I’m a Make Magazine subscriber, and I enjoy getting each issue delivered to my doorstep, but one of the advantages of being a subscriber is also getting the digital edition, which is available online as well as a downloadable PDF file. I’ve viewed the PDF on my desktop, and my laptop, but the experience of reading it on the iPad is really good. Since I find myself doing so much reading on the iPad, having my favorite magazine there (the most recent issue, as well as back issues) is convenient, and provides a great user experience.

The experience of getting the digital edition of Make Magazine though, is nothing short of painful… Make (like many other magazines) provides it’s digital edition through a service called Coverleaf. The Coverleaf web site lets you read the magazines you subscribe to, including past issues-which is great-but I continually experience problems with the web site. For instance, I’ve tried reading an older issue of Make, only to be asked to login or verify my account every time I clicked to the next page (which doesn’t happen every time, but has happened more than once.) I’ve also tried to download files only to be greeted by a “The document you are looking for cannot be found” dialog box, and even though I’ve never sent a “clipping” to a friend, I get a repeated warning that says “Send to A Friend Limit Exceeded. You are only allowed to share access to an issue with 10 friends. You have reached the limit for this issue.”

So while we’re moving forward in making digital editions better, Coverleaf still has a long way to go in providing a good user experience. I’m thankful for the service they offer, but also know it could be so much better…

The work of Z2 Marketing is featured in a new book titled “Basics Design: Design Thinking” from UK author Gavin Ambrose.

Here’s a short description of the book: “Basics Design: Design Thinking is an introduction to the process of generating creative ideas and concepts. It identifies methods and thought processes used by designers in order to start the process that eventually leads to a finished piece of work. This focus on ideas and methods eschews an abstract, academic approach in favor of a useable approach to design as a problem-solving activity.”

(You can order it at Amazon.)