The Lightwave Blog

Posted by Stephen Hardy

Those of you who receive Lightwave magazine may be interested to learn that we're in the process of redesigning it. This will be our first major face-lift since 2004.

The redesign will focus particularly on the digital edition of the publication. (The link is to the current version, by the way -- we're still working on the new one.) That's because we think that we have the opportunity to marry the best of print and online within the electronic version of the magazine. From the print world, we'll keep the attractive, full-page layout of articles that makes them easy to read. To this end, one thing we'll do within the redesign is minimize the number of times articles jump from one part of the magazine to another. This will make the articles easier to follow -- and easier to print out and take with you, if you'd still prefer to read them in paper format.

But we'll also leverage the capabilities of a digital format. We'll add links at the end of our articles that will make additional information resources available to you with a single click of your mouse. We'll also add video and animation capabilities. For example, we hope to add brief "newscasts" to the "Update" section that will fill you in on the important events that occurred between the time our deadlines forced us stop writing and the time you receive your digital edition. We also hope to be able to replace some static photos and figures with animation that will provide a clearer understanding of whatever point we're trying to illustrate. (This animation JDSU supplied for our Optical Equipment Design Center might be an example of something we'd use in our "Product Profiles.") Naturally, we'll also look to include some of the video and other multimedia features you can find right now on our website.

In short, our goal is make Lightwave an even more useful tool for you than it is now. If you're getting the print edition, you'll still benefit from the redesign -- but I urge you to consider switching to the digital edition to get the full benefits of our beefed up, multimedia coverage of the optical communications market.

We plan to unveil the new-look Lightwave this January. That means there's time for you to offer suggestions on how we can shape the publication to better meet your needs. Have an idea? Email me using the link above or offer a comment below. We'd love to hear from you.