Renaissance Octavo versus iPad Application

Camille Dehne

21 November 2011

While comparing one of today’s wildly popular iPad applications to a revolutionary “pocket book” from the Renaissance may seem a bit far-fetched, there are surprising similarities between the two. Flipboard and Venetius Ex Aedibvo are two works that appropriately formatted text in innovative ways to engage an audience during their respective time periods.

Aldus Manutius, an Italian printer of the European Renaissance, produced Virgil’s Venetius Ex Aedibvo in 1501. This was the first book printed in all italics and it caused a “revolution in the typographic world” (Francesco Raibolini). The Aldine italic that Manutius used was clear and well designed for this time period. However, its function is questionable when compared to modern typography. Venetius Ex Aedibvo was presented in an octavo format, making it easily portable due to the small size. By condensing the content onto a smaller page, the production value of this book was much cheaper. This was essentially the first “pocket book” of the time and it greatly contributed to the increase in accessibility and ease in readability of books.

During the fifteenth century, Venice had become the “outstanding European center of commerce and industry. It was inevitable that such a center should seize upon the opportunities offered by the new craft of printing” (McMurtrie 197). The merchants of Venice now saw books as a valuable commodity in trade. The large-scale production of books contributed greatly to the future and evolution of typography. Manutius

“first showed the way by which the benefits of printing could best be disseminated among the greatest number of people, by producing books of convenient size and selling them at a reasonable price” (McMurtrie 198). Manutius was determined, and stood by this belief, to make books available to the largest possible number of people. Manutius held a set of practical values, combined with his ingenuity, which he applied to this revolutionary formatting and publishing of books.

Opera of Virgil, 1501. The first of the octavo classics, and the first book printed wholly in italic type. Aldus pays tribute to Francesco Griffo, the designer of the type, in the verses on the left-hand page. Original page size 154x87 mm.

Flipboard, a “social magazine” application for Apple’s iPad, was created in 2010. Though most people today know what an iPad is, I will explain the medium in which its applications are formatted and how they are unique. The iPad is a handheld device that digitally mimics a sheet of paper or even a book. Flipboard allows the user to access a multitude of information that includes text, images, and even video. The information is visually (and literally) divided into categories to organize the topics that are covered, creating a visual hierarchy that is easily understood by the user. Flipboard incorporates social media like Facebook and Twitter, along with news and other material, to act as a single source providing access to information. This integration spurs interaction between the user and information. The iPad alone is a revolutionary technology that is essentially a library of information. Hypothetically, Flipboard houses the books of this library.

While Flipboard is not one specific “book,” it hosts numerous sources of material resulting in a “social magazine.” Flipboard, and other similar applications, have paved the way for users to have access to information with the tap of a finger. Similarly, Venetius Ex Aedibvo paved the way for creating books that were not only more obtainable but more suitable for reading on the go. Manutius repurposed books by publishing them in an octavo format. This format can be compared to today’s paperbacks and even the more popular

“e-readers.” While both artifacts use entirely different mediums (a book and a technology application), they both focus on the arrangement and purpose of information in order to reach a bigger audience. Both of the artifacts’ mediums are very timely and use the book and an application to their full potential.

Both Flipboard and Venetius Ex Aedibvo use formats that invite people to read the book or use the application to read. This inviting characteristic is defined by the ease of obtaining the information/text. The octavo editions were designed to be books that could be carried around and “comfortably held in one hand while in use” (Oswald 126). This design choice can be directly applied to the iPad. Apple designed this product to imitate the hand-held features and comforts of books, while moving forward in this technological generation. One of the main purposes/functions of the iPad is to have documents, books, and other multimedia available in one place for the user to access at any time with ease. Flipboard, for instance, can be carried around, on the go. The handheld component of both Venetius Ex Aedibvo and Flipboard revolutionized the arrangement and delivery of information.

Main page of Flipboard.

With the popularity of small books came design choices that needed to utilize the octavo format successfully. Manutius realized that “small books required a condensed type that would allow the maximum amount of text to be printed on a page” (Archer). Similarly, the amount of information in circulation these days requires a “host” to serve this information from one location. Flipboard does just that—provides a platform from which all information is received and viewed. The organization and structured display of information on Flipboard allows the user to easily and readily access the information.

Though a book and an application are entirely different mediums, they still have similarities that have progressed, and continue to progress, the evolution of information delivery. Books have evolved into iBooks and this adaptation of technology will continue to occur today, tomorrow, and in the future. The sizes of both artifacts (octavo format and iPad/application) are important characteristics that have contributed to their revolutionary effect on society. Both Venetius Ex Aedibvo and Flipboard took into consideration the engagement of an audience—how to design/format text and other information in a pre-existing medium to capture a bigger audience. These innovations successfully present information in such a way that a larger audience was, and is, reached. Both works spurred conversation and discussion not only because of their design and production, but also because of their availability to more people. Venetius Ex Aedibvo and Flipboard were both created during times when the presentation of information had great potential and the use of

“technologies” influenced the innovation of both works.

Flipboard on an iPad

Two facing pages of the 1501 Virgil showing the “chancery” or italic type cut for Aldus.

Works Cited

Archer, Caroline. “Francesco Griffo’s Italic.” Printweek (2008): 71. Business Source Complete. Web. 17 Nov. 2011.

“Francesco Raibolini – Goldsmith, Medallist, Die Sinker, Gem Engraver, And Type Founder.” Old And Sold Antiques Auction. Web. 17 Nov. 2011. <http://www.oldandsold.com/articles32n/francia-1.shtml>.

McMurtrie, Douglas C. The Book; The Story Of Printing & Bookmaking, By Douglas C. Mcmurtrie. New York, London [etc.] Oxford University Press [1943], 1943. ST EDWARDS UNIV’s Catalog. Web. 17 Nov. 2011.

Oswald, John Clyde. A History Of Printing; Its Development Through Five Hundred Years. New York, Appleton and Company, 1928. ST EDWARDS UNIV’s Catalog. Web. 17 Nov. 2011.