Adobe: moment-to-moment publishing is the future

Serving as a prototype that showcases Adobe’s vision for the future of digital publishing, this app aims to re-imagine the mobile experience by enabling readers to access a curated brand experience which combines magazine content and real-time news. Launched in February, Fast Company has quickly been dubbed as “the future of periodicals”, receiving massively positive reviews. 

A constant stream of content is what drives people and engages them

Launching in the summer of 2015, Adobe Publish is the modern, upgraded version of the original DPS. While the latter focused on tablets as a primary consumption device, “it turns out that people really read content on phones”, Green said. Adobe Publish will have three key features: a modern app experience, the possibility of continuous publishing (readers “sip content frequently”, rather than consuming it all at once) and improved management and production. 

This platform will still offer content in the shape of a folio – an issue of a publication comprised of articles – delivered as a very large file to users’ devices, but it will distinguish itself by putting the article first, rather than the issue itself. According to Green, this provides a “content-first reading experience, where you also get to create other types of collections”. Alongside the “browse” page, which displays the latest issue, users can add a “best of” or photography collection, as well as embedding ads and images. A video capability is also on stand-by, to be integrated in the summer. 

The content collections can be perceived as a navigation tool, from categories to sub-categories and finally, individual articles containing extensive information. The navigation function can be controlled and changed within the app itself, with no need to re-build the app entirely and the content display is entirely customised within the Adobe Dashboard, eliminating a need for designers. 

Social sharing is built-in natively on all platforms within Adobe Publish, where users are presented with comprehensive information about an article that was shared, as well as related articles sourced from the collection.

Life was very simple when digital publishing began

At first, the only device was the iPad, but the number of devices available has rapidly multiplied and this on-going process means that Adobe InDesign does not suffice anymore. Adobe Publish offers customers the possibility of unlocking the potential of their existing assets, whether they use InDesign or HTML 5 to showcase content. Furthermore, its APIs are publicly available to be used in order to integrate digital content into the chosen system. 

From an account management perspective, Adobe Publish recognises the importance of being able to buy globally and delegate geographically. Green explained how customers can create roles and grant permission within their business or company by providing individuals with tailored log-ins in order to access specific projects to work on.

Print publishers offer single-issue purchase or a standard subscription and so does the original Adobe DPS. However, Adobe Publish will stand out by offering an “all-access subscription”, where readers can access content for as long as their subscription lasts without worrying about a time-frame or periodically renewing. 

Story by Madalina Ciobanu.

More like this

Free webinar on new, radically new Adobe

Your first step to joining FIPP's global community of media leaders

Sign up to FIPP World x