New Now were selected to bring Dekko’s vision to mobile devices – smashing motivational barriers to reading and learning. The comics turn school curriculum content into engaging comic strips and were previously available as physical publications.

Using the Ionic framework enabled rapid development of the new app for both iOS and Android, with Google’s firebase mobile platform selected to provide authentication and storage.

We had set ourselves the target of providing panel-by-panel navigation of the stories, but the pages were only available as flat images with no panel structure.

We were able to bring tech to bear, and use the OpenCV computer vision library to analyse hundreds of pages, and automatically detect the position of most panels (see below). A web-based tool was then created to allow editors to check the panel positioning and modify directly if required.

As well as implementing Dekko’s colour coding and Dyslexia-friendly fonts, the app provides additional features like coloured reading overlays and the ability to create collections.

With the ability for users to purchase digital editions, the app provides a new revenue stream for Dekko’s existing content, as well as a new audience and a platform for future growth.

Working with Crawford has been a joy. He is both patient and understanding, and is very generous with his time as well as being very good at what he does. Highly recommended!

Rossie Stone, Founder, Dekko Comics.

You can download the app via iTunes (Apple devices) or Google Play (Android devices).