Adobe Digital Publishing Suite Consulting for Scientific American

DPCI provided Adobe DPS training services to help Scientific American staff create interactive iPad applications for Scientific American and Scientific American Mind magazines.

  • Scientific American Slide 1
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Founded in 1845, Scientific American is the longest continuously published magazine in the US and is the leading popular source and authority on science, technology, and innovation. The magazine’s award-winning scientist-authored content engages, educates and inspires current and future generations of curious citizens and public and private sector leaders. Scientific American Mind, a bi-monthly magazine also from the publishers of Scientific American, is aimed at inquisitive adults who are passionate about knowing more about how the mind works.

Scientific American management was looking to expand its offering for current and future readers with a tablet edition of the magazine. Management selected the Adobe Digital Publishing Suite (DPS) Enterprise Edition along with Adobe InDesign to create a rich, interactive version of Scientific American for subscribers to view on the Apple iPad. DPCI was retained to provide Adobe DPS consulting services to help prepare creative staff members for the launch of the premiere iPad application.

To kick off the engagement, DPCI met with the Scientific American Digital team to elicit design requirements and help define how the organization could utilize Adobe InDesign and Adobe DPS to present the magazine content in a rich, interactive format. DPCI then prepared for the onsite training, incorporating Scientific American’s interactivity goals into the training exercises.

Next, DPCI provided designers with Interactive Design training using Adobe InDesign and the DPS toolset. DPCI trainers presented creative staff with the tools they needed to enrich their designs with overlays like Videos, Slideshows and Buttons as well as DPS best practices for digital design and folio optimization. To wrap-up the training session, DPCI worked alongside the designers to ensure they knew how to compose the interactive elements and folio files independently.

After success with the first Scientific American app, management decided to bring a second publication, Scientific American Mind (SA Mind) to the iPad. DPCI provided additional Interactive Design training for SA Mind staff members on the creation of interactive elements for the digital publication.

Scientific American launched Scientific American on the iPad Newsstand in 2012 followed by Scientific American Mind in early 2013. The tablet editions captivate readers with all of the editorial content from the print editions plus interactive features and video created using Adobe InDesign and the Adobe Digital Publishing Suite.