My most enjoyable work at Hearst was in my participation on the iPad version of Elle Magazine. The team was large, and my role was primarily focused on two areas, navigational scheme and creative direction on video and display ad placement within the visual real estate. The body of work in this project was my first effort at UX design optimized for tablets.

 

My work was characterized by the use of native iPad capabilities to make aritcles and ads come alive, and my key contribution was to urge a departure from the traditional paper magazine layout merely applied to digital screen. Examples: we made use of swiping motion and pinches to bring photos and text to the forefront separately, in a turn-based fashion; We separated text and photos to allow for the 'infinite gallery' sliding bar presentation of photos at the bottom of the screen, with thumbnails of all pages inclusive of page numbers. We used the accelerometer to bring audio into what would normally be static visual ads.

The Hearst Corporation and Conde Nast were two important showcases for the versatility and beauty made possible for lifestyle media with the iPad. This product for modern young women was some of my strongest work in storytelling for mobile platforms. A combination of video, text, audio and images resulted in a completely new experience.  Ads became stories, and stories became experiences. 

 

Greater than a dozen versions of Elle Magazine were designed in multiple languages and navigational schemes, to accommodate the media consumption habits of specific cultures.  Intuitive navigation offers a compelling perspective on the future of media consumption.