanted to go but never remembered the name and address. It does not require a keyword to search, and it offers information just like an online website, but only more touchable and accessible within your house.
There are some features that I am interested to see in the future for augmented reality prints. First, like or save a page/link on the magazine so that I can go back to it whenever I want. Second, multi--interactive-points for one content so that I can choose to view any or all of them according to my interest. Third, or maybe even categories of ads that I can choose from to view to make my personalized version of the magazine ads.
Surely, there is a long way to go for this new media infant, and there will be a lot of challenges for the print, the advertisers, and the audience. But I believe things will be made more personalized and it will be easier to reach the right audience with the information they want with all the creative ideas and technological
References:
Interview with Quad Graphics and Milwaukee Magazine: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kb17czHQS_s
Image: http://www.nixon.com/press/6547/
There are some features that I am interested to see in the future for augmented reality prints. First, like or save a page/link on the magazine so that I can go back to it whenever I want. Second, multi--interactive-points for one content so that I can choose to view any or all of them according to my interest. Third, or maybe even categories of ads that I can choose from to view to make my personalized version of the magazine ads.
Surely, there is a long way to go for this new media infant, and there will be a lot of challenges for the print, the advertisers, and the audience. But I believe things will be made more personalized and it will be easier to reach the right audience with the information they want with all the creative ideas and technological
References:
Interview with Quad Graphics and Milwaukee Magazine: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kb17czHQS_s
Image: http://www.nixon.com/press/6547/