iPages Ireland Creates Galway Edition of Interactive Digital Magazine with QuarkXPress

LONDON – Quark announced today the availability on the Apple store of iPages Ireland, an innovative interactive tourist magazine by Bullet Design that was created entirely in QuarkXPress.

As a digital interactive magazine, iPages Ireland is a free app for all tourists who want to discover Ireland. The app delivers information about Ireland, county by county, with history, sightseeing hotspots, special activities, accommodations, events listings, and special offers through photos, video and audio files, Web links, maps, and incisive articles. With the tagline, "All you should know before you go!," the first edition focuses on the city of Galway in the West of Ireland and is available as a free download at http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ipages-ireland/id451456358?ls=1&mt=8.
 
With a print design background, Bullet Design leveraged their QuarkXPress expertise to make the most of the new digital design capabilities to create a publication that combines first-class layout with interactivity.

Mike Fitzpatrick at Bullet Design explained, "When we first heard that QuarkXPress was offering the possibility to publish to the iPad we realized that it was a great opportunity for our small design agency to stay on top of the competition. We have been QuarkXPress users since the beginning and have always loved its intuitive yet precise toolset, as well as the flexibility of the cross-media features that Quark has introduced over the years. We did not need to turn to other software applications or hire programmers to get on the iPad and this has meant we can also easily and efficiently offer this service to our clients."

Fitzpatrick continued, "The iPages Ireland Interactive Magazine is our most ambitious project-it has been very exciting to see our ideas take shape first on the QuarkXPress page and then on the iPad. The key for us was not only to entice the readers with beautiful pictures and interesting copy, but also to empower them to take the next step, all within the app. The accommodations section, for example, allows the reader to see pictures of the hotels, watch videos and listen to audio files, but also to visit Web pages, see any online special offers, and contact the premises with just the touch of a finger.

"The current version of our iPages Ireland Magazine is a Lite Edition with 47 pages of information of interest to potential tourists. The full version will be available shortly and will contain even more information and interactive features including Galway's best pubs, restaurants, services, as well details on the world-famous Volvo Ocean Race, which will have Galway as its final port. All of this has been possible thanks to the new easy-to-use Quark App Studio and QuarkXPress 9. I recommend the product to anybody who wants to publish to the iPad quickly and effectively."

Gavin Drake, vice president of marketing at Quark, said, "With QuarkXPress 9 creative professionals across the business spectrum can master precise design and iPad app publishing at affordable prices. With App Studio's intuitive digital design features everyone can create, test, and publish their iPad apps through a simple and cost-efficient process. Whether it is for digital newspapers, magazines, ebooks, or financial reports, QuarkXPress 9 gives designers the versatility they need to compete in the fast-evolving market of digital publishing."

An audio interview with Mike Fitzpatrick at Bullet Design is available for download, courtesy of the Keith Finnegan Show, Galway Bay FM, at http://goo.gl/uEJjC.