dissertation - ashley cox

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Ashley Cox10283523

Ashley Cox

Plymouth University

Graphic Communication with Typography

DISSERTATION

GCOM 320

TITLE

‘To establish what effect the growth of

digital formats is having on the printed word’

10283523

This essay has been composed entirly by myself, and is my own original work.

CONTENTS

Glossary of Terms 04

Prelude 06

Introduction 07

Chapter One | Print 09

Chapter Two | Digital 15

Chapter Three | Graphic Design / Photography 28

Conclusion 31

Further Reading 34

Bibliography 35

Appendix 39

2

GLOSSARY OF TERMS

All terms definitions are correct with the online oxford dictionary.

DIGITAL

Involving or relating to the use of computer technology: the

digital revolution.

EBOOK

An electronic version of a printed book which can be read on

a computer or a specifically designed handheld device.

WWW

Abbreviation of World Wide Web.

WORLD WIDE WEB

An information system on the Internet which allows

documents to be connected to other documents by hypertext

links, enabling the user to search for information by moving

from one document to another.

PDF

Abbreviation of Portable Document Format;

A file format for capturing and sending electronic documents

in exactly the intended format.

HTML

Abbreviation of Hypertext Markup Language;

a standardised system for tagging text files to achieve font,

colour, graphic and hyperlink effects on World Wide Web

pages.

3

INTERNET

A global computer network providing a variety of information

and communication facilities, consisting of interconnected

networks using standardised communication protocols.

LITHOGRAPHY

The process of printing from a flat surface treated so as to

repel the ink except where it is required for printing.

APPS / APPLICATIONS

A self-contained program or piece of software designed to

fulfil a particular purpose; an application, especially as

downloaded by a user to a mobile device.

UI

Abbreviation of User Interface; the means by which the user

and a computer system interact, in particular the use of input

devices and software.

SKEUOMORPHISM

Computing an element of a graphical user interface which

mimics a physical object: note-taking apps offer

skeuomorphs of yellow legal pads, squared paper, ring

binders etc. When you first download the app, you’ll be

presented with a skeuomorph of a photo album.

All the above.1

4

1 http://oxforddictionaries.com/

INTERNET

A global computer network providing a variety of information

and communication facilities, consisting of interconnected

networks using standardised communication protocols.

LITHOGRAPHY

The process of printing from a flat surface treated so as to

repel the ink except where it is required for printing.

APPS / APPLICATIONS

A self-contained program or piece of software designed to

fulfil a particular purpose; an application, especially as

downloaded by a user to a mobile device.

UI

Abbreviation of User Interface; the means by which the user

and a computer system interact, in particular the use of input

devices and software.

SKEUOMORPHISM

Computing an element of a graphical user interface which

mimics a physical object: note-taking apps offer

skeuomorphs of yellow legal pads, squared paper, ring

binders etc. When you first download the app, you’ll be

presented with a skeuomorph of a photo album.

All the above.1

4

1 http://oxforddictionaries.com/

PRELUDE

I remember receiving my first mobile telephone as an

eager fourteen year old from my father and finally feeling like

I fitted in at school. Everyone had to have one. This could be

any form of mobile device as long as it worked, and texted of

course. This was the case for an extensive period of time, we

as humans have become increasingly dependant on

communicating in this way. Thinking back, obviously I didn’t

comprehend the possibilities of what this new form of

communication would bring to my life, let alone to the entire

world.

5

INTRODUCTION

That was seven years ago and digital technology in the

mobile device sector has come along with strides to the

present day, an essential part of daily life, we are almost non-

functional without digital elements and it’s difficult to find a

place in the modern world where this isn’t the case. By

mobile device I don’t just mean a calling object, because now

this term groups numerous technological devices. To name a

few would be the iPad and iPhone, both being the most

owned piece of equipment for the modern man/woman.

During my time at university I’ve been constantly drawn to

the digital world and what it can bring to the world to improve

peoples’ experiences and ultimately their enjoyment of life. I

have a love of new technology and a passion to make people

interact with such things. From these experiences I’ve

decided to research what this evolution is having on what

started the civilised world, the printed word.

By researching into this I intend to determine if there

is a stand out opinion on whether digital is affecting the

printed word, and furthermore I hope to clarify if this is a

positive or negative effect. Along with this vital question, I will

be looking to answer some of my own personal questions

within this area, for example, if there is actually a decline in

print is there a collective of people who believe print based

elements will become unique and seen as rare collectors’

items? This is one of many questions I wish to find an answer

to for my own personal interest.

I believe I will get conflicting opinions on this topic

however, by comparing these opinions to each other I may be

6

INTRODUCTION

That was seven years ago and digital technology in the

mobile device sector has come along with strides to the

present day, an essential part of daily life, we are almost non-

functional without digital elements and it’s difficult to find a

place in the modern world where this isn’t the case. By

mobile device I don’t just mean a calling object, because now

this term groups numerous technological devices. To name a

few would be the iPad and iPhone, both being the most

owned piece of equipment for the modern man/woman.

During my time at university I’ve been constantly drawn to

the digital world and what it can bring to the world to improve

peoples’ experiences and ultimately their enjoyment of life. I

have a love of new technology and a passion to make people

interact with such things. From these experiences I’ve

decided to research what this evolution is having on what

started the civilised world, the printed word.

By researching into this I intend to determine if there

is a stand out opinion on whether digital is affecting the

printed word, and furthermore I hope to clarify if this is a

positive or negative effect. Along with this vital question, I will

be looking to answer some of my own personal questions

within this area, for example, if there is actually a decline in

print is there a collective of people who believe print based

elements will become unique and seen as rare collectors’

items? This is one of many questions I wish to find an answer

to for my own personal interest.

I believe I will get conflicting opinions on this topic

however, by comparing these opinions to each other I may be

6

able to make a more specific observation. If I were to pre-

judge one observation now I’d say that I believe that younger

people may be more adapted to the modern media as they

would have been brought up with these technologies I make

this observation purely based on myself and my fellow

graduates.

I intend to speak to printers who have worked with

print their entire career and know nothing or very little of

digital. Then to create a balance I will also talk to a designer

that has rarely worked with print and has been focused on

working with digital on websites, iPads and iPhones etc.

However, apart from the two opposing careers there will be

many interviewees that will fit into both parties and its these

people who I think will give the most honest and revealing

results as they will provide insight into both, allowing them to

have an impartial view.

“The future lies ahead of us, but behind us there is also a

great accumulation of history - a resource for imagination

and creativity.”2

7

2 Hara K, (Helen Armstrong ed.) Designing Design, China, Princeton Architectural Press, 2007

CHAPTER ONE

Print

To really gauge the journey the printed word has been

on we need to step back to the early years of print on paper.

By doing this we should be able to completely understand

what has become of this ancient form of communication.

Around the middle of the 15th century the invention of the

printing press started to take shape and, although a range of

individuals were said to have been working on a similar

design, Gutenberg is often regarded as the founder of

movable type. However, this is not the result of a single effort

on his part, he combined three techniques that had been

known for some years. This continued to be developed for

many years and was constantly being refined and improved,

but Gutenberg in 1452 is the milestone for the printed word.

“Many authors and historians believe that it was the single

most important invention in the Middle Ages and it single

handedly brought about changes in the Protestant

reformation, scientific theories, European literary class and

the artistic Renaissance way of thinking.”3 (Fig.1)

8

3 http://www.buzzle.com/articles/history-of-the-printing-press.html, Bantwal, N.

CHAPTER ONE

Print

To really gauge the journey the printed word has been

on we need to step back to the early years of print on paper.

By doing this we should be able to completely understand

what has become of this ancient form of communication.

Around the middle of the 15th century the invention of the

printing press started to take shape and, although a range of

individuals were said to have been working on a similar

design, Gutenberg is often regarded as the founder of

movable type. However, this is not the result of a single effort

on his part, he combined three techniques that had been

known for some years. This continued to be developed for

many years and was constantly being refined and improved,

but Gutenberg in 1452 is the milestone for the printed word.

“Many authors and historians believe that it was the single

most important invention in the Middle Ages and it single

handedly brought about changes in the Protestant

reformation, scientific theories, European literary class and

the artistic Renaissance way of thinking.”3 (Fig.1)

8

3 http://www.buzzle.com/articles/history-of-the-printing-press.html, Bantwal, N.

Fig. 1 A 15th century printing press similar to one Gutenberg invented.4

No one will argue that since then print has been a history

altering invention, on a par with the light bulb and has had

plenty of time to shine. More recently however, in this current

transition of flux between the physical book and digital

publications the printed word is said to be in trouble,

“Newspaper readership has been in decline for years,

magazines are also in trouble and trade publishing has not

seen any substantial growth in years”5. This is evident when

looking at the key figures in terms of the book and printing

houses. “But in reality the decline hasn’t hit yet. And when it

does, it comes in big drops, not gradual tapers – that’s what

we learned from music and DVD, both of which tapered down

until they hit big drops and shelf-space disappeared rapidly.

The same will happen in books, probably by late this year and

certainly in 2013.”6 We couldn’t be better placed in this

transitional period, “We are living through a revolution of

sorts, and one of the few things you can say for certain about

a revolution is that when you're in the middle of one, you have

no idea where and when it will end.”7 It has become clear

when listening to the opinions of academic people on the

World Wide Web that many fall under the same category in

their opinions. That print is on a slow, but noticeable and

definite decline. This is backed up by figures of printing

houses’ falling revenue, “The book publishing industry

9

4 Philips J L - http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/fall04/phillips/index.html

5 Gomez, J - Print is Dead, Books in Our Digital Age, China, Macmillan, 2008

6 James L. McQuivey, Ph.D., http://www.digitalbookworld.com/2012/analyst-publishers-seeing-steady-print-declines-should-ready-for-steep-drop/

7 John B. Thompson, Sociology Professor, 5/9/2012, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-b-thompson/future-of-books_b_1501182.html

experienced extraordinary growth after 1963, when annual

book sales were $1.68 billion. According to the Book Industry

Study Group, book sales totalled $40.3 billion in 2008.”8 This

shows an astonishing rise, which may be due to the amount

of time between each date, however it is still a substantial

increase in the amount of people buying physical books. If we

were to compare that to findings on the eBook the trend

would undoubtedly be the same, i.e eBooks would start with

small user quantities and would have begun to increase

within the last two years to the present day, where we now

know they are here and here to stay, “The success is

undeniable and it looks as though this time ebooks are here

to stay. Last month Amazon announced that ebook sales from

its US site had overtaken sales of all printed books for the

first time. In the UK ebook sales have overtaken hardback

sales. It took two and a half years to reach that milestone in

the US - in the UK it has taken nine months.”9 In an attempt

to fight this takeover from the main giant in the digital book

sector, Amazon, two of the biggest names in publishing have

confirmed that they will merge and form one company.

Random House and Penguin, ‘The merger will create the

largest consumer book publisher in the world, with a global

market share of more than 25 percent.’10

‘The deal, analysts said, would give the new company,

to be called Penguin Random House, greater scale to deal

with the challenges arising from the growth of electronic

10

8 http://business.highbeam.com/industry-reports/wood/books-publishing-publishing-printing

9 Richmond, S. Head of Technology - The Telegraph, Is The Ebooks Boom Finally Here? Jun 2011, Online - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/amazon/8589624/Is-the-ebooks-boom-finally-here.html

10 New York Times, Eric Pfanner and Amy Chozick, 2009, http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/30/business/global/random-house-and-penguin-to-be-combined.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

experienced extraordinary growth after 1963, when annual

book sales were $1.68 billion. According to the Book Industry

Study Group, book sales totalled $40.3 billion in 2008.”8 This

shows an astonishing rise, which may be due to the amount

of time between each date, however it is still a substantial

increase in the amount of people buying physical books. If we

were to compare that to findings on the eBook the trend

would undoubtedly be the same, i.e eBooks would start with

small user quantities and would have begun to increase

within the last two years to the present day, where we now

know they are here and here to stay, “The success is

undeniable and it looks as though this time ebooks are here

to stay. Last month Amazon announced that ebook sales from

its US site had overtaken sales of all printed books for the

first time. In the UK ebook sales have overtaken hardback

sales. It took two and a half years to reach that milestone in

the US - in the UK it has taken nine months.”9 In an attempt

to fight this takeover from the main giant in the digital book

sector, Amazon, two of the biggest names in publishing have

confirmed that they will merge and form one company.

Random House and Penguin, ‘The merger will create the

largest consumer book publisher in the world, with a global

market share of more than 25 percent.’10

‘The deal, analysts said, would give the new company,

to be called Penguin Random House, greater scale to deal

with the challenges arising from the growth of electronic

10

8 http://business.highbeam.com/industry-reports/wood/books-publishing-publishing-printing

9 Richmond, S. Head of Technology - The Telegraph, Is The Ebooks Boom Finally Here? Jun 2011, Online - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/amazon/8589624/Is-the-ebooks-boom-finally-here.html

10 New York Times, Eric Pfanner and Amy Chozick, 2009, http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/30/business/global/random-house-and-penguin-to-be-combined.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

books and the power of Internet retailers. Publishers are

increasingly worried about the leverage wielded by Internet

giants like Google, Apple and, especially, Amazon. These

companies have vast resources to invest in new technology,

like digital sales platforms, and the size to let them negotiate

better terms on prices.’11

This merger shows the length that publishers feel they

need to go to combat the threat from the ‘internet giants’ and

they are not the only ones who believe it would be beneficial,

the internet is littered with stories on this topic stating how

many publishing houses are in merger conversations,

“HarperCollins has already signaled its interest in

consolidation.”12 This banding together of some of the

biggest names in publishing is telling its own story of what is

happening to the printed word; what they fear would happen

if they were to take on the likes of Amazon alone, for the avid

book reader this would not be a pleasant thought.

As well as printing houses there are other players in

the history of the printed word, such as lithography.

Lithography is used for large quantities of a single print, fine

art prints would be printed this way for example. From the

information gathered thus far it would be sensible to assume

that there would also be a decline in lithography prints.

‘According to NAPL’s (National Association for Printing

Leadership) most recent Capital Investment Study, offset’s

share of printing industry sales have been declining steadily

for more than 10 years. “No turnaround in the economy—no

11

11 New York Times, Eric Pfanner and Amy Chozick, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/30/business/global/random-house-and-penguin-to-be-combined.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

12 New York Times, Eric Pfanner and Amy Chozick, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/30/business/global/random-house-and-penguin-to-be-combined.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

matter how robust—is going to change that. Nevertheless,

lithography is still a $40 to $50 billion market.”’ 13

In some way this was expected having learnt what we

have, especially as we all know how the printer has evolved in

merely our own individual lives. I’m sure many would have

started with over sized cubes of beige machinery but now

find yourselves with a slick charcoal looking printing device,

to make the judgement of the large format non-digital

printers are going to find themselves obsolete would be a

believable one. The surprise however is the still substantial

amount of market share lithography has nurtured. Being a

keen photographer I see this much like the transition

cameras went through from analogue film to digital, there

will always be a nostalgic group of people who won’t let the

old ways, to be argued - the better ways, go so easily. This

could be the fate of lithography, so the $40 billion market is

good news for the historic form of printing and gives hope to

the printed words’ longevity. To make a fair comparison we

can look at employment statistics regarding the same realm.

If the market share numbers are any indication it should

show us a similar trend of there still being a larger than

estimated amount of people under current employment for

roles within lithography.

‘Employment in the printing industry underwent a

decline in the mid-2000s. According to Graphic Arts Monthly,

printing employment fell by 5,100 jobs in the first three

months of 2004, with 3,100 of those in commercial

lithographic printing and 1,000 in quick printing. One of the

major factors causing the decline in employment was the

12

13 Bob Hall, April 13 2011, http://www.myprintresource.com/article/10254475/offset-is-down-but-not-out

matter how robust—is going to change that. Nevertheless,

lithography is still a $40 to $50 billion market.”’ 13

In some way this was expected having learnt what we

have, especially as we all know how the printer has evolved in

merely our own individual lives. I’m sure many would have

started with over sized cubes of beige machinery but now

find yourselves with a slick charcoal looking printing device,

to make the judgement of the large format non-digital

printers are going to find themselves obsolete would be a

believable one. The surprise however is the still substantial

amount of market share lithography has nurtured. Being a

keen photographer I see this much like the transition

cameras went through from analogue film to digital, there

will always be a nostalgic group of people who won’t let the

old ways, to be argued - the better ways, go so easily. This

could be the fate of lithography, so the $40 billion market is

good news for the historic form of printing and gives hope to

the printed words’ longevity. To make a fair comparison we

can look at employment statistics regarding the same realm.

If the market share numbers are any indication it should

show us a similar trend of there still being a larger than

estimated amount of people under current employment for

roles within lithography.

‘Employment in the printing industry underwent a

decline in the mid-2000s. According to Graphic Arts Monthly,

printing employment fell by 5,100 jobs in the first three

months of 2004, with 3,100 of those in commercial

lithographic printing and 1,000 in quick printing. One of the

major factors causing the decline in employment was the

12

13 Bob Hall, April 13 2011, http://www.myprintresource.com/article/10254475/offset-is-down-but-not-out

increase in Internet publishing.’14 A similar outcome has

fallen on lithography in terms of employment with both

publishing houses and printers that use dated formats being

diminished by a slow decline in print and purchase.

We have established there are general declines in the

areas where print used to rule, but thus far we are only

aware that the introduction of the eBook married with the

overwhelming virtual library that internet powerhouses like

Amazon possesses has pushed the smaller book retailers to

whimper and fold, and the larger printing houses like

Penguin and Random House to join forces in order to combat

such powerhouses.

It is easy to point the virtual finger at these giants and

say they are profit based and are ruining a historic form of

communication, but they are only able to move forward with

such presence if we as consumers aid them. Are we

embracing digital or being forced upon it?

In 2011 Bowker did a survey titled ‘Reading the Future’

and gave these findings, taken straight out of their report,

‘we polled respondents on their likely e-book purchases over

the next 12 months. If one is pro or anti e-book, there are

reasons to cheer the findings. First and foremost, some will

be happy that, for the moment at least, books are still a print

medium, with a majority (56%) of respondents choosing: “I do

not like to buy e-books and this will not change”. There is

cheer for digitalists. A sizeable chunk (26%) of our

respondents had bought e-books: this data indicates that,

13

14 http://business.highbeam.com/industry-reports/wood/commercial-printing-lithographic

within the next 12 months, this may increase to 44% of all

book buyers.’15

Jeff Gomez in his 2008 book, ‘Print is Dead,

Books in Our Digital Age’ makes an intriguing estimate of

what will become of books, ‘While the relevance and

popularity of printed media (such as books, magazines and

newspapers) will get smaller and smaller over the next few

decades due to digital reading, books themselves will never

entirely go away. Instead, they will be sought out by

collectors, those who want to hold and touch pages, covers

and dust jackets. And books will always have a place in

millions of homes across the country, but they will become

rare as printers go out of business and warehouses gather

dust.’16 A bold statement to make back in 2008 when the rule

of print was still very much alive and reading digitally was

still in the early stages. ‘Although we need not try to decide

whether the printed book will in fact disappear in 10, 20, or

50 years, we can try to understand the current relationship

between print and digital media, which may show us why the

future of the printed book seems so uncertain and the future

of digital media so bright.’17

14

15 Reading the Future, The Book Seller, 2011, PDF - http://lib-srvr9.lib.plymouth.ac.uk:8080/tal_xmlui/bitstream/handle/10026.2/1411/Reading%20the%20future.pdf?sequence=1


17 Bolter, J D - Writing Space, Computers, Hypertext, and the Remediation of Print, Second Edition, United States, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates 2001

within the next 12 months, this may increase to 44% of all

book buyers.’15

Jeff Gomez in his 2008 book, ‘Print is Dead,

Books in Our Digital Age’ makes an intriguing estimate of

what will become of books, ‘While the relevance and

popularity of printed media (such as books, magazines and

newspapers) will get smaller and smaller over the next few

decades due to digital reading, books themselves will never

entirely go away. Instead, they will be sought out by

collectors, those who want to hold and touch pages, covers

and dust jackets. And books will always have a place in

millions of homes across the country, but they will become

rare as printers go out of business and warehouses gather

dust.’16 A bold statement to make back in 2008 when the rule

of print was still very much alive and reading digitally was

still in the early stages. ‘Although we need not try to decide

whether the printed book will in fact disappear in 10, 20, or

50 years, we can try to understand the current relationship

between print and digital media, which may show us why the

future of the printed book seems so uncertain and the future

of digital media so bright.’17

14

15 Reading the Future, The Book Seller, 2011, PDF - http://lib-srvr9.lib.plymouth.ac.uk:8080/tal_xmlui/bitstream/handle/10026.2/1411/Reading%20the%20future.pdf?sequence=1


17 Bolter, J D - Writing Space, Computers, Hypertext, and the Remediation of Print, Second Edition, United States, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates 2001

CHAPTER TWO

Digital

The dictionary definition for technology is ‘the

application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes,

especially in industry’18, this encapsulates hundreds of

inventions that have aided in our understanding of modern

day life over numerous decades but doesn’t really point to

any particular format regarding the present day. Hence the

term digital, this is a term perfectly suited for such modern

day applications, one that people can recognise the format

they are referring to. The definition of digital, ‘involving or

relating to the use of computer technology’19 has the key

word technology, accompanied by ‘computer’ and this is the

very heart of the digital era. Computers are digital, this is

fact, they work on a series of signals and digits, computers

are where the digital era began. Without going into detail into

how computers and digital devices have progressed, it’s clear

that since the first space bar was pressed that we haven’t

looked back since. The computer and its’ extended family of

smart phones, eBooks, iPads and Kindles has increasing

amounts of follows each with their own personal benefits to

make everyday easier for the developed world. Thinking

about books alone, the publishers are pushing their products

straight onto digital formats, ‘15 percent to 25 percent of

book sales shifting to digital format by 2015’.20 It’s

understood that companies know where the world is heading

and has been heading for several years. Now we begin to see

15

18 http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/technology

19 http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/technology

20 Patrick Béhar, Laurent Colombani and Sophie Krishnan, Bain & Company, 2012

the main sales of their products being digital. The shift to

digital needs to be verified, does it make our lives easier?

Simone Zhang, of Havas Worldwide, has his own personal

opinion on this topic which may begin to explain why digital

may have such a positive influence, ‘The pace of modern life

is fast—and only getting faster. In previous eras, we had

fewer choices and more time in which to make them. Today,

we need all the assistance we can get to make our choices

easier and faster, and digital technology helps with that.’21

However, to argue the point that information is easier on

screen Gary J Brown talks about a study carried out in 2000

on students whereby they would see which group could

remember information better on the two opposing formats,

screen and paper, ‘Murphy et al. note “that students who

read the traditional paper text found it significantly easier to

understand than the computer only group...it is likely that the

students have more difficulty understanding what they read

from a computer screen”’22 So there are the possible

disadvantages of digital reading, however this study was

carried out in 2000 when screens wouldn’t have been to the

standard of resolution we have come to expect, retina

displays currently being the norm. These opinions are two

strong opposing ends of the spectrum. In many instances

most people would fit in between these on this scale. It would

also be assumed that the average person is becoming more

inclined to viewing things on digital platforms, this seems to

offer the reader more benefits and therefore make for an

easier read, depending on screen resolution of course, a

technicality that is only going to improve over time.

16

21 Simone Zhang, The Digital Life, May 4 2012, http://www.prosumer-report.com/blog/2012/05/04/why-digital-technologies-are-making-life-on-planet-earth-better/

22 Gary J. Brown, Beyond print: reading digitally, 2001

the main sales of their products being digital. The shift to

digital needs to be verified, does it make our lives easier?

Simone Zhang, of Havas Worldwide, has his own personal

opinion on this topic which may begin to explain why digital

may have such a positive influence, ‘The pace of modern life

is fast—and only getting faster. In previous eras, we had

fewer choices and more time in which to make them. Today,

we need all the assistance we can get to make our choices

easier and faster, and digital technology helps with that.’21

However, to argue the point that information is easier on

screen Gary J Brown talks about a study carried out in 2000

on students whereby they would see which group could

remember information better on the two opposing formats,

screen and paper, ‘Murphy et al. note “that students who

read the traditional paper text found it significantly easier to

understand than the computer only group...it is likely that the

students have more difficulty understanding what they read

from a computer screen”’22 So there are the possible

disadvantages of digital reading, however this study was

carried out in 2000 when screens wouldn’t have been to the

standard of resolution we have come to expect, retina

displays currently being the norm. These opinions are two

strong opposing ends of the spectrum. In many instances

most people would fit in between these on this scale. It would

also be assumed that the average person is becoming more

inclined to viewing things on digital platforms, this seems to

offer the reader more benefits and therefore make for an

easier read, depending on screen resolution of course, a

technicality that is only going to improve over time.

16

21 Simone Zhang, The Digital Life, May 4 2012, http://www.prosumer-report.com/blog/2012/05/04/why-digital-technologies-are-making-life-on-planet-earth-better/

22 Gary J. Brown, Beyond print: reading digitally, 2001

Let us look beyond the retina displays and auto-sleep

functions to the future of these devices, the iPads and

eBooks etc, to what is in store for them and ultimately us.

First, concerning the technology, we know the formats will

improve, ‘Tablets will be lighter and have longer battery life

than today’s models. They will remain attractive options for

people wanting to read eBooks but will not take the place of

dedicated eReaders.’23 Second, in regard to what will remain

printed physically, ‘Demand for certain types of books will

remain strong. These include religious books such as the

Bible and Koran, children’s books, and books for gifts and

special occasions.’24 These observations were made by

Werner Ballhaus as part of a 100 person study across the

United States, Germany, United Kingdom and Netherlands.

This thought could be extended further to delve deeper into

how the ebooks and digital devices are being designed to

determine if the technology itself will hold boundaries of

what the future could hold. ‘Jason Pontin, Editor and

Publisher of MIT’s Technology Review, ... recently did an

interview on Beet.tv. Pontin said during the interview that the

web-based HTML5 platform will be the “future” of digital

publishing.’25 HTML, HyperText Markup Language, is the

digital language used to create documents on the World Wide

Web, HTML5 is now the fifth version of the HTML language

‘The use of HTML5 allows Web designers to pull images,

audio and video directly into a Web page.’26 He continued to

state that publishers should consider HTML5 (HyperText

17

23 Werner Ballhaus, Turning the Page The Future of eBooks, 2010

24 Werner Ballhaus, Turning the Page The Future of eBooks, 2010

25 Michael Kozlowski, The Future of Digital Publishing Will Be HTML5,21 Feb 2013

26 http://www.technewsdaily.com/16388-what-is-html5.html

Markup Language) over things such as apps because of the

versatility the ‘script’ can offer over apps, versatility being

how the script can be adapted to multiple platforms such as

websites, phones, and iPads. All these formats would use the

same code making life easier for the publishers. “I think this

is going to be the future of publishing, a publisher can do

almost everything they want to do on the web for multiple

platforms with the same code. Why make your life harder.”27

So this seems the logical next step for digital in the current

transition of digital reading devices. Although it may seem

that way, there will always be the collection of companies

that will continue to push the bar and strive for something

better, something revolutionary. But looking into the future

from the present day no one can estimate what that might be,

a newer HTML file maybe? Or to jog our imagination further

still, something like this? (Fig 2.)

Fig 2. Futuristic Business Woman Reading Digital Newspaper.

The facts suggest that internet files will always be improved,

currently on the fifth version but for how long? It begs a

18

27 Jason Pontin, Film - Interview, http://www.beet.tv, Feb 2013

Markup Language) over things such as apps because of the

versatility the ‘script’ can offer over apps, versatility being

how the script can be adapted to multiple platforms such as

websites, phones, and iPads. All these formats would use the

same code making life easier for the publishers. “I think this

is going to be the future of publishing, a publisher can do

almost everything they want to do on the web for multiple

platforms with the same code. Why make your life harder.”27

So this seems the logical next step for digital in the current

transition of digital reading devices. Although it may seem

that way, there will always be the collection of companies

that will continue to push the bar and strive for something

better, something revolutionary. But looking into the future

from the present day no one can estimate what that might be,

a newer HTML file maybe? Or to jog our imagination further

still, something like this? (Fig 2.)

Fig 2. Futuristic Business Woman Reading Digital Newspaper.

The facts suggest that internet files will always be improved,

currently on the fifth version but for how long? It begs a

18

27 Jason Pontin, Film - Interview, http://www.beet.tv, Feb 2013

question to when we will truly embrace the typical sci-fi

devices of 2087 when all is a glow in cyan neon lights and

reading devices are translucent panels of glass. If this is our

future it would seem to point to dull aesthetics and a purely

information based display serving only one purpose,

information. Jonah Lehrer can relate to this suggestion,

‘before long, we’ll become so used to the mindless clarity of

e-ink – to these screens that keep on getting better – that the

technology will feedback onto the content, making us less

willing to endure harder texts. We’ll forget what it’s like to

flex those dorsal muscles, to consciously decipher a literate

clause. And that would be a shame, because not every

sentence should be easy to read.’28 Jonah, of Wired

magazine, suggests in his article that as the screen clarity

and technology of reading devices will evolve to become

clearer and therefore easier to read, that the text will

‘feedback’ into the content, he believes text will become

easier to read because it will be written with less quality thus

not allowing the reader the need to ‘decipher’ the literature

as we once did, implying the quality of well know book

authors. The information we would read would become

simplified to the bare essentials of what we need to know and

not what we perhaps want to know.

Without the sale of eBooks the transformation the

physical printed word is going through seems unnecessary,

therefore is the eBook now a preferred media? With such

advances with screen clarity finally reaching levels whereby

people could be happy to make the switch from physical to

digital, now could be a telling time for the preferred media of

the historic bound book.

19

28 Jonah Lehrer, The Future of Reading, www.wired.com, Aug 2010 - http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/09/the-future-of-reading-2/

Fig 3. “Do you prefer to read eBooks or print books?”29

The graph above is one of many from a recent survey from an

online blog ‘SurveyMonkey’ regarding the exact topic. They

asked over three-hundred American readers a series of

questions relating to their own preferred media. Although

many of the results are what they expected to find there were

some stand out results, the graph above for example. It

shows an extremely small amount of people asked read via

eReaders only and therefore meant the majority still

preferred the physical book. The majority vote was for both

formats with responses for this question providing an insight

why the eBook got such a small vote, ‘Many people wrote in

their comments and had clear reasons for avoiding the

screen like, “There’s something about curling up with a good

book in one’s hands that can’t be beat” and “I spend enough

time on computers at work, need a break” to “I like the feel

of the pages.” Nostalgia, comfort and convenience seem to

be big reasons in favour for keeping the physical book

alive.’30 Obviously this is a minuscule amount of the total

American population and a smaller still percentage of the

developed world who we can assume are also in a decision

20

29 Taken from a survey done by online blog - http://www.surveymonkey.com/

30 Print Books vs. E-books: What’s the Future of Reading? Kayte K, Mar 25 2013

Fig 3. “Do you prefer to read eBooks or print books?”29

The graph above is one of many from a recent survey from an

online blog ‘SurveyMonkey’ regarding the exact topic. They

asked over three-hundred American readers a series of

questions relating to their own preferred media. Although

many of the results are what they expected to find there were

some stand out results, the graph above for example. It

shows an extremely small amount of people asked read via

eReaders only and therefore meant the majority still

preferred the physical book. The majority vote was for both

formats with responses for this question providing an insight

why the eBook got such a small vote, ‘Many people wrote in

their comments and had clear reasons for avoiding the

screen like, “There’s something about curling up with a good

book in one’s hands that can’t be beat” and “I spend enough

time on computers at work, need a break” to “I like the feel

of the pages.” Nostalgia, comfort and convenience seem to

be big reasons in favour for keeping the physical book

alive.’30 Obviously this is a minuscule amount of the total

American population and a smaller still percentage of the

developed world who we can assume are also in a decision

20

29 Taken from a survey done by online blog - http://www.surveymonkey.com/

30 Print Books vs. E-books: What’s the Future of Reading? Kayte K, Mar 25 2013

making period of deciding which format they will buy their

future books on. Something that came up from this survey is

the body of people asked, regular American readers, all of

which were over the age of 35. Therefore this is slightly bias

as this age bracket would have grown up reading a physical

book thus having a bond which the eBook would not break. To

balance this survey out and give the eBook a fighting chance

there is another study which in many ways is the opposite to

the above. Online eBook library ebrary did a global study in

2011. The survey they devised covered numerous subjects

within the eBook popularity debate. The section with

fascinating facts is the UK section, more specifically students

within the UK. More than 6,300 students in the UK answered

this survey, which could cover many of the varying opinions

due to this vast array of answers. The stand out result from

the survey also doubled as the title for the article that

introduces the survey online, ‘UK students lead the world in

digital reading’31. From the survey what is clear is that

students in the UK have truly embraced reading digitally, this

could be down to several reasons. Age, younger people are

brought up with technology and therefore are more adaptive

to new advances in technology when such things are

released. More awareness, the survey showed that more

students in the UK were aware of the presence of eBooks

than the rest of the world, and finally ease of use, the

reasons students gave for not using a physical book pointed

towards not wanting to carry around the equivalent in paper-

based resources. ‘the format’s environmental friendliness

(72%), followed by anytime anywhere access (64%). Both of

these reasons suggest that students are increasingly turned

21

31 Author Unknown, May 14 2012, Publishing Technology, http://blog.publishingtechnology.com/online/ebrary-e-book-reading-research/

off by the idea of having to handle large amounts of paper-

based material during their studies.’32 What makes students

in the UK a driving force for the eBook? Numerous responses

from the eBook survey do point to this conclusion. Only 10%

of the 6,300 asked had never read an eBook33. When

compared to students globally, 46% of them would eschew

the eBook sticking to the historic printing method34. To

reinforce students in the UK leading the digital push, 58% of

those asked said they would rather read an eBook than the

printed version if offered the choice35, and once they’d chosen

said eBook they would then go on to spend an average of at

least ten hours a week reading on such devices36 . This is yet

another leap ahead for UK students.

It seems as though there is a preferred media, but this

is dependant upon several key variables. Age factors in as it’s

proven that the more mature generation would generally

avoid digital platforms for such reasons as they use

computers enough at work and/or they still prefer having

something tactile to hold and pages to turn themselves.

Profession, students seem to trump most occupations as

most useful to have an eBook as it is preferable to carry a

single device than a handful of text books. These devices also

22


33 Dr. Allen Mckiel, 2011 Global Student 2011 E-Book Survey, ebrary, Jan 2012 - http://site.ebrary.com/lib/surveys/docDetail.action?docID=80076107




off by the idea of having to handle large amounts of paper-

based material during their studies.’32 What makes students

in the UK a driving force for the eBook? Numerous responses

from the eBook survey do point to this conclusion. Only 10%

of the 6,300 asked had never read an eBook33. When

compared to students globally, 46% of them would eschew

the eBook sticking to the historic printing method34. To

reinforce students in the UK leading the digital push, 58% of

those asked said they would rather read an eBook than the

printed version if offered the choice35, and once they’d chosen

said eBook they would then go on to spend an average of at

least ten hours a week reading on such devices36 . This is yet

another leap ahead for UK students.

It seems as though there is a preferred media, but this

is dependant upon several key variables. Age factors in as it’s

proven that the more mature generation would generally

avoid digital platforms for such reasons as they use

computers enough at work and/or they still prefer having

something tactile to hold and pages to turn themselves.

Profession, students seem to trump most occupations as

most useful to have an eBook as it is preferable to carry a

single device than a handful of text books. These devices also

22






offer some new age research techniques that appeal to the

typical student, searching for information, for example, is

made simple on a digital device if you simply enter key words

you wish to find and the devices will find and highlight these

texts for you, something that is far from the time consuming

index - page number - paragraph search that was the norm

merely a decade before.

On a tangent to this subject. I undertook a small

experiment whilst in the research stages of this topic that

can add to the notion as to why students may be more digital

thinking when it comes to studying. I would use the

university’s library system to look for relevant books on my

chosen subject and what I would find more than 50% of the

time is that the text I am looking for is available, but only

available to be viewed online as a digital document. For

example; I searched ‘printed word’ and found that the

amount of digital online sources were almost double that of

the printed resources available (Fig 4).

Fig 4. A screen shot of a university search showing only online sources.

This was the case for numerous books that I would look for,

making it very difficult to actually get hold of a physical book

even though I wanted to. A case where I did in fact find the

physical book I intended was then shot back by digital again. I

23

enquired via the internet what typeface the book was using

and from doing so I was able to download the entire book in

PDF format totally free of charge. So what need is there for

that particular book on the shelf I ask?

To put the preferred format theory to bed, there is no

binary decision. Attempting to determine a definitive answer

would prove endless, each survey would argue the last,

dependant on the body of individuals asked. Although it does

seem to be able to state that age is the overruling criteria,

the current generation have grown with the current digital

formats and so see no such battle between print and digital,

only perhaps, that newer is better.

‘E-books, in other words, may turn out to be just another

format—an even lighter-weight, more disposable paperback.

That would fit with the discovery that once people start

buying digital books, they don't necessarily stop buying

printed ones. In fact, according to Pew, nearly 90% of e-book

readers continue to read physical volumes. The two forms

seem to serve different purposes.’37

Steven Heller backs up the reign of digital in his book

The Education of an E-Designer, “Digital versions of many

things are better than their low-tech equivalents because

they are cheaper, easier to use, more readily available, more

shareable, more sustainable ecologically, or they do more

than the old stuff they supersede...”38

When talk of the older generation and technology

arises in the same sentence it’s common place to assume

24

37 Nicholas Carr, Don't Burn Your Books—Print Is Here to Stay, U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, January 5, 2013, page C2

38 Heller, S - The Education of an E-Designer, Canada, Allworth Press, 2001

enquired via the internet what typeface the book was using

and from doing so I was able to download the entire book in

PDF format totally free of charge. So what need is there for

that particular book on the shelf I ask?

To put the preferred format theory to bed, there is no

binary decision. Attempting to determine a definitive answer

would prove endless, each survey would argue the last,

dependant on the body of individuals asked. Although it does

seem to be able to state that age is the overruling criteria,

the current generation have grown with the current digital

formats and so see no such battle between print and digital,

only perhaps, that newer is better.

‘E-books, in other words, may turn out to be just another

format—an even lighter-weight, more disposable paperback.

That would fit with the discovery that once people start

buying digital books, they don't necessarily stop buying

printed ones. In fact, according to Pew, nearly 90% of e-book

readers continue to read physical volumes. The two forms

seem to serve different purposes.’37

Steven Heller backs up the reign of digital in his book

The Education of an E-Designer, “Digital versions of many

things are better than their low-tech equivalents because

they are cheaper, easier to use, more readily available, more

shareable, more sustainable ecologically, or they do more

than the old stuff they supersede...”38

When talk of the older generation and technology

arises in the same sentence it’s common place to assume

24

37 Nicholas Carr, Don't Burn Your Books—Print Is Here to Stay, U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, January 5, 2013, page C2

38 Heller, S - The Education of an E-Designer, Canada, Allworth Press, 2001

that they tend to have issues in that department. In

particular, switching from the physical object such as

calendar to its’ digital counterpart. ‘In 1984, Apple introduced

a graphical UI (user interface) that presented information in

overlapping windows stacked behind one another —

essentially, a set of book pages. The user was given the

ability to go back and forth between pages, as well as to

scroll through individual pages. In this way the traditional

page was redefined as a virtual page...’39 When computers

were starting to become common place in the everyday home

designers created digital graphics called skeuomorphs to

ease the transition onto the screen. A skeuomorph; ‘A design

feature that is carried forth from the original version of a

product in order to make people feel comfortable with the

new device. For example, the click sound that is heard when

taking a picture with a digital camera comes from an audio

clip; however, the sound originally came from the actual

shutter opening and closing.’40 In the early days of the digital

UI these played a big part in helping the public catch on to

what each component did, however there is mixed opinions

on the use of them in the present day. Apple have been the

leaders in the use of skeuomorphs with almost 70% of their

interface being based on the real object, along with its

sounds and how it animates. This was mainly due to Apple

founder Steve Jobs’ personal love for them, hence why they

have become such an important component within Apple’s UI

designs. ‘When you turn a page in an Apple e-book, the

“paper” curls as you flip it over, ... Apple's Contacts app looks

like a physical address book, ... And, perhaps most

25

39 Manovich, L - The Language of New Media, United States of America, The MIT Press (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) 2001

40 http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia_term/0,1233,t=skeuomorph&i=60154,00.asp

superfluous of all, torn-off paper scraps adorn the top of the

Calendar program's “binding,” as though previous months'

pages have been torn away.’41 (Fig 5.)

Fig 5. Apples iCalender app, looking much like a physical calendar.

David Pogue, the technology columnist for the New

York Times believes they are not doing the job they originally

set out to do, ‘These design features, critics argue, no longer

help novices make a transition. You don't need unsightly

paper remnants to understand that you are using a calendar.

A curling-page animation just slows the reader down for the

sake of showing off. Meanwhile slavish dependence on real-

world visual metaphors could be holding back more creative,

space-efficient or self-explanatory designs.’ So he continues

to state that Windows, Apple’s main competitor has accepted

that it is 2013 and digital interfaces should embrace that.

‘Microsoft's latest operating systems—Windows Phone, for

example—run full bore the opposite direction. Their

interfaces are all digital, with no references to the physical

world. (Fig 6.)

26

41 David Pogue, Apple Shouldn’t Make Software Look Like Real Objects, 20 Feb 13

superfluous of all, torn-off paper scraps adorn the top of the

Calendar program's “binding,” as though previous months'

pages have been torn away.’41 (Fig 5.)


David Pogue, the technology columnist for the New

York Times believes they are not doing the job they originally

set out to do, ‘These design features, critics argue, no longer

help novices make a transition. You don't need unsightly

paper remnants to understand that you are using a calendar.

A curling-page animation just slows the reader down for the

sake of showing off. Meanwhile slavish dependence on real-

world visual metaphors could be holding back more creative,

space-efficient or self-explanatory designs.’ So he continues

to state that Windows, Apple’s main competitor has accepted

that it is 2013 and digital interfaces should embrace that.

‘Microsoft's latest operating systems—Windows Phone, for

example—run full bore the opposite direction. Their

interfaces are all digital, with no references to the physical

world. (Fig 6.)

26


Fig 6. Example of Apple’s skeuomorphic design (Left) and the Windows

phone equivalent (Right).

The designers are clearly saying, “It's 2013, people.

We don't need fake wood grain and green felt to convey

software functions.”42 The counter argument to this that

there is a need for skeuomorphs if they are done properly,

Tobias Ahlin points out ‘when it’s used appropriately,

skeuomorphic design can give users a quick sense of what

an app does. This is especially true for non-experts. How do

you convey to someone that Notes is where you jot down a

grocery list but Pages is where you type up a book report? If

both apps showed you nothing but a blank screen, a novice

wouldn’t know what to do. But since it looks like a notebook,

Notes doesn’t even need a help screen.’43

To look back at the printed word again, there are

mixed opinions, that is if you ask an avid reader. Mark

27


43 Tobias Ahlin, Skeuomorphism & Storytelling, 20 April 13 - http://tobiasahlin.com/blog/skeuomorphism-and-storytelling/

Rossiter sees beyond the design and layout of eBooks and

focus’ on the text itself, after all isn’t this all that matters

when reading a text? “When you ask me if I’ve read, say,

Pride and Prejudice, you don’t usually mean a particular

edition or format (paperback or hardcover). Strange as it may

seem at first glance, you don’t necessarily even mean any

particular language. You’re talking about something beyond

the concrete: the eternal text, ethereal, almost outside of

language. It’s up there, in the sky, free from the caprices of

nature, of water, wind or fire, free even from time.”44 Hugh

McGuire on a 2012 TED talk has an interesting opinion on the

appearance of the digital book. He states foremost that

eBooks are here to stay and goes on to say that eBooks are

more like the internet than physical printed books due to the

internet language (HTML) that they are written in. “...and that

really, I think, is a problem, and it’s a problem because in

order to get this similarity with the past we’ve ended up

constraining eBooks and making them look a lot more like

print books and a lot less like the internet.”45 It could be said

that digital has kept a certain respect for the printed book by

the way it is viewed on electronic formats, it can’t just be

forgotten about and so continues to be visually pleasing, or

displeasing, within the eBook. However, this does seem to be

more disliked than liked, especially when it comes to Apple’s

design future, ‘Apple's famous chief of hardware design, Jony

Ive, is now in charge of software design as well, and he's not

a fan of skeuomorphism in software. The days of iPhone apps

that have fake wood grain, fake brushed metal and fake

28

44 Mark Rossiter, Ebooks needn’t look like print books (a metaphysical view), July 12 2012 - http://momentumbooks.com.au/blog/blog/ebooks-neednt-look-like-print-books-an-metaphysical-view/

45 Hugh McGuire - The Blurring Line Between Books and the Internet, Video, TEDxMontreal, 2012 - http://tedxtalks.ted.com/video/TEDxMontreal-Hugh-McGuire-The-B

Rossiter sees beyond the design and layout of eBooks and

focus’ on the text itself, after all isn’t this all that matters

when reading a text? “When you ask me if I’ve read, say,

Pride and Prejudice, you don’t usually mean a particular

edition or format (paperback or hardcover). Strange as it may

seem at first glance, you don’t necessarily even mean any

particular language. You’re talking about something beyond

the concrete: the eternal text, ethereal, almost outside of

language. It’s up there, in the sky, free from the caprices of

nature, of water, wind or fire, free even from time.”44 Hugh

McGuire on a 2012 TED talk has an interesting opinion on the

appearance of the digital book. He states foremost that

eBooks are here to stay and goes on to say that eBooks are

more like the internet than physical printed books due to the

internet language (HTML) that they are written in. “...and that

really, I think, is a problem, and it’s a problem because in

order to get this similarity with the past we’ve ended up

constraining eBooks and making them look a lot more like

print books and a lot less like the internet.”45 It could be said

that digital has kept a certain respect for the printed book by

the way it is viewed on electronic formats, it can’t just be

forgotten about and so continues to be visually pleasing, or

displeasing, within the eBook. However, this does seem to be

more disliked than liked, especially when it comes to Apple’s

design future, ‘Apple's famous chief of hardware design, Jony

Ive, is now in charge of software design as well, and he's not

a fan of skeuomorphism in software. The days of iPhone apps

that have fake wood grain, fake brushed metal and fake

28

44 Mark Rossiter, Ebooks needn’t look like print books (a metaphysical view), July 12 2012 - http://momentumbooks.com.au/blog/blog/ebooks-neednt-look-like-print-books-an-metaphysical-view/

45 Hugh McGuire - The Blurring Line Between Books and the Internet, Video, TEDxMontreal, 2012 - http://tedxtalks.ted.com/video/TEDxMontreal-Hugh-McGuire-The-B

stitching in fake leather are probably numbered.’46 So we

could see a visual switch from the skeuomorphic designs to

the modern flat, bold, straight edged designs that Windows

are currently at the forefront of.

29


CHAPTER 3

Graphic Design / Photography

Leading on from the design elements that have been

discussed, uses of skeuomorphic to the modern flat designs

can take us to the people creating such visual identities for

the eBooks designers. Where do they stand on the field of

digital and print, further still, photographers? It’s widely

considered that photography has already been through a

digital transition, although there is very little that points

towards the decline of analogue there are tremendous

resources telling us that digital photography has become the

norm. For example, almost every individual that owns a

mobile phone in the present day also owns a digital camera,

along with several other devices all combined on the mobile.

It isn’t seen as unique anymore and so the want for such

items like the analogue camera has diminished. ‘What has

become clear over the past decade is that any sufficiently

cheap technology will become compulsory. Cheap, almost

free, digital photography and cheap, almost free, publishing

through the likes of Flickr and MySpace and YouTube: these

have led to the paradigm of human activity as being

something which is verified by being first recorded, then

published.’47 There is still a niche market for the analogue

camera, much like there is for the physical book, but perhaps

photography is further along the timeline, with analogues dip

in use and digitals constant rise. So the same could be still to

come for the physical book. “The important thing to

30

47 Micheal Bywater, 11 Feb 2009, The Independent Newspaper - Digital photography: Has it become an obsession? - http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/features/digital-photography-has-it-become-an-obsession-1606148.html

CHAPTER 3

Graphic Design / Photography

Leading on from the design elements that have been

discussed, uses of skeuomorphic to the modern flat designs

can take us to the people creating such visual identities for

the eBooks designers. Where do they stand on the field of

digital and print, further still, photographers? It’s widely

considered that photography has already been through a

digital transition, although there is very little that points

towards the decline of analogue there are tremendous

resources telling us that digital photography has become the

norm. For example, almost every individual that owns a

mobile phone in the present day also owns a digital camera,

along with several other devices all combined on the mobile.

It isn’t seen as unique anymore and so the want for such

items like the analogue camera has diminished. ‘What has

become clear over the past decade is that any sufficiently

cheap technology will become compulsory. Cheap, almost

free, digital photography and cheap, almost free, publishing

through the likes of Flickr and MySpace and YouTube: these

have led to the paradigm of human activity as being

something which is verified by being first recorded, then

published.’47 There is still a niche market for the analogue

camera, much like there is for the physical book, but perhaps

photography is further along the timeline, with analogues dip

in use and digitals constant rise. So the same could be still to

come for the physical book. “The important thing to

30

47 Micheal Bywater, 11 Feb 2009, The Independent Newspaper - Digital photography: Has it become an obsession? - http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/features/digital-photography-has-it-become-an-obsession-1606148.html

remember is that film doesn’t mean digital is bad, and digital

doesn’t mean film is bad,”48

Designers may not continue to design eBooks to look

like physical books, especially now Apple’s chief designer

doesn’t have much niceties for that type of visual, and the

likes of the Amazon Kindle has gone its own way in displaying

text as a body of information instead of the traditional text on

a page that then animates and turns over much like a book.

The graphic designers now play a key role for each

format within this debate, and have as individuals, personal

opinions about the varying path print is on. When taking out

primary research on the subject, specifically talking to

designers, I have found irrelevant the style of work that each

person exercises, they have all noticed an increase in digital.

Whether this is an outcome of their own work or just a

general acknowledgement it is still apparent that digital

elements within design has also risen. During the primary

research I undertook I found these results. 100% of those

asked answered that digital formats were having an influence

on the physical page, with 50% of those then answering

negative when asked if this was a positive or negative effect

(25% answered positive and the other 25% answered

neither). When asked about their own careers within design,

‘When you started in the design industry how much design

was digitally influenced? Approx.’ 75% said between 0-20% of

the then current industry was digital, which is the smallest

opinion they were given as an answer. These are all current

designers who when they started out believe that there was

no digital formats or influence. Compare these answers to

31

48 Stacey Hedman, Freelance Photography: Digital vs. Film Case Study, 15 Feb 2012 - http://freelanceswitch.com/freelance-news/case-studies/photography-digital-vs-film/

the next question which was of a similar form however this

was aimed at the present day, ‘How much of design as a

whole do you believe is digitally influenced in the present

day? Approx.’, This gave a more varied response due to the

nature of jobs each person has had a career in, two opposing

examples of this; a letterpress printer for the physical

designers compared then to an app designer for digital.

Having such a wide scope enabled me to get more accurate

and realistic answers. All the responses for this question

were above the 50% mark but fell under several percentage

groups, with the majority believing 80-100% of design output

is currently in some way digital. This has increased

dramatically in approximately thirty years, backing up

previous evidence that digital has been on the increase in the

last few decades. To draw conclusion to the questionnaire

each participant was asked the simple ‘Is print dead?’, a

popular phrase that has been running around the internet

since the eBook was launched. The response was unanimous

in adoration of print, 100% of people asked said they believe

print to not be ‘dead’.

‘It’s not that print is dead’49 seems to be the common

theory among the avid reader and designer alike. Both

photographers and graphic designers are now in constant

use of digital devices and formats for their day to day

practices. However this doesn’t necessarily point them in

favour of one or the other. So what isn’t clear is which side

they would fall into, or even if they need to fall onto a side?

Both careers began with analogue formats, the camera with

film, and graphic design with handmade physical type and

posters. It just so happens they are both in transition periods

32

49 David Smart, Graphic Communications lecturer, Plymouth University, 2012

the next question which was of a similar form however this

was aimed at the present day, ‘How much of design as a

whole do you believe is digitally influenced in the present

day? Approx.’, This gave a more varied response due to the

nature of jobs each person has had a career in, two opposing

examples of this; a letterpress printer for the physical

designers compared then to an app designer for digital.

Having such a wide scope enabled me to get more accurate

and realistic answers. All the responses for this question

were above the 50% mark but fell under several percentage

groups, with the majority believing 80-100% of design output

is currently in some way digital. This has increased

dramatically in approximately thirty years, backing up

previous evidence that digital has been on the increase in the

last few decades. To draw conclusion to the questionnaire

each participant was asked the simple ‘Is print dead?’, a

popular phrase that has been running around the internet

since the eBook was launched. The response was unanimous

in adoration of print, 100% of people asked said they believe

print to not be ‘dead’.

‘It’s not that print is dead’49 seems to be the common

theory among the avid reader and designer alike. Both

photographers and graphic designers are now in constant

use of digital devices and formats for their day to day

practices. However this doesn’t necessarily point them in

favour of one or the other. So what isn’t clear is which side

they would fall into, or even if they need to fall onto a side?

Both careers began with analogue formats, the camera with

film, and graphic design with handmade physical type and

posters. It just so happens they are both in transition periods

32

49 David Smart, Graphic Communications lecturer, Plymouth University, 2012

which can be argued is losing the history of the practice but it

can also be said, as I found in my questionnaire, that even

though this is a very real movement to digital that it isn't

influencing the way people think of print. It is very much

alive.

33

CONCLUSION

I have to admit, I started this research topic because I

did have a predefined opinion that digital had taken over and

that the printed words’ days were numbered, a severely naive

opinion to have had in the first place. The truth is I have been

on this earth for just over twenty years which in hindsight is a

relatively small amount of time given the lifespan of the

book. I believe my previous opinion had been based on those

twenty years. I’ve always been fascinated by technology, how

it all works, why each component does what it does, and so

because of this I’ve constantly surrounded myself with the

digital formats I’ve been lucky enough to grow up with.

Starting with a mobile phone and leading up to the present

day with iPhones and iPads. So I think although it is my own

downfall to have been blinded by digital and only digital I also

think it was inevitable for my path to plan out like it has.

The printed word is on a decline, all sources point to

this outcome. Even though this is the case, large amounts of

people still prefer the physicality of a page by page format.

Regardless of this printing houses are under pressure to

keep printing books, I’ve found that many of the smaller

publishers have now gone due to poor sales and the

publishing giants like Penguin and Random House forced to

merge to keep themselves afloat. When you think about this

it would need to be a major concern for these types of houses

for them to want to join instead of compete. I see it as a joint

battle against the digital wave they have found themselves in.

Above all, I’ve found it to be age that defines if you

read your text on a screen or a page. It almost became a two-

sided battle of the older reader vs the digital student, it

became almost as clear as that. The younger generation,

34

CONCLUSION

I have to admit, I started this research topic because I

did have a predefined opinion that digital had taken over and

that the printed words’ days were numbered, a severely naive

opinion to have had in the first place. The truth is I have been

on this earth for just over twenty years which in hindsight is a

relatively small amount of time given the lifespan of the

book. I believe my previous opinion had been based on those

twenty years. I’ve always been fascinated by technology, how

it all works, why each component does what it does, and so

because of this I’ve constantly surrounded myself with the

digital formats I’ve been lucky enough to grow up with.

Starting with a mobile phone and leading up to the present

day with iPhones and iPads. So I think although it is my own

downfall to have been blinded by digital and only digital I also

think it was inevitable for my path to plan out like it has.

The printed word is on a decline, all sources point to

this outcome. Even though this is the case, large amounts of

people still prefer the physicality of a page by page format.

Regardless of this printing houses are under pressure to

keep printing books, I’ve found that many of the smaller

publishers have now gone due to poor sales and the

publishing giants like Penguin and Random House forced to

merge to keep themselves afloat. When you think about this

it would need to be a major concern for these types of houses

for them to want to join instead of compete. I see it as a joint

battle against the digital wave they have found themselves in.

Above all, I’ve found it to be age that defines if you

read your text on a screen or a page. It almost became a two-

sided battle of the older reader vs the digital student, it

became almost as clear as that. The younger generation,

34

students, the commuters, including myself, are brought up

with digital, televisions, phones, the internet. We find

ourselves wanting new technologies and becoming so

programmed in to how they function that we have no issue

with each new device that is released. However this is not the

case for the older generation. If you were brought up with the

book naturally you’ll want to stick with what you know and

would find a transition to digital devices more difficult. As a

student I find that if I can carry all my work and copies of

books on one device then this is going to benefit me, which is

a shared opinion with hundreds of students worldwide,

especially those in the United Kingdom as we as a country

are leading in terms of using the eBooks. Not a surprising

statistic as getting your hands on physical books is becoming

more difficult and time consuming when you could view the

text you want online seconds after you search for it.

As for the printed word, that isn’t going anywhere. Has

‘video killed the radio star’50? No, radio is still very much a

key part of listening to music. I see this as how the physical

book and eBooks will continue co-existing and almost

complementing each other. I’ve found that no one wants or

believes that print is dead, which is a positive thought for the

book. It is merely in a state of transition, transition of finding

out what is in stall for it next. But I can confidently say that

we won’t be seeing our beloved book shelves emptying any

time soon.

The fact remains that digital formats and their housing

devices are here and will continue to grow in terms of

memory, allowing you to store more content, and in quality,

making you want to read more text on a screen than off it. I’m

35

50 Video Killed the Radio Star, The Buggles, The Age of Plastic, 7 Sept 1979 - Geoff Downes, Trevor Horn and Bruce Woolley.

already curious how this text would look on a digital iPad

screen and I think that is how people using such devices will

move forward, curiosity. Curiosity of how each book will

appear on screen.

As a graphic designer this has been an eye opening

topic for me. I originally set out to determine what effect

digital is having on the printed word. Not expecting my

opinion to be changed in any way, but having found my

estimation to be true it has in a way disheartened me. I have

a new found respect for the printed word which will stay with

me throughout my design career, happily knowing print is not

dead.

Ashley CoxPlymouth University

2013

36

already curious how this text would look on a digital iPad

screen and I think that is how people using such devices will

move forward, curiosity. Curiosity of how each book will

appear on screen.

As a graphic designer this has been an eye opening

topic for me. I originally set out to determine what effect

digital is having on the printed word. Not expecting my

opinion to be changed in any way, but having found my

estimation to be true it has in a way disheartened me. I have

a new found respect for the printed word which will stay with

me throughout my design career, happily knowing print is not

dead.

Ashley CoxPlymouth University

2013

36

FURTHER READING

Gomez, J - Print is Dead, Books in Our Digital Age

Brown, G J. Beyond print: reading digitally [PDF]

Heller, S - The Education of an E-Designer

Manovich, L - The Language of New Media

37

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books

Bolter, J D - Writing Space, Computers, Hypertext, and the Remediation of Print, Second Edition, United States, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates 2001

Gomez, J - Print is Dead, Books in Our Digital Age, China, Macmillan, 2008

Hara K, (Helen Armstrong ed.) Designing Design, China, Princeton Architectural Press, 2007

Heller, S - The Education of an E-Designer, Canada, Allworth Press, 2001

Manovich, L - The Language of New Media, United States of America, The MIT Press (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) 2001

Articles

Béhar, P. Colombani, L and Krishnan, S. Publishing in the digital era Bain & Company, 2012 [PDF] http://www.bain.com/Images/BB_Publishing_in_the_digital_era_4_11.pdf

Brown, G J. Beyond print: reading digitally, 2001 [PDF]

Nicholas Carr, Don't Burn Your Books—Print Is Here to Stay, U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, January 5, 2013, page C2 - Newspaper

Reading the Future, The Book Seller, 2011, [PDF] http://lib-srvr9.lib.plymouth.ac.uk:8080/tal_xmlui/bitstream/handle/10026.2/1411/Reading%20the%20future.pdf?sequence=1

Werner Ballhaus, Turning the Page The Future of eBooks, 2010 [PDF]

Internet

Ahlin, T. Skeuomorphism & Storytelling, 20 April 13 [Online] http://tobiasahlin.com/blog/skeuomorphism-and-storytelling/

38

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books

Bolter, J D - Writing Space, Computers, Hypertext, and the Remediation of Print, Second Edition, United States, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates 2001

Gomez, J - Print is Dead, Books in Our Digital Age, China, Macmillan, 2008

Hara K, (Helen Armstrong ed.) Designing Design, China, Princeton Architectural Press, 2007

Heller, S - The Education of an E-Designer, Canada, Allworth Press, 2001

Manovich, L - The Language of New Media, United States of America, The MIT Press (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) 2001

Articles

Béhar, P. Colombani, L and Krishnan, S. Publishing in the digital era Bain & Company, 2012 [PDF] http://www.bain.com/Images/BB_Publishing_in_the_digital_era_4_11.pdf

Brown, G J. Beyond print: reading digitally, 2001 [PDF]

Nicholas Carr, Don't Burn Your Books—Print Is Here to Stay, U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, January 5, 2013, page C2 - Newspaper

Reading the Future, The Book Seller, 2011, [PDF] http://lib-srvr9.lib.plymouth.ac.uk:8080/tal_xmlui/bitstream/handle/10026.2/1411/Reading%20the%20future.pdf?sequence=1

Werner Ballhaus, Turning the Page The Future of eBooks, 2010 [PDF]

Internet

Ahlin, T. Skeuomorphism & Storytelling, 20 April 13 [Online] http://tobiasahlin.com/blog/skeuomorphism-and-storytelling/

38

Bantwal, N. [Online] http://www.buzzle.com/articles/history-of-the-printing-press.html

Bywater, M. The Independent Newspaper - Digital photography: Has it become an obsession? 11 Feb 2009 [Online] http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/features/digital-photography-has-it-become-an-obsession-1606148.html

David Pogue, Apple Shouldn’t Make Software Look Like Real Objects, 20 Feb 13 [Online] http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=apple-shouldnt-make-software-look-like-real-objects

Goodrich, R. What is HTML5? Tech News Daily, Jan 15 2013, [Online] http://www.technewsdaily.com/16388-what-is-html5.html

Hall, B. 13 April 2011, [Online] http://www.myprintresource.com/article/10254475/offset-is-down-but-not-out

Hedman, S. Freelance Photography: Digital vs. Film Case Study, 15 Feb 2012 [Online] http://freelanceswitch.com/freelance-news/case-studies/photography-digital-vs-film/

Hedman, S. Freelance Photography: Digital vs. Film Case Study, 15 Feb 2012 [Online] http://freelanceswitch.com/freelance-news/case-studies/photography-digital-vs-film/

James L. McQuivey, Ph.D. [Online] http://www.digitalbookworld.com/2012/analyst-publishers-seeing-steady-print-declines-should-ready-for-steep-drop/

Jonah Lehrer, The Future of Reading, www.wired.com, Aug 2010 [Online] http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/09/the-future-of-reading-2/

Kayte, K. Print Books vs. E-books: What’s the Future of Reading? Mar 25 2013 [Online] http://blog.surveymonkey.com/blog/2013/03/25/print-books-vs-e-books-whats-the-future-of-reading/

Lithographic SIC 2752: Commercial Printing, [Online] http://business.highbeam.com/industry-reports/wood/commercial-printing-lithographic

39

Michael Kozlowski, The Future of Digital Publishing Will Be HTML5, 21 Feb 2013 [Online] http://goodereader.com/blog/e-book-news/the-future-of-digital-publishing-will-be-html5/

Oxford Dictionaries, [Online] http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/technology

PC Mag.com [Online] http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia_term/0,1233,t=skeuomorph&i=60154,00.asp

Pfanner, E. and Chozick, A. New York Times, 2009, [Online] http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/30/business/global/random-house-and-penguin-to-be-combined.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Rossiter, M. Ebooks needn’t look like print books (a metaphysical view), July 12 2012 [Online] http://momentumbooks.com.au/blog/blog/ebooks-neednt-look-like-print-books-an-metaphysical-view/

SIC 2732: Book Printing, Highbeam Business. [Online] http://business.highbeam.com/industry-reports/wood/books-publishing-publishing-printing

Survey Monkey survey [Online] - http://www.surveymonkey.com/

Thompson, John B. Sociology Professor, 5 Sept 2012. [Online] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-b-thompson/future-of-books_b_1501182.html

Unknown, May 14 2012, Publishing Technology, [Online] http://blog.publishingtechnology.com/online/ebrary-e-book-reading-research/

Zhang, S. The Digital Life, May 4 2012 [Online] http://www.prosumer-report.com/blog/2012/05/04/why-digital-technologies-are-making-life-on-planet-earth-better/

Other

David Smart, Graphic Communications lecturer, Plymouth University, 2012

Downes, G. Horn, T. and Woolley, B. Video Killed the Radio Star, The Buggles, The Age of Plastic, 7 Sept 1979 [Audio]

40

Michael Kozlowski, The Future of Digital Publishing Will Be HTML5, 21 Feb 2013 [Online] http://goodereader.com/blog/e-book-news/the-future-of-digital-publishing-will-be-html5/

Oxford Dictionaries, [Online] http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/technology

PC Mag.com [Online] http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia_term/0,1233,t=skeuomorph&i=60154,00.asp

Pfanner, E. and Chozick, A. New York Times, 2009, [Online] http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/30/business/global/random-house-and-penguin-to-be-combined.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Rossiter, M. Ebooks needn’t look like print books (a metaphysical view), July 12 2012 [Online] http://momentumbooks.com.au/blog/blog/ebooks-neednt-look-like-print-books-an-metaphysical-view/

SIC 2732: Book Printing, Highbeam Business. [Online] http://business.highbeam.com/industry-reports/wood/books-publishing-publishing-printing

Survey Monkey survey [Online] - http://www.surveymonkey.com/

Thompson, John B. Sociology Professor, 5 Sept 2012. [Online] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-b-thompson/future-of-books_b_1501182.html

Unknown, May 14 2012, Publishing Technology, [Online] http://blog.publishingtechnology.com/online/ebrary-e-book-reading-research/

Zhang, S. The Digital Life, May 4 2012 [Online] http://www.prosumer-report.com/blog/2012/05/04/why-digital-technologies-are-making-life-on-planet-earth-better/

Other

David Smart, Graphic Communications lecturer, Plymouth University, 2012

Downes, G. Horn, T. and Woolley, B. Video Killed the Radio Star, The Buggles, The Age of Plastic, 7 Sept 1979 [Audio]

40

Dr. Allen Mckiel, 2011 Global Student 2011 E-Book Survey, ebrary, Jan 2012 - http://site.ebrary.com/lib/surveys/docDetail.action?docID=80076107

Jason Pontin, Film - Interview, http://www.beet.tv, Feb 2013

McGuire, H. The Blurring Line Between Books and the Internet, Video, TEDxMontreal, 2012 [Video] http://tedxtalks.ted.com/video/TEDxMontreal-Hugh-McGuire-The-B

41

IMAGES

Fig 1. A 15th century printing press similar to the one Gutenberg invented. - Philips J L - http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/fall04/phillips/index.html - Sourced Thu 11 April 2013

Fig 2. Futuristic Business Woman Reading Digital Newspaper. -

http://www.corbisimages.com/stock-photo/rights-managed/

42-17018685/futuristic-businesswoman-reading-digital-

newspaper - User Name: Ashley Cox

Fig 3. “Do you prefer to read eBooks or print books?” - http://

blog.surveymonkey.com/blog/2013/03/25/print-books-vs-e-books-

whats-the-future-of-reading/

Fig 4. A screen shot of a university search showing only online

sources. - Source Ashley Cox, Fri 5 April 2013.


- Source Ashley Cox, Fri 5 April 2013.

Fig 6. Example of Apple’s skeuomorphic design and the Windows

phone equivalent. - Source Ashley Cox, Mon 8 April 2013.

42

IMAGES

Fig 1. A 15th century printing press similar to the one Gutenberg invented. - Philips J L - http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/fall04/phillips/index.html - Sourced Thu 11 April 2013

Fig 2. Futuristic Business Woman Reading Digital Newspaper. -

http://www.corbisimages.com/stock-photo/rights-managed/

42-17018685/futuristic-businesswoman-reading-digital-

newspaper - User Name: Ashley Cox

Fig 3. “Do you prefer to read eBooks or print books?” - http://

blog.surveymonkey.com/blog/2013/03/25/print-books-vs-e-books-

whats-the-future-of-reading/

Fig 4. A screen shot of a university search showing only online

sources. - Source Ashley Cox, Fri 5 April 2013.


- Source Ashley Cox, Fri 5 April 2013.

Fig 6. Example of Apple’s skeuomorphic design and the Windows

phone equivalent. - Source Ashley Cox, Mon 8 April 2013.

42

APPENDIX

Questionnaire

DISSERTATION RESEARCH QUESTIONNAIRE

PLEASE CIRCLE OR IF READING ON A DIGITAL FORMAT, PLEASE HIGHLIGHT AND SEND BACK, THANK YOU.

1. When you started in the design industry how much design was digitally influenced? Approx.

A: 0-20%

B: 21-40% C: 41-60%

D: 61-80% E: 81-100%

2. How much of design as a whole do you believe is digitally influenced in the present day? Approx.

A: 0-20%

B: 21-40% C: 41-60%

D: 61-80% E: 81-100%

3. Since you’ve been in the industry what has been your larger design format?

DIGITAL BASED PRINT BASED

4. Would you say this was what you originally thought you’d be producing?

YES NO UNSURE

5. Do you think the that new digital platforms are having an affect on the physical page?

43

YES NO UNSURE

5a. If YES do you think its having a positive or negative effect, thinking about how of en it will be used.

POSITIVE NEGATIVE

6. Is print dead?

YES NO

ANYTHING TO ADD?

Thank you for taking the time to fill out this questionnaire, much appreciated.

44

YES NO UNSURE

5a. If YES do you think its having a positive or negative effect, thinking about how of en it will be used.

POSITIVE NEGATIVE

6. Is print dead?

YES NO

ANYTHING TO ADD?

Thank you for taking the time to fill out this questionnaire, much appreciated.

44

45

FIN.

dissertation - ashley cox

Documents