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Digital User Experience (UX) design agency, ustwo™ was chosen by Distill Magazine, digest of the world’s best fashion and style magazines, to create its latest issue exclusively as an iPhone application.
The brief was to build the simplest but most robust magazine reader in the market whilst capturing the essence of Distill Magazine brand and experience. The main challenge was making sure the finished app was a highly functional easy-to-use mobile product.
ustwo™ focused on factors including the tactility of the swipe across the screen to create seamless navigation through each page of the magazine, as well as the speed at which the content was displayed on screen. This process had to be as intuitive as possible whilst utilising the power of the device itself.
There are two versions of the Application in the App store – a free and premium version (which is £2.99). You have the same App in each case, however the free App can access only one photoshoot per category within the menu structure – given the App is all about images, I’d suggest that if you are a fan of Distill, then you should probably buy the App.
I’ve checked out the free App and some of the photography is stunning – and it’s easy to navigate about – on that basis, I’d say it was ‘mission accomplished’ for both ustwo™ and Distill.
About The Author
Ben Robinson
Ben is a 10+ year veteran of the Mobile industry – starting his career when SMS was a still a relatively new concept for most people (!), he has now consulted on everything from bleeding-edge Mobile content, to the next-gen accessories you might view it on. As a result he has a broad and deep knowledge in numerous areas of Mobile – from network operators to device vendors, to infrastructure and middleware vendors (not to mention content delivery) – and has worked for companies in all of these areas! He is based in the UK, a hotbed of activity for mobile, and recently became a father for the second time – as oppose to in his younger years when he was happy spend time tweaking all manner of mobile devices to 'nth' degree, he now looks for services and hardware that provide the most efficient, compact, and reliable improvements to his already manic life! It’s his opinion that Mobile solutions should be there to help to make your life better – if a particular solution (be it service or device) isn’t doing this, he believes you need to ask the very important question of why you continue to use it... His focus at IntoMobile is mainly on Mobile content, services, and infrastructure, particularly as regards the UK market – and with the occasional look at devices. Additionally, using his extensive experience in the industry, he will provide commentary on the industry at large, with regular (and hopefully thought-provoking) articles.
