LITERATURE REVIEW HAND IN.

Daniel Caruana Lupi HND2 GRFX

Literature Review: A discussion on whether the birth of screen is death for print.

Is screen going to impact print or vice versa?

'Why the Smart Reading Device of the Future May Be … Paper' by Brandon Keim tells us about how the use of paper and screen, to read, makes a difference not only depending on the viewer but also on the situation that person is in.  Building a common relationship with the author regarding the subject was instant, as the article does not make the reader feel obliged to be biased towards any side of the argument yet he gives his opinion and describes his own personal preferences and habits throughout. Even though well sourced, Brandon Keim seemed to lack the distinction between the types of material one is reading. People are drawn towards e-books for reasons of convenience. That sense of possession and feeling of a book, that sense of satisfaction and completion when finishing it, is common to all avid readers. Seeing as they might be impractical as to space, they are somewhat cheaper, don’t crash, and nor could they ever run out of power. Erik Wästlund’s research states that it’s easy to get tired reading from a screen, constantly scrolling further down – it’s tedious and distracting, as you need to stop and re-focus on a starting point.  A backlit device, be it a Kindle or a tablet of any sort, tends to distract the viewer with clutter and eyestrain. Even though this research dates back to 2005, it is still extremely relevant. Surely, nowadays page flip illusion has been created, but does it really emulate the feel of printed material? Keim indicates that maybe we should not see print and screen as being in competition but as two completely different platforms and interfaces both used for different things which work better for what they provide; pixels for browsing and scanning, print for essays and novels – a point Jeff Gomez failed to analyse in ‘Print is dead. Books in our digital age’.

 ‘Sagmeister. Made you look’ by Peter Hall, somewhat backs up my argument without having to read it. It is a printed experience and design piece in itself. Through this printed monologue, one gets to experience the thoughts and visuals that Sagmeister documented and designed throughout his career. When possible, Sagmeister avoids screen and technology and works directly on paper. He feels much more connected to his design in this way, and this is what he wants his readers to experience later on in his work. The book in itself is genuinely fun because of its innovative and witty presentation. The entirety of the ‘reader and print experience’ starts from the moment one opens the book. The edge-page-printing in itself adds an influx of character to the book: something one would not experience had it just been on online e-book. There would be a lack of texture and physical interactivity had there not been that innate sense of feel and excitement of opening the physical book. Hall (2009, p.116) states that when describing his business card Sagmeister says ‘it had a covetable aspect that seemed to prevent people from throwing it away’. The optical trickery it provides is what makes people keep hold of it due to its different and fun appearance. This justifying the way print, being tangible, makes people remember it more. Printed material is something that can be held and bought, giving the owner that true sense of ownership – when you can feel that something is yours it is a much more satisfying and secure feeling than owning something that is merely floating in technological space. Just like Sagmeister intertwines through his side notes, even web allows you to create things differently, such as the way Google helps with research. However, he feels as though Print was, and still remains, the reason he became interested in Graphic Design.

'Print is Dead. Books in our digital age' by Jeff Gomez, even though a few years out-dated, still answers relevant questions in todays print vs. screen dilemma. His book title is somewhat ironic as it is a published book discussing the death of books. The main argument discussed is that it does not matter which medium the content is presented on but simply the content –unlike Keim who insists that each platform/interface should provide specific literature. Even though he thought books did not hold a future, we still buy and use books, even with improved Kindle's and iPads. E-books just simply gave us another platform to read on. Gomez also states with clarity that publishers should embrace the digital age, as it will help expose them, find talent and vice-versa. Gomez indirectly tells them to see this advancing change as an opportunity to release their work in digital form as well, to satisfy both ends of the market. Gomez puts forward the idea that e-books somewhat 'failed' to be a bigger hit in the past years, reason being they stuck to the traditional ink on paper experience, so why pay more for a device when you can buy the traditional book for one tenth of the price. Reading should be considered an experience and not an expense, a pleasure we should nurture in our children and encourage from a young age. An odd point was the comparing of a book to a watch, as it seemed to be unnecessary. A watch is still very popular today and just because there are new devices which tell time, does not mean people are going to stop wearing them - same goes for books. A statement in common with Keim and Sagmeister is that the feel of a book gives you the sense of ownership. Gomez also talks about how interest in books is diminishing as a pass time due to online availabilities such as blogs and YouTube. Just because some people lost interest doesn’t mean everyone else did and like Brandon Keim mentions in his article, it’s all according to personal taste and habits.

Majority of the books seem somewhat obvious and out-dated. A fresh approach toward them today would be extremely insightful.  Ironically, up-to-date articles on this topic are everywhere on the web.

Reference:

Why the Smart Reading Device of the Future May Be ... Paper | WIRED. 2014. Why the Smart Reading Device of the Future May Be ... Paper | WIRED. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.wired.com/2014/05/reading-on-screen-versus-paper/. [Accessed 13 December 2014].

Sagmeister, S. and Hall, P., 2009. Sagmeister: Made You Look. New York: Harry N. Abrams.

Gomez, J., 2009. Print is Dead: Book in Our Digital Age. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan

3 chapters combined review trial

'Print is Dead. Books in our digital age' by Jeff Gomez, even though a few years outdated, still answers relevant questions in todays print vs. screen dilemma. His book title is somewhat ironic as it is a published book discussing the death of books. The main argument discussed is that it does not matter which medium the content is presented on but simply the content. Even though he thought books did not hold a future, these past few years have proven him wrong as we still buy books and use books, even with improved Kindle's and iPads. E-books just simply gave us another platform to read on. Gomez also states with clarity that publishers should embrace the digital age as it will help them find talent and vice-versa. It will help expose them as publishers and indirectly tells them to see this advancing change as an opportunity to release their work in digital form as well, to satisfy both ends of the market. Gomez puts forward the idea that e-books somewhat 'failed' to be a bigger hit in the past years, reason being they stuck to the traditional ink on paper experience, so why pay more for a device when you can buy the traditional book for one tenth of the price? Reading should be considered an experience and not an expense, a pleasure we should nurture in our children and encourage from a young age. A point which struck me was the comparing of a book to a watch as it seems to be a unnecessary. A watch is still very popular today and just because there are new devices which tell us time, does not mean people are going to stop wearing them - same goes for books. He also talks about how interest in books is diminishing as a pass time due to online availabilities such as Youtube, blogs and now even Facebook. Just because some people lost interest doesn’t mean everyone else did and just like Brandon Keim mentions in his article, its all according to personal taste and habits.

Figure 1. book cover. Print is Dead. Books In our digital Age. Jeff Gomez

Gomez, J., 2009. Print is Dead: Book in Our Digital Age. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan

Literature review conclusion. simple and effective.

lots of the information from books seems somewhat obvious and out dated. A fresh approach to these books today would be extremely insightful.  Articles on this topic however, are everywhere on the web. Ironic isn’t it?

''Sagmeister- made you look'' - done

“Sagmeister. Made you look” by Peter Hall, somewhat backs up my argument without having to read it. It is a printed experience and design piece in itself. Through this printed monologue, one gets to experience the thoughts and visuals that Sagmeister documented and designed throughout his career. When possible, Sagmeister avoids screen and technology and works directly on paper. He feels much more connected to his design in this way, and this is what he wants his readers to experience later on in his publications. The book in itself is genuinely fun because of its innovative and witty presentation. The entirety of the ‘reader and print experience’ starts from the moment one opens the book. The edge-page-printing in itself adds an influx of character to the book: something one would not experience had it just been on online e-book. Hall has proven that the book even has a good design when closed. There would be a lack of texture and physical interactivity had there not been that innate sense of feel and excitement of opening the physical book. Hall (2009, p.116) states that when describing his business card Sagmeister says “it had a covetable aspect that seemed to prevent people from throwing it away”. The optical trickery it provides is what makes people keep hold of it due to its different and fun appearance. This justifying the way print, being tangible, makes people remember it more. Printed material is something that can be held and bought, giving the owner that true sense of ownership – when you can feel that something is yours it is a much more satisfying and secure feeling than owning something that is merely floating in technological space. Just like Sagmeister intertwines through his side notes, even web allows you to create things differently, such as the way Google helps with research. However, he feels as though Print was, and still remains, the reason he became interested in Graphic Design.

Sagmeister. Made you look. Peter Hall

Hall, P., 2009. Sagmeister: Made You Look. New York: Harry N. Abrams