Note to Magazine Publishers: You Got It Wrong. Design the iPad Edition First; the Printed Edition Last.

When Apple first demo’d the iPad, I was furious— primarily because of their refusal to support the Flash plugin. And while I certainly wasn’t the first to stand in line to buy one, I eventually cooled off and purchased one anyway (about 2 weeks ago).

One of the main reasons I bought mine is that I like the idea of having all of my books and magazines stored digitally, and in one location. No more bulky bookshelves. And probably a lot less trips to Barnes & Noble (which sadly, may become the next “BlockBuster” some day). I can also highlight text that I want to refer to later, and depending on the iPad app, add notations, and more.

So far, other than a limited selection of books and magazines, the iPad hasn’t disappointed me. But one thing I’d like to see— instead of magazine publishers porting over their printed publications, they really need to design and write specifically for the iPad (and other hardware devices like it). Why? Because even though the iPad’s display is very sharp, it still doesn’t compare to high-quality printing. Small details that are beautiful to look at in print, are difficult to appreciate on the iPad. In other words, text and graphics should be resized during the design process, for optimal viewing on a computer display.

Here’s a screenshot of a page taken from Esquire Magazine, as seen via the Zinio app for iPad:

As you can see, subtle background images; lightly colored, fine text; and thin-lined illustrations, just aren’t the same on a digital display.

Tommy Oddo is a web designer and digital artist who lives in Austin, Texas. Entrepreneurs, marketers, and in-house teams hire him to make their websites and digital products more engaging and easier to use. Follow him on: Linkedin, Quora, Twitter, and Facebook. Subscribe to future articles via RSS and/or Email.