Digital magazine previewed at SXSW

AUSTIN (KXAN) - On day four of SXSW Interactive, WIRED Magazine previewed the digital version of their magazine set to go on sale this summer for tablet computers such as the iPad .

In the Adobe-sponsored panel “After Magazines: WIRED’s Digital Rebirth,” the creative director of WIRED, Scott Dadich, started by expressing his concerns about how much is often lost in transitioning print-intended design into web content.

Everything from images to typeface often lose their beautiful design because of web standards and variants in interface.

WIRED magazine’s new digital version goes beyond simple web page design or even PDF layouts to bring a new dimension to traditional magazine design.

In Monday’s live demonstration, Dadich featured expandable content and interactive images that included full rotation, zoom, and scrolling capabilities.

One of the most impressive features highlighted was the two separate layouts that can be viewed for each spread. Depending on whether the tablet is being held in portrait or landscape orientation, the layout the reader sees is specifically designed for that view.

In some layouts, the elements are rearranged, and in others, the images are swapped out entirely to maintain WIRED’s award-winning design flow.

As with most media, this technology also provides another platform to increase ad revenue, but these ads are made more enjoyable—even entertaining—through interactivity.

In a time when so many print publications and newspapers are closing their doors, WIRED is expanding in another dimension that will bring new life to this cutting-edge publication.

The future of publications looks a lot brighter now with the rise in popularity of these tablets.