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Flat design isn’t for everyone and some will say it’s overly simplistic. However, as you look around you, there’s a world that wants to stay simple and yet be heard.
This trend is driven by smaller, emerging companies eager to get their name out and connect with younger audiences. You know, the ones who are sometimes a little too engrossed by their tablets and won’t notice a massive billboard hanging over their head with the word “BANANA” on it. I’m just making this up, but you’ll definitely see me crack up on the side of word if that happened.
From Print to Digital
Yours truly here, InPrint Magazine, is a perfect example of how it is possible to combine a magazine-looking publication into a format that loses nothing in the translation to digital. Tablets are the perfect support to view such a magazine, with its quick page-turning mechanism (yes, I’m talking to you finger-swiper) and gazillioncolor graphics. Virtually every print publication has been forced (or not) to add a digital edition to their editorial offering, and in some cases, completely forgo their print rollout in favor of digital only - Newsweek being the most recent and famous case. You will always have newspaper and magazine purists and the physical texture and smell of paper still has its charms. However, the move to digital has pushed editors to offer more content with diversity and volume being the main driving forces, which in turn has allowed them to expand their reader bases and save money on printing costs in the same process. That said, this is a transitioning trend and many print establishments are still barely just carrying over their print edition into a digital format without too much thought as to how to optimize the technology. In other words, they are basically scanning the pages of their magazine and throwing them into a glorified PDF. A great example of what a digital magazine should look like is the online retail store NET-A-PORTER.COM - and its male counterpart MRPORTER.COM. Visiting their website, you can browse through their fashion magazine, which looks a lot like an issue of Vogue or Marie-Claire without the pesky ads (alleluia!) and when you find a piece of clothing that you fancy, you can click on it right from the “magazine” and you will be able to shop for it right
there and then without leaving your seat. See this trend popping up everywhere near you very soon, especially on e-commerce based websites.
What’s Next
Designers will never stop racking their brains and pencils/mice to find ways to offer a better, more efficient user experience but these trends are a good place to start when discussing your next project with your clients. But keep this in mind: Bigger, Bolder, and Cleaner is what advertisers and customers alike are looking for today. I can’t wait to see how it unfolds in the next few years as technology keeps improving and top designers keep turning everything they touch into gold. The Mayans got it right: 2013 is the first year into the age of Enlightenment.
February 2013
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