VV.AA. September 2021 To be continued, Thinking digital. How technologies (will) shape the art book, in collaboration with New York University Abu Dhabi, EduXion – Enhanced educational tools, EdiXion, Dubai.
Premise. The result of a gradual evolution of writing and printing systems, the book has always been considered the site where knowledge is conserved. The printing should mark the milestone reached by any scientific research or writing until that date.
The format of a book is the result of current printing methods, which are conditioned by printer and sheet size, folding and binding procedures, and so on. Since it is currently impossible to avoid these technical constraints, books continue to be designed for printing, even when the digital version is also planned.
When we talk about text books or books in which images are secondary, this is not a problem, because the digital version, the eBook, then allows you to adapt the texts to the format of the display system, also offering the possibility to choose body and font. But what happens in the case of art books, where the images (which have fixed proportions) are essential? And what problems does the digital-only art book pose and what perspectives does it open up? And even more the augmented digital book, designed to contain multimedia content?
The digital revolution is still in progress. The rapid and continuous evolution of devices, after a series of failed attempts, is about to include wearable devices, which will involve a total revision of the display modes. Today we cannot predict what the impact of these new devices will be on the contents to be displayed. But it is right to start exploring the different scenarios. As well as trying to answer ethical questions, for example, the responsibility of the author, implying the possibility of the continuous updates that the digital book allows.
If the art book ceases to exist as a physical object, the time has come to start thinking about a book designed to be digital only. Is this the dawn of digital graphic thinking for art publishing?
Thinking digital collects the work of an international community that is addressing some of these questions. The answers that will follow in the years to come will be the echo of their questions.
Goffredo Puccetti introduces “Thinking digital”