Audiobook Redesign of Michael Vey by Richard Paul Evans Presented by:
Overview Audiobooks have been around for awhile. There are thousands of different books and narrators of the books. There are also thousands of people who listen to those books and in so many situations and locations. Before digital devices listening to an audiobook required a cassette or CD player with stop, start and play buttons. It was not technical to be able to listen to our favorite books. One of the many problems with cassettes and CD s are the portability of the players. An audiobook on your mobile device takes away the problems of mobility that we used to face by only having them on CD s and tapes. Putting audiobooks on mobile devices is convenient and portable, but other problems have been created in this process. I do a lot of driving from place to place everyday and listen to audiobooks frequently during this time. I listen to anything from self-help, fiction, non-fiction and even children s books. I use my phone, my ipod and even my tablet to listen. I find the same problems with the audiobooks no matter which device I am using. There is little consistency no matter which book I listen to of what to expect when I press play. Objectives: In redesigning this audiobook I want to create a better experience for the listener. I want the listener to be able to: easily see the choices, cover art and data that is available. start off where they left off when they last listened design the data and artwork to be easily seen on any device.
Michael Vey by Richard Paul Evans Cover Art I decided to use the original book cover for the cover art that would be recognized on the devices. Artwork is easily recognizible. I think readers easily recognize the covers of the books they like. The only change I made was to move the authors name to the top with the book title. I did this so all the information could be found in one location and the attention could be just two places: the person on the cover and the wording at the top. Original Book Cover art Revised cover for Audiobook DGM 3280 Authoring for Digital Devices
Connecting the dots In building this audiobook one of the most important aspects for me was to organize the chapters. When a CD is imported the chapters are in order, but they are imported with confusing names. My first item to fix was to organize the chapters with their proper names. In the book Michael Vey: Prisoner of Cell 25 the book is organized into four parts, then into chapters. I wanted to be true to the book in my organization of the chapters to lessen the confusion if anyone were to follow along with the book while listening to the audio. Using Audiobook Builder I built each part with their respectable chapters. Making this decision also decided that there would be four files instead of one. I like the idea of one file, but the organization and staying true to the book was more important to me. Using Audiobook builder the organization of the book helps to deliver a consistent look and feel to the chapters, artwork and metadata. [Chapter Display] When an audiobook is imported into itunes, the Chapter selections are displayed and organized like this. It is confusing and hard to determine where you are or where you left off. [Chapter Display redone] The Chapter art and Chapters are displayed in order and are easy to read. It is also easy to choose a chapter and see where you left off.
Michael Vey by Richard Paul Evans Metadata The information that is displayed on screen when the audiobook is playing is called metadata. It was important to me to keep the data consistent with the book. Also, be able to see the display no matter what device the book is being played on. I tested how the data would be displayed on each device: ipad, ipod, iphone and itunes. The data was taken from the book itself and entered in the appropriate fields. I took out of the data that was repeated. I also changed the information slightly to reflect which Part the listener was in. This is the metadata that is entered into itunes. I changed the Chapter numbers to reflect which Part it belonged to. This is a screen shot showing Audiobook Builder and some of the information that is entered in when putting the book together. DGM 3280 Authoring for Digital Devices
Chapter Artwork I used part of the artwork that is found in the book to be the display that will be seen as the book is playing on the device. I decided to use this artwork as it is simple and can easily be read whether it is big or small. I added the blue font to indicate which Part and Chapter number the listener is listening to. How the artwork is displayed on the different devices is shown here. The original chapter artwork is shown then how it is displayed on the ipad, iphone and ipod. No matter which device it is shown on the lettering is easy to read and the listener can quickly see which Chapter and Part they are on. CHAPTER 1 Part 1
Michael Vey by Richard Paul Evans Other Displays The iphone has several screens of menus when choosing an audiobook. Audiobooks are displayed in a menu, then in parts and finally what is actually playing. The screenshots here show the cover art then the Parts that can be chosen. I like the way Michael Vey is displayed: easy to read and determine where you are. The ipod nano uses a similar menu as the iphone. The books are displayed. Even though it is small the Michael Vey cover art can be recognized The chapter selection is easy to see and can be scrolled down using the selection wheel. Notice the Resume on the top. Michael Vey is an m4b file which allows bookmarking. This means when you stop or turn off the device, you are able to resume where you left off when you come back to your DGM 3280 Authoring for Digital Devices