The supposed Chinese proverb, “may you live in interesting times“, is perhaps true for those in  publishing (Newspaper, book and magazine publishers), printing and for that matter graphic design, as we read:

Condé Nast and Adobe collaborate on digital magazine app

Relax News

Saturday, 21 November 2009

Publisher Condé Nast and Adobe Systems are developing a digital-magazine application to be compatible with laptops, netbooks, smart phones, and upcoming electronic slate devices.

Wired magazine, which covers tech news and information, will be the first to adapt the app, which will produce full-color, high-resolution images to replicate the experience of reading a print publication with the convenience of the internet.

This collaboration will bring magazine content into digitalized form for devices available in 2010. The companies hope to create a technology that will be applied to the publisher’s other magazines and adopted throughout the industry.  Read more... (299 words, 1 image, estimated 1:12 mins reading time)

Print has had it’s challenges the last year or two and the  PRINT 09 trade show was no exception in showing us that just earlier this week in Chicago, with less than packed attendance. Yet, let’s face it; nothing beats a high-quality, properly preflighted, prepped and output print advertisement in a known print publication. So, we read here some great tips for both the advertiser as well as graphic designers:

Three Things You Should Know About Print Ads That Sell

Context matters. Many of the ads that drove purchase were of natural interest to the readers of the magazines in which they appeared. Ads for America’s Milk Processors (purchased by 55% of ad readers), Vaseline Clinical Therapy Body Lotion (purchased by 26% of ad readers) and Lipitor (purchased by 18% of ad readers), for instance, all stress wellness and healing, and all appeared in Health magazine. The Discovery Channel’s “Dirty Jobs” ad appeared in Maxim, whose audience is largely male. Let’s face it — dirty jobs may be more interesting to men than women; 21% of ad readers said they watched the show as a result of seeing this ad. So, too, with the James Bond-themed Swatch ad in Wired, another male-oriented title. It was the top ad in the watch category — and I think it’s safe to say that, in general, more men than women wish they were James Bond. Moreover, the TurboTax ad in Us Weekly appeared a mere five weeks before the dreaded April 15 Tax Day — and 27% of ad readers said the ad sparked their purchase.  Read more... (452 words, estimated 1:48 mins reading time)