As technologies, such as Amazon’s Kindle, change our behavior and engagement with reading, it also changes the way we perceive the act of reading. Inherent in this is the role of design. There are those design considerations that relate to the functional and emotional interaction with the device and technology itself. These devices have attempted to replicate certain aspects of a reader’s interaction with the physical book, such as allowing for a finger swipe to turn a page. A friend of mine actually tore the guts from a hard back book and used velcro to attach his Kindle inside. It was a revealing gesture, as well as a well executed one.

NPR recently had an interesting story here about electronic readers and I started wondering how the interface of the kindle might contain not just the text but imagery associated with the stories. In fact, the more I thought about it, the more it seemed ironic that some of the designs I love in antique books may now be ideally suited for electronic readers.

The finely detailed etchings, wood cuts and hand colored cartoons featured in many 18th and 19th century publications may now have a new vibrant presence on electronic readers. The simple user interface of these devices and the greater need that they have for some enhanced visual engagement may inspire a new form of aesthetic designs and visual story telling within the context of the story itself.

If you have executed any designs for any electronic readers, let me know!

Written by Stuart
David Day | Associates
About the Author: Stuart is constantly curious and believes conversation matters, for business, people and community. Feel free to join in...

This entry was posted on Friday, August 14th, 2009 at 4:08 pm and is filed under Branding. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.