Transforming magazines to the digital world
This was the challenge we got from Dutch publishing house Pijper Media. Pijper Media prints and publishes multiple famous magazines like Playboy, Panorama and Nieuwe Revu. For these three magazines we were asked to create an online experience that fills the gap between print and online.
The assignment and challenge was to create one concept and designsystem that functions like a theme for the multiple brands but still has the possibility to distinguish from eachother. We created a designsystem which can easily be adjusted in lay-out, colors and fonts to give every magazine it’eacs own brand identity.
With this concept we launched a new digital subscription that is available on all of your devices.
ROLE
Designer
CLIENT
Pijper Media
YEAR
2017
TYPE OF WORK
Concept, Design sprint, Interface design
Designed for any device
We researched the current sites, looked for similarities between the magazines and did a questionnaire to get to know the readers. Combining this with the outcome of the designsprint gave us the fundament for the new concept.
For the articles we created a card layout that can vary depending on the type of content or screen size. With this cards we can create sections which represent categories or themes. These sections are used to change the lay-out depending on the editors needs. On the homepage these sections can be swiped horizontally like browsing through a magazine.
From paper to digital
Bringing the articles from the printed magazine to the digital world was a challenge. All the magazines contain a lot of content types like columns, long reads, interviews, reviews and more, but they also vary per magazine.
We created 4 content lay-out options which the editor can choose from to display his or here article the best way possible. The editor can enrich the article with content like images, video’s or slideshows.
Mixing content
Choosing for one concept and design gives the possibility to withdraw articles from a specific magazine and represent it on another magazine website.
Premium articles
Articles from the magazine are available for members. Not a member (yet)? Than you can still read the web articles.
Themes
Introducing a new feature called Themes. A theme is a bundle of content from the same subject or person. You can use it to give much more background information about a topic or create a real time blog.
The design will also be implemented for the brands: Outside, Wieler Revue, Nautique and Golgers Magazine.
User interface
The UI system & library were created with expandability in mind. New colors, materials, features or sections can be added without breaking the structure of the website. The UI simplicity adds a touch of adventure while browsing through articles while remaining a good readability.
