Esquire’s December 2009 Augmented Reality Issue

In an attempt to stave off their own demise (along with the rest of the print industry, sadly), Esquire is banking on the popularity of Augmented Reality by adding various markers to the upcoming December issue.  On the cover is an AR marker (shown) that will show Robert Downey Jr appearing and “offering half-improvised shtick on Esquire’s latest high-tech experiment for keeping print magazines relevant amid the digital onslaught.”.  But that’s not all:

On the page is Esquire’s regular men’s fashion spread, while on the screen, the model is pelted by a computer-animated snow storm. Granger gives the page a quarter rotation, the weather turns sunny and the model starts throwing on summer clothes.

The magazine’s regular “Funny Joke from a Beautiful Woman,” feature gets a new twist from actress Gillian Jacobs in a gray nighty. She’ll tell a second, “dirtier” joke should readers return after midnight.

via Esquire’s December 2009: Augmented Reality Issue With 3-D Animation.

About the Author: Randall Hand

Randall Hand is a visualization scientist working for a federal research lab, aiding researchers to discover the insights buried within their terabyte datasets generated on some of the most powerful supercomputers in the world. He also runs VizWorld.com .

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