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Daily iPad App: Artogram features beautiful artwork from illustrators in e-cards
There are several e-card programs for iOS, as well as Apple's Cards app for generating physical cards, but I love the offerings in Arctic Whiteness' Artogram. The developers behind this app solicited illustrators to contribute a number of e-card designs. They range from the simple and elegant to very quirky. The app is easy to use. Select a card, add and style text by changing the font and color. Then share it via email, MMS, Facebook or Twitter (iOS 5 required for Twitter.) The resulting card I sent to a close friend looked great in the Gmail web browser, Apple's Mail and Postbox. The eyedropper tool for changing colors is a bit unwieldy, but I tend not to change the text color that much anyhow. I would also love to see the ability to print these cards like you can with the Cards app. I would be proud to pay a bit more to physically gift this card to someone. The basic app sells for US$2.99 and offers six cards each from illustrator. You can purchase an additional six to seven cards from each illustrator for 99 cents. It can be used on the iPhone, but it really shines on the iPad. What makes this app worth every penny is the support for independent artists. I love seeing beautifully done apps that promote artists, and the proceeds benefit the illustrators as much as the developers.
Put yourself in the picture with PixyMe
Do you remember the personalized movies that had been showing up in your email a while back? The one that sticks in my mind was a 'get out the vote' video the Obama campaign sent out a month before the presidential election. The story told by the video was that Obama lost by just one vote and it was you, whoever you are. You name was smoothly integrated into about a dozen places in the narrative. It was a real attention getter. PixyMe (US $1.99) brings a static version of this technology to your iPhone or iPod touch. This beautifully designed and rendered app lets you incorporate any name or short phrase seamlessly into an eCard or postcard, appearing as though it were part of the photograph. The resulting personalized photo can be either emailed, sent to Facebook, saved in your photo album, or sent as a high-quality physical postcard to any address in the world. It works remarkably well, as you can see from the picture on the right and the gallery below. It's unfortunate that this app has the all too common problem of dropping you into the fray with scant instructions. That would be okay for a simple one-trick-pony, but this app is fairly complex and has functions that need explanation. There is an info screen at the end of all the options, but all it gives you are the raw basics and a link to get to the PixyMe site. What you probably don't know is that on the site is a great introduction and all the information you need to get started quickly in a video tour. You can view it at the end of this post. I feel that this video should be incorporated into the app or directly linked to rather than dropping you at the site. That's my only complaint. The rest of the app is a delight.
