The USC Dornsife College of Letter, Arts and Sciences released an augmented reality (AR) application in the latest issue of its magazine, USC Dornsife Magazine. AR technology allows printed pieces to seamlessly include videos, slideshows, music and images virtually.

USC Dornsife is one of the first educational institutions to utilize an AR app. Publications such as The Atlantic Monthly, Time and USA Today already are regularly using them.

AR apps work like this: Readers download the application on their smartphone or tablet. Usually there are icons throughout the printed piece that alert readers to extra content. Readers then open the app and hold their device over the printed page to scan for the content.

From a USC press release:

By integrating augmented reality into USC Dornsife Magazine, written features in the magazine take on a whole new life — bonus features add new dimensions to storytelling and make use of content that is already being produced for the publication and for the USC Dornsife College website. For instance, using the USC Dornsife AR App a story about a summer program in Taiwan is supplemented with a video about students’ learning experiences abroad; coverage of a USC Dornsife College sociology class is accompanied by a 60-second seminar on a key concept from the course; and an article on an alumna’s cookbook calls up a recipe from it. All together 14 bonus features are included in the Fall 2012/Winter 2013 issue of USC Dornsife Magazine.

Do you see AR applications taking off? Do you think they could take over QR Codes?

Alexa Schlosser
Managing Editor
Print Solutions