It's been a harrowing week for the New York City region, for certain. Most people have no electricity or heat. There are mile-long queues at gasoline stations. Supplies are increasingly scarce. But there is some good news, a glimmer of hope for those at Joe Zeff Design, app developers and publishers everywhere.
The iPad Mini. It makes magazines smaller. And their potential audiences bigger.
The lines at the Apple Store on launch day were less daunting than those at the gas stations, as a resolute group of consumers lined up for devices they likely won't be able to use until the utility companies restore their power. Working out of our makeshift studio in Montclair, NJ, we were able to get our hands on a few Minis and see how our apps fared on a 7.9-inch screen.
Fast Company for iPad has been our primary concern, as each issue is crammed with content using dangerously small type. We've produced their digital edition for the 10-inch iPad screen, and we were concerned that the Mini would make text illegible. As it turns out, that's not the case. The razor-sharp text enabled by Adobe Digital Publishing Suite and its PDF background layers was quite readable on the smaller screen. Combined with a device that is much less cumbersome than the original iPad, it's an improvement in many ways.
Apologies for the pisspoor photography — it's been a rough week:
It's a shame that Apple did not deploy its Retina-sharp technology, but the light weight of the device makes it much easier to hold closer to the eye. The tradeoff is worth it, as the iPad Mini is a much better fit in a crowded briefcase or purse. Functionally, everything works identically to the way it works on the original iPad. We expect that a year from now, more people will use smaller iPads than larger iPads. For publishers, there's no need to reset the game plan. The only difference: more demand. thus more opportunity.
We also expect that a year from now we'll have our electricity back. More to come soon . . .
Meanwhile . . .
• Folio magazine and the Society of Publication Designers have featured our National Geographic for iPhone launch. National Geographic Creative Director Bill Marr reports a sharp increase in subscriptions already, and the iPhone edition is currently No. 2 in the iTunes Newsstand behind The New York Times. Good news.
• Joe Zeff Design thanks Bob Silver for helping relocate the studio to a temporary location with power. Bob is one of the owners of the Hillside Square complex where our offices are located, and graciously made space available when we outgrew Josh Penrod's living room immediately following the storm. We're best reached at studio@joezeffdesign.com, which finds us here:
Many thanks to Bob and Josh, and the entire JZD team. All have gone to great lengths to keep us up and running. We're currently working on several significant projects, all of which remain on schedule. No small feat. Thanks to all, and best wishes to those who continue to struggle in the aftermath of a devastating storm.