Betterbook

Open Air Publishing was a digital publisher focused on how-to books founded shortly after the release of the iPad. It was sold to Inkling in 2013.

Digital Books

Speakeasy Cocktails was designed and developed entirely by myself in the span of a few months with the CEO (as editor) and a freelance writer. It was acknowledged by Apple as one of its best apps for the 2011 year.

For subsequent titles we developed a series of tools to convert content to XML/HTML markup. I developed a design system in SASS that allowed us to quickly skin each book while maintaining a consistent look and feel with minimal customizations.

I designed infographics for many of the titles and art directed photography and illustration.

Photography Art Direction with editor Alison Go

All titles were produced on the Inkling platform, with additional titles published as Apple iBooks and EPUBs. The Inkling platform offered unique interactive elements for an enhanced learning experience, while iBooks and EPUBs offered us reach into existing markets. During the two years of production, we built a robust workflow that allowed us to quickly produce books with a nimble team.

Open Air book production process and workflow graph — Open Air developed a process and workflow to streamline the book production process

Branding

After its initial release under Open Air Publishing, the titles were eventually put into two separate brands. Betterbook was geared toward cooking, drinking, new pet owners and those interested in learning new crafts. Ready, Set, Baby! was for expecting parents. I led the design for both systems.

Each brand had a cover system, icons, and typographic specifications.

Open Air team: CEO Jon Feldman, CTO Amir Cohen, Junior Designer and Developer David Rhoderick, product managers Alison Go, Sarah Raymond, and Laura Turner Garrison, and project coordinators Dani Aaron and Nina Stoller-Lindsey