Quark announced today the preview release of Quark DesignPad, a new app for aspiring designers that helps them explore the fundamentals of grid-based design and create professional-looking artwork from a mobile device. Using simple multi-touch gestures, Quark DesignPad allows design neophytes to experiment with different layouts. Users start with pre-defined grid-based designs for standard document types such as ads, posters, newsletters, and brochures and can then interactively customize the layouts. Quark DesignPad enables design students and long-time professionals alike to start a design on-the-go, share it on Twitter, by email, or further develop it in QuarkXPress® 9.

The Quark DesignPad Preview app is free to download from the App Store: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/quark-designpad/id551786067?ls=1&mt=8. Users are encouraged to share their feedback on http://forums.quark.com.

Gavin Drake, Vice President of Marketing at Quark, said, “At Quark we are always looking at innovative ways to make graphic design accessible to the whole spectrum of creative professionals –  be it a long-time print designer looking to break through in the digital arena without having to learn to code, or a student approaching desktop publishing for the first time. Now with Quark DesignPad everyone can get real hands-on experience creating grid-based designs to create a variety of document types, making it a valuable teaching aid for the education sector. At the same time, Quark DesignPad is a useful tool for experienced creative professionals to start a design on the go and finalize it on their computer using QuarkXPress 9.

“We are looking forward to hearing from the design community on this new approach to grid-based design and we invite designers, students and teachers to send us their feedback to make Quark DesignPad the essential iPad app for creative professionals.”

Quark DesignPad Preview’s features include:

• Pre-defined grid-based layout types such as ads, posters, newsletters, and brochures
• Slider controls to adjust the layout including columns, rows, text, and picture areas
• ‘Randomize layouts’ option
• Text control including fonts, color, and inset position
• Color and opacity control on boxes and frames
• Copy and paste functionality for inputting text directly into the layout
• Choice between pictures on the iPad or an online selection of free stock photos
• Supports both US and international document sizes with selectable units of measure
• Guides switch (on/of)
• Customizable number of columns and rows, text and picture areas, caption positions and more
• Option to save custom layouts for future reuse
• Swipe-and-pinch functionality to position, crop, and resize pictures
• Option to add background images as well as floating text and image boxes
• Email and Tweet functionality to send designs to colleagues and friends directly from the iPad
• Ability to create a QuarkXPress 9 version of the layout for even greater control to complete the design

For more information on Quark DesignPad please visit www.quark.com/en/products/designpad

DesignPad can be downloaded for free from http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/quark-designpad/id551786067?ls=1&mt=8.

To download DesignPad’s User Guide, please visit http://www.quark.com/pdfs/QuarkDesignPad_Guide_US_Web.pdf.

To provide feedback, ask questions and converse with other users, users can visit forums.quark.com and enter the new DesignPad forum.