Issuu

Issuu is an intuitive digital publishing platform for magazines, catalogs and magazines. Rated one of the 50 best websites in 2009, it's obvious to see why. They've created a simple and clean framework for individuals to customize to their heart's content. If you thought the magazine and newspaper industry is dying, this very well could change your mind: it's just gone digital.

Their online interface is simple to navigate, with the upload button appearing on each page and most everything else being about inspiration, with constantly changing examples of work recently published. 

The upload process is simple enough, you are able to upload a PDF up to 500 pages, then you are able to drag and drop the pages in an order that suits you. Then its on to being published.

One of the striking features to me was their constantly developing mobile interface, making this a great business tool. They also have integration into your website so the publications are not just restricted to the Issuu site. Many of the digital publishing sites I had experienced previously did not make much of an effort to expand their reach outside of their main site.

While they do argue that there are many other customizable features beyond the drag and drop of the documents, from hyperlinks, logos, image files and Adobe Flash editing, the instructions to do so are rather convoluted and difficult to find. If you're up for a challenge, it seems like an interesting platform to play with the advanced features, but unfortunately there's not much middle ground between the basic and the advanced. 

I am also disappointed in their lack of having interactive media like video in their publications, but I wouldn't be surprised if that wasn't too far off, or if there was an advanced edit that would make that doable. 

Regardless of which route you choose to publish on Issue, the work that has been done is incredibly inspiring. Their clientele is a majority European audience, so don't always expect to know what the text says, but seeing the different takes on publishing is impressive. The user-created groups are a great place to start for inspiration for your own piece. Issuu seems like a wonderful tool for a student wanting to create an eye-catching portfolio, or a business wanting to make an impression with their published materials.