New Pixels and Motion division will help graphic arts companies, publishers, and brand owners produce interactive content on tablets and smartphones 
 
Palo Alto, CA - Renowned color workflow consultancy Rods and Cones today announced Pixels and Motion, a new division focused exclusively on content publishing for tablets and smartphones. The new venture will help clients find the best publishing solution, provide expert training, and offer creative services in developing compelling interactive content.
 
“Tablets and smartphones are the fastest growing media platform today, but very few companies know how to create engaging mobile content for their constituents,” said Rods and Cones co-founder Erica Aitken. “Our successful, consultative approach to color workflow is the perfect model for clients to learn this new medium—and put it into practice.”
 
The Pixels and Motion team will enable their clients to use existing page layout and design tools, like QuarkXPress, Adobe InDesign, and other Creative Suite applications, to create interactive apps for iOS or Android platforms—to be sold in the App Store or Google Play, or for internal distribution. In addition to live and online training, the division will also create apps for clients, using app development platforms like Quark’s App Studio (www.appstudio.net) and other mobile publishing environments.
 
We’ve Got the Tools; We’ve Got the Talent
 
Pixels and Motion will work with clients of many kinds, including brand owners and marketing groups, as well as traditional publishers, print service providers, and design firms. Beginning with the client’s basic knowledge of QuarkXPress or InDesign, the hands-on instruction will focus on:

• Adding interactive overlays, such as slideshows and galleries, pop-ups, links, and intuitive navigation elements;
• Working with audio and video elements—both embedded and streaming;
• Creating interactive ads;
• Embedding HTML5 objects, including animation;
• Creating and uploading apps, and working with distribution platforms like the iOS App Store and Google Play.  

“Teaching our clients to use their existing tools and talent is just the beginning,” Aitken said. “Our trainers are in the perfect position to help companies take full advantage of this new revolution in publishing.”
 
Proactive Approach
 
Rods and Cones is a founding member of the pioneering Color Management Group (www.colormanagementgroup.com). Since 1996, Rods and Cones has provided workflow systems and technical services for advertising and graphic agencies, photo studios, prepress services agencies, print providers, and in-house creative groups. Most recently, the company began publishing its own interactive iPad magazine, Out of Chaos, an industry quarterly about color management and process control for printers, graphic and advertising agencies, and corporate creative departments.