Proposal

Proposal

Theme/subject: publications in digital form of an e-book/magazine and whether this is an advancement for the design world.

Meaning: 

Publications are a copy of a printed work offered for distribution. 

Books are a written or printed work consisting of pages glued or sewn together along one side and bound in covers. 

E-publishing is the digital publication of e-books, digital magazines, and the development of digital libraries and catalogues.

Digital means the use of computer technology. 

E-books are an electronic version of a printed book which can be read on a computer or a specifically designed handheld device.

E-zine a magazine only published in electronic form on a computer network.

The definition of the book is a very specific description of the creation of a physical object, whereas digital is very broad and is singularly described to use technology.

Title: Bind into bits; a study of the transformation from publishing to e-publishing.

Reason for this theme: I am interested in design for the digital age and the ways it is changing design.

Historical context: this is a new, or very recent concept, that has come about from the production of new technology; the digital age.

Case studies: Project Gutenberg, Kate Pullinger Breathe, T:imesheets Magaz:ne, Gutenberg Press.

Texts to be used: Being Digital, Nicholas Negroponte. Fatal Attraction: print meets computers, Jim Noble, from Computers and Art. Walter Benjamin The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction.

Proposal crit:

• Extremely clear theme/objective.
• Well sourced and researched.
• Good title (publications to pixels, cymk to rgb).
• The recent context of the age of digital publications will make the essay very interesting to explore/research,

3 possible avenues for practical work: 

Design a publication for digital but also produce it as a physical publication. 

Convert a book or publication into digital form. 

Create a digitally interactive, maybe projected publication.

Proposal

Publication to Pixels; a study of the transformation of publications into electronic form.

The theme of the essay is on publications and how they are translated into digital form, such as e-books or e-zines. It will look at the new possibilities for design this platform brings and whether it is an advancement for the book. This is a new, or very recent topic, that has come about from the production of new technology; the digital age.

Publications are a copy of a printed work offered for distribution. This includes books, which are defined as ‘a written or printed work consisting of pages glued or sewn together along one side and bound in covers’, and magazines.

E-publications are ‘digital publications of e-books, digital magazines, and the development of digital libraries and catalogues’. Digital is defined as ‘the use of computer technology.’ E-books are described as ‘an electronic version of a printed book which can be read on a computer or a specifically designed handheld device,’ and an e-zine is defined as ‘a magazine only published in electronic form on a computer network.’ There is a clear contrast between publications and electronic versions in that they take on a different form.

I am looking into this topic as I am interested in design for the digital age and the ways it is changing design. I will use Case studies including Project Gutenberg, Kate Pullinger Breathe, T:imesheets Magaz:ne, Gutenberg Press, and texts from books that will inform me on the topic including Being Digital, Nicholas Negroponte. Fatal Attraction: print meets computers, Jim Noble, from Computers and Art.

In response to the essay, practical work will explore the limitations and boundaries of both the physical book/magazine and digital book/magazine. This can be done by either creating a publication that is both digital and physical, or by making a pre existing publication into an epublication. Or a book could be made that is both physical and digital, using interactive media.

Notes from tutorial:

Look up Walter Benjamin's essay The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. Talks about the aura of physical objects. Digital doesn’t have the same presence. ‘The changes which it may have suffered in physical condition over the years as well as the various changes in its ownership.’ How do the two forms immerse you?

For practical, could use the app artivive which allows you to select an image to attach an animation or something. All practical ideas are an interesting way of exploring the project  should try them all as initials.

Reasons physical book is better than digital:

• The presence; Aura.
• The appearance of deterioration over time, knowing others have owned and experienced the same read.
• Authenticity.
• Digital may not touch the actual work.

Reasons digital book is better than physical:

• Less expensive to produce.
• More opportunity to reach larger audiences.
• Archived.
• Can capture what can escape natural vision - new forms of presenting content can bring new forms of understanding/perceiving.