Screenshot of a prototype for Elsevier's Article of the Future project.

Elsevier introduces prototypes designed to make articles more useful to its customers

Elsevier’s “Article of the Future” project is part of an ongoing collaboration with the scientific community to redefine how a scientific article is presented online. The project has now introduced its first two prototypes. They present articles in a non-linear structure, with multimedia features and enhanced graphical navigation. By clicking on tabs, you can navigate easily between article components, viewing the introduction, results, figures, references, comments and other sections in any order. You can find graphics and multimedia in a single section as well as within the text, accessing more information by scrolling over an image.

The prototypes were developed by the editorial, production and IT teams at Cell Press in collaboration with Elsevier’s User Centered Design group, using content from two previously published Cell articles. They take full advantage of online capabilities, allowing readers individualized entry points and routes through content, while exploiting the latest advances in visualization techniques.

Emilie Marcus, Editor-in-Chief of Cell Press, said: “The genesis of the ‘Article of the Future’ project came from a challenge to redesign from scratch how to most effectively structure and present the content of a traditional scientific article in an online environment. The rapid pace of technological advancements means this will undoubtedly be an evolving design, but we’re happy to be able to address some key reader and author pain points, such as the integration of supplemental data with these initial prototypes.”

“Together with the Elsevier Grand Challenge, the ‘Article of the Future’ project forms part of Elsevier’s commitment to collaborating with our scientific community on content innovation,” said IJsbrand Jan Aalbersberg, VP of Content Innovation for S&T Journal Publishing. “Sharing these prototypes and inviting feedback is the next step. We’re confident these tools will enhance the presentation of scientific results and improve the interpretation and speed of results analysis.
“These initiatives are central to driving innovation in scientific publishing,” he added. “They represent our investment in the future of research, enabling scientists all over the world to access and interpret results more efficiently and create better science.”

What's next?

The prototypes can be viewed at   beta.cell.com, where Elsevier and Cell Press are inviting feedback from the scientific community on the concepts and implementations. 

To cite this article, please use Ylann Schemm, “Experience the ‘Article of the Future’”, Elsevier Editors’ Update 28, November 2009. (Reprinted with permission from Publishing Connect, Issue 658, 29 July 2009)

Useful Links

  ‘Article of the Future’ interactive prototypes

Watch the video

IJsbrand Jan Aalbersberg explains the ‘Article of the Future’ initiative.   Watch the video