You know Barack. You know W. Qaddafi, Ahmadinejad, Berluscoli, Wen Jiabao. They’re leaders of the world. In POWER Platon, a portrait book iPad app about the world’s leaders, you get to see them closer than ever.
What’s it do?
Similar to The Final Hours of Portal 2 before it, POWER Platon shouldn’t be pigeon holed into the traditional sense of the word ‘app’. Instead, it’s a series of portraits that bring a coffee table-styled book onto your iPad. The up close pictures, which are all amazing, were taken by famed photographer Platon over a 12-month period at the UN headquarters in New York City. Navigating through the app makes sense, it’s a constant flow from one leader to the next with features easily accessible in landscape mode.
Why do we like it?
Because it’s an experience that humanises these giants of the world. They’re people and that’s what the app reminds you of. Some could shave better, some wear their age well, some don’t, some have insane eyebrows, most have flaws. You’re seeing them in closer detail than you probably ever will (unless you’re a pretty girl living in Italy) and there’s a certain curiosity/perspective you gain when looking at someone’s eyes (albeit in photo form). What do I think they’re thinking? Do I know someone like them? Am I like them? There’s also an introduction from New Yorker Editor David Remnick, commentary from Platon on how individual shoots went and a short bio to give you a better idea on how they all got to where they are.
The Best
Up close look at leaders
The Worst
Wish there was even more