Does Design Really Matter For Digital Publications? How A Design Agency Can Help Get It Right

A growing number of commercial and leisure publications are now switching to digital versions, either to give subscribers a choice of print or digital format, or to migrate entirely to online publication in order to save costs. Downloadable versions of publications have been available for some time, but these are often just PDF versions of the printed magazine. Subscribers frequently find these PDFs awkward to access from mobile devices, and they lack the same navigation features as a purely online publication.

Effective digital design, therefore, clearly requires a different design approach, catered to the devices subscribers use to access digital content. It isn’t sufficient to simply replicate the design of print publications. In this article, we discuss the principles of adapting a print magazine to a digital version while retaining continuity between the two, and the potential role of a digital design agency in aiding the process.

The Growth Of Digital Publications

Digital magazines, journals, and brochures are becoming more and more popular – for a couple of reasons. The first is convenience. People tend to carry their phone with them wherever they go. A digital publication – accessed, for instance, through an app – lets subscribers read their favourite content on the move, without the inconvenience of carrying around a paper magazine. This doesn’t make print publications obsolete, as they still retain great popularity, but offering subscribers a digital OR print, or digital AND print subscription option, may increase market appeal compared to publications that offer fewer choices.

The second reason is sustainability. Consumers are increasingly concerned about the environmental impact of the print industry, both in terms of paper production and the inks used in printing. And the third and final factor is cost. It generally costs a lot less to produce a digital publication than a print version, giving publishers the means of passing on savings to consumers – reversing a trend of print magazines steadily increasing in price year by year – while still making impressive margins.

Design Principles For Digital Publications

The reasons for the growth in popularity of digital publications feed directly into their design considerations, and why digital publications should be different from their print equivalents.

The biggest reason for unique design comes from the consumer demand for publishers to answer the question: ‘why should I purchase your digital publication, rather than your print version?’ Subscribers are looking for something unique, and not a carbon copy of what they’d buy in print. Design should therefore be unique to the digital publication, while still following the same content and brand guidelines. Subscribers should feel they are getting the same depth and quality of content in digital, but with added value user experience as well.

Digital content opens up greater possibilities for immersive user experiences and functions than print publications. It’s easier and faster to search for the information they need, and to skip between sections, for instance. Digital publications can also be integrated more seamlessly with other online content, including websites, e-commerce portals, special offers, and other electronic publications. While retaining the same brand guidelines to keep consistency in your design, digital content makes it possible to include a greater level of personalisation for subscribers, potentially leading to greater customer loyalty and upsell opportunities.

This brings us to the place of design in digital publications. While in print publications, the design comes first, with written and visual content fitted in around the design, this is less so of digital publications. With a digital publication, free from the constraints and expenses of print, you have greater freedom with your design and greater flexibility about the content you include in your publication. This allows you to be less rigid in your layout and the experience you provide, but it also means you shouldn’t get too bogged down in the intricacies of design, and risk losing sight of functionality.

And by functionality we’re not merely talking about interactive features, but about how well your digital publication functions on mobile devices. Ensuring that your design works on all types of mobile device is essential, as this is how most people read digital publications. Ideally, your publication should adapt to different screen sizes automatically, in the same way as a mobile-responsive website, without users of smaller-screen phones missing out on features and content accessible on larger screens.

What Next?

At wk360, we work with a range of e-commerce and marketing businesses to deliver effective digital publications as part of a wider marketing strategy. Our team covers the complete design process, making us fast and easy to work with on a variety of flexible project briefs. To find out more, or to speak with one of our team directly, please don’t hesitate to give us a call.

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