any days find me sitting at Bar Británico, just around the corner from Sorodesign HQ. The old bar went through a turbulent closing but has been resurrected under new ownership.
Like the 1920s era Bar Hipopótamo across the street where we once brought a miniature book, you never know who will wander in from the street selling all sorts of items. On Saturday at Bar Británico I was approach by a young girl selling ink pens and an old man with maps of the city. Since my pen and map quota was full, I passed on both accounts. Later, a fortyish man with unkept hair entered the bar, made a small bow at the doorway, and proceeded to lay these little books on each table.
The peddlers custom in Buenos Aires is to lay the article for sale on every occupied table, then to come back to each table after you had a chance to contemplate the purchase. As a general rule, I buy books when approached directly by the author in a café, on the street, or in the subway. Call it my own little way of supporting the arts.
Saturday’s acquisition was really just 4 sheets of folded paper tied nicely together with an orange ribbon. (We like orange ribbons here at sorodesign, so this was a special treat). The “book” was identified as number 8 in a series of little books of poems by a patient at Hospital Borda, the nearby psychiatric institute. When I paid my 4 pesos for the book, the seller was very happy and introduced himself as the author. He was really very pleasant but not at all a madman, a word I use in jest. His little book of poems (issue número 8) is titled Pensamientos …”Thoughts”.
The poems are actually quite nice. Contrary to possible perception of mental hospitals (particularly in Latin America), Hospital Borda features a number of artistic participatory programs for patients including a radio station run by the patients.
‘m convinced that e-books eventually will replace printed books as the world’s primary reading material.
And before you say it: just because you don’t want to cuddle up in bed with an e-book, don’t assume, don’t assert, that others share that attitude.
Wide acceptance of e-books largely depends upon functional reading devices but limited distribution of printed books is an even larger issue. Sure, print-on-demand offers a solution but what happens when the quality of e-books are better and more affordable and more accessible than books printed on demand?
I already live in a part of the world where 95% of the English-languages books I want to read are not easily available. That scenario, the lack of printed reading material, really adjusts your perspective about e-books. (Meanwhile, fortunately, I am surrounded by a wealth of Spanish-language books). But I still feel the necessity of an e-book reader. Unfortunately, international shipping to Argentina is not reliable and there’s a huge import tax on electronics. So, my e-book reader will have to wait until some future visit to North America.
What is the future of book design in an e-book world? Very healthy.
Book design, layout, and typography will continue to play the same role in producing e-books as in printed books. Indeed, one could argue that readability may be an even more important factor with e-books. New possibilities with layout and presentation also may be presented through e-book readers. Of course, there will be limitations and some books just will not be as presentable through e-book readers as in their printed counterparts. Essentially, book designers already produce every printed book as an e-book anyway. In all cases, the final production files delivered to the printer are digital files and almost always in PDF. So, there is still plenty need for book designers in an e-book world.
What about book cover design? Very healthy.
The cover image will continue to play an important marketing role in helping people select which e-books to read. Just as with printed books, e-books need some way of standing out in the crowd.
And what about printed books in an e-book world?
People will still want to buy books, but my thinking is that people will be more interested in spending money on specialized books, books not available digitally, books that offer an experience, books that involve a high degree of design.
So, we may be book designers but that doesn’t mean we’re traditionalists. Of course, in a sense, book design is not so much about the book but about the ways that text and images are conveyed to the reader.
