Harpoon Digital Editions

Magazines have not been served well by the web.

PDFs are so unusable it’s almost an insult to a magazine’s reader. Gimmicky page-turning effects are embarrassing. Magazines behind app paywalls can be better, but nobody is ever going to find them.

Which is why Harpoon has spent years developing Digital Editions, a set of tools to make magazine publishing work on the open web using the Shorthand platform.

We believe Shorthand is the world’s premier tool for the efficient production of beautiful, engaging web pages. And if you don’t have a Shorthand plan in place, we can get you started with no long-term contract.

KEY FEATURES

Rich magazine cover

Arrive at a cover that truly reflects the feel of a magazine experience, with striking media, minimal text and an impactful coverline.

Rich magazine cover

Arrive at a cover that truly reflects the feel of a magazine experience, with striking media, minimal text and an impactful coverline.

Thumb-swipe navigation

Harpoon's own mobile-optimised navigation means it's easier than ever for readers to engage with your whole project. When a reader starts to scroll back towards the top of a page, a navigation appears to encourage onward engagement.

Thumb-swipe navigation

Harpoon's own mobile-optimised navigation means it's easier than ever for readers to engage with your whole project. When a reader starts to scroll back towards the top of a page, a navigation appears to encourage onward engagement.

Templates & modules

We will design the first edition of your magazine to match your style and structure of choice. If preferred, we can hand the templates to you for in-house production of future editions and offer training in how to make the most of them.

Templates & modules

We will design the first edition of your magazine to match your style and structure of choice. If preferred, we can hand the templates to you for in-house production of future editions and offer training in how to make the most of them.

Tooltip layer

Communicate directly with readers and help direct their engagement with optional tooltips on first page load.

Tooltip layer

Communicate directly with readers and help direct their engagement with optional tooltips on first page load.

CASE STUDY

We produced the Quidnunc as an example of what could be achieved with a Harpoon Digital Edition. We wanted it to be:

Highly visual
Easy to use on mobile
Feel like a magazine

EXAMPLE

We produced the Quidnunc as an example of what could be achieved with a Harpoon Digital Edition. We wanted it to be:

Highly visual
Easy to use on mobile
Feel like a magazine

The clean and bold cover page invites readers into an authentic magazine experience, with clear onward navigation.

Then our thumb-swipe navigation appears just when readers want it, and gives them options to go to the previous or next stories, or to see the full contents.

MORE USE CASES

Alumni / membership magazines

Keep your community engaged and deliver cutting-edge digital communications that reflect your institution's own standards for excellence.

Live event programmes

From theatre performances to match-day guides, keep attendees informed and engaged with a media-rich, interactive programme which can be downloaded before the event, and enjoyed in perpetuity as a souvenir.

Cookbooks / recipe banks

Ever tried following a recipe on your phone while cooking? It can be a messy business. But with digital editions, all you need is one thumb to easily navigate step-by-step, supported by rich multimedia.

ALSO INCLUDED:

Try out our sample magazines

Below are live versions of two magazine samples using the Digital Editions functionality. The Quidnunc demonstrates a more comprehensive digital magazine execution while Harpoon International showcases how our side-swiping contents page could be used to deliver a more concise collection of articles.