Showcasing the work of contemporary photographers and film makers, Visura Magazine is an impressive new platform for artists that combines the quiet feel of traditional magazine layout with the ease of a web photo gallery.

Launched in January 2009 and published by FotoVisura, a Brooklyn based visual arts organization that specializes in photography exhibitions and online media, Visura Magazine aims to have a strong presence yet remain quiet to project their contributing artists’ work. The magazine truly captures the feel of a high-end print publication by framing compelling photographs with written articles that are laid out to complement the visual stories.

 The skilled designers at the helm say that QuarkXPress played a pivotal role in the magazine’s creation. Graham Letorney, co-founder of Visura Magazine and FotoVisura, said, “QuarkXPress 8 is the only program that I know of that incorporates professional grade typography and layout with direct web compatibility. It was elemental to bringing our vision to life.”

To bring print standards online, the designers knew that creating text columns for the stories would be crucial. Letorney found HTML to be too linear and designing directly in Flash would not work. When he discovered QuarkXPress 8 it became possible for FotoVisura to create traditional print-type layouts in Flash using the new interactive layout capabilities in QuarkXPress 8.

Letorney says that he was very intrigued by QuarkXPress 8’s Flash story. “It is apparent that Quark had their mind on updating the QuarkXPress user interface, but the functionality is still there and with the click of a button you can create Flash animation.

I absolutely recommend QuarkXPress 8 to designers interested in creating interactive designs. It is the most dynamic way to bring typography and traditional layout to the web. To me, it is a landmark breakthrough in website design possibilities.”