It’s hard not to be inspired from others in the community who started with virtually no experience, and end up building really great utilities for the iPad. Roger Wong and his code partner David Wheeler took arms in 2010 to build an iPad app worthy of being featured as an “App of the Week” on the App Store. The year long development process from HTML junkie to a decorated iPad developer has ended with the fruition of DesignScene, the graphic designer’s browser for finding inspiration on the social web. Some would believe this is a new clone of Flipboard, but I’ll be quick to dismiss that having read Roger’s motivational backstory. Hard work pays off, and again I’m reminded of Mike Rundle’s “be curious” recommendation to success.
DesignScene is very cool, and I’ve been personally looking for something that was purely focused on art and discovering new content. Featuring over thirty sites, DesignScene pulls in regularly updated feeds to provide you with the freshest content from around the web.
The interface is interesting because it features an overlay of static tiles (you can’t move or drag them) that are constantly refreshing content. Eight scrollable surfaces enable readers to browse through a multitude of content, with a feed viewer being displayed to the right when the iPad is positioned in the landscape orientation. Surprisingly, this amounts to a very fluid experience where all the action takes place on a single screen: there is no swiping across bounds of pages for content.
The content you find interesting can be presented in fullscreen with a simple tap, and the gallery view presents a way to slide through various works of art in its own feed. You can share the content on Twitter or Facebook, view it in a browser, or email yourself a link for later reading.
A text feed presents an alternative method of finding new content by revealing a web page instead of the gallery. Providing website integration, DesignScene’s built in browser features the same functions as the gallery when inspiration strikes. If you prefer, you can remain in this browser mode and simply fly through the various text items while looking for specific design sources or content.
With great personality, DesignScene presents content in a fast and consumable format that’s perfect for getting the juices flowing. We’re thoroughly impressed from a reviewer’s standpoint that these developers have not only succeeded in their goal of making a convenient way to peruse through a myriad of design sources, but have also made something that’s intuitive and works great with the iPad. Anyone who has a taste for art, modern design, and jaw-dropping creations of all kinds can get inspired with the latest content viewer on the iTunes App Store: DesignScene is $3.99, and you can read more on the app homepage.
