Why I Need - Um - Want An Ipad

I will be the first to admit I'm a recovering Apple addict. I owned every iPhone ever made, most of the iPods, and many of the laptops. I have an iPod in both of my cars and one on my nightstand. Steve Jobs should dedicate a room in his home to me - I've virtually paid to furnish it over the years. The good news is my therapist says I'm making great progress.

I work with them, play with them, and think they are all-round awesome, but the iPad's advent failed to impress. As a power-user (and most critically, an arts-fartsy designer) I'm not sure that I want or need a computer that does limited tasks. So, I shrugged it off as something my grandmother could use (literally).

That is, until I prepped for a meeting with a potential client. Presentations are tricky business. Usually it involves me speaking with 2 or 3 people in a small room and they all begin with me showing them limited samples of our work and how we creatively solved unique problems for our customers. I have always believed that our company's best marketing tool is our portfolio and have worked to ensure everything that leaves our studio is something we would be proud to show to anyone.

The problem is not our materials - we have a vast collection - the problem is the presentation. Usually groups are small enough to show via a laptop and that creates 3 issues.

1. Aesthetics
It also doubles as a backup work computer so I have projects up and, much like my desk, clutter is everywhere. Before meetings, I have to neaten everything, reboot to ensure it does not lag, and then get the designs ready.

2. Timing
It is hard to read facial expressions and non-verbal cues as I give my shpeel to know if I am going too fast, boring, or showing the right material that interests them. As I play this high-stakes guessing game, I usually ask questions that help me know if I am on track or not. But it still is a crapshoot and the correspondence course I took on reading minds did not help at all.

3. Participation
A person talking at you with a laptop is just like the thousands of presentations they have endured before. I try to keep it interesting, but let's face it: you can only be so captivating.

Showing our previous work is integral but boring them is not. Hence the iPad.

All I have to do is load a custom image gallery with our work categorised into the iPad and hand it to client. Suddenly they have a beautiful, shiny 103 screen (aesthetics) that does exactly what they want it to do (participation). If they are tired of looking at a certain design, they can skip forward (timing).

The iPad has a brilliant user interface so it would not take long for a client to get a handle on maneuvering through it. Selecting a gallery, swiping to the next slide, and pinching to zoom in and out is all they will need to do. As a client peruses our work, I can give a narrative when necessary. Most importantly, when they are bored and have seen enough, they control when it is over by putting it down.

So, that is my excuse on why I absolutely need an iPad. While I probably need to schedule a few more visits with my therapist, I truly think it will work. What do you say? What is your excuse for getting an iPad?

By: William H. Stewart

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William Stewart is the Creative Director for a Greenville SC web design and marketing company called Left Brain, Right Brain.