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Verk av Valerie Kirschenbaum

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Valerie Kirschenbaum is on a mission to bring books into the visual age. She leads the way with her book "Goodbye Gutenberg." This book is a feast for the eyes, but it is not a coffee-table tome to be casually perused. This is a book that is meant to be read. And who should read it? Anyone interested in books and reading. This means publishers, writers, graphic designers, educators, librarians, avid readers.

In "Goodbye Gutenberg," Kirschenbaum makes a passionate and cogent case for rethinking and redesigning books. Though book readership has been steadily declining, Kirschenbaum remains optimistic about the future of the printed word. The book is not dead, she argues, but it does need to be reborn. That rebirth begins by abandoning the mindset that intelligent books must all look the same—rectangles of black type on white pages.

Kirschenbaum believes it is time for a new kind of writer—the designer writer. Words are not the only tools for such authors. The designer writer uses the computer not only for word processing but also as a graphics design studio. Kirschenbaum calls on writers to take control of how their words are presented on the page. In "Goodbye Gutenberg," Kirschenbaum literally illustrates what a designer book of the near future might look like.

I initially found the illustrations and page layouts distracting. It did not take long, however, for me to become excited about this new approach to book publishing. Being an avid reader, my concern was how was I going to go back to reading the typical black on white page.

If you enjoy reading, if you care about books, if you want to encourage reading in others, I recommend you read this book. I do mean READ it. You may be tempted to simply marvel at the look and feel of this volume, but the real importance of this publication is in the message that it contains. Kirschenbaum envisions a coming Renaissance. Reading "Goodbye Gutenberg" may well help you discover how you can be part of the vanguard that ushers in this new age of publishing. At the least, you will never again look at books in the same way.
… (mer)
 
Flaggad
mitchellray | Aug 13, 2008 |
A Clarion Call for Change

About the time the author entered the first grade, I was wallowing through my Master’s thesis. Separated by thirty years, we reached the same conclusion: color and design encourages learning.

Since I did my work, technology has undergone a sea-change. Ms. Kirschenbaum, a teacher, writer and designer in New York City, uses it to illustrate passages from her next day’s lessons to beautiful designs. She discovered responded with increased comprehension, retention and attentiveness – not a surprise for a generation reared on television, movies, the internet and video games.

She believes and effectively advocates for the return of what she terms the “designer-writer”; an artist who communicates with the written word and art. This combination has been absent since English Poet, William Blake.

That is, until now. This book is truly a work of art. True to its sub-title, it represents a marriage of Art, Literature, Education and Technology. Beautifully written and illustrated, it issues a clarion call to publishers to rethink their book designs.

If I had forgotten the finer points of my research years ago, reading this book refreshed the memories. I was not alone. I opted to start reading it on a multiple-leg airplane trip. The book’s breathtaking illustrations quickly became the favored topic of conversation between and my traveling companions and me.

As I explained the book’s thesis to them, they volunteered occasions when they added color to simple messages and improved the desired response.

If it was obvious to us, the point should not be lost on publishers. If the author and her publisher can profit selling this unique work of art, it is time for anyone who labors with words to rethink their presentation.
… (mer)
 
Flaggad
PointedPundit | Mar 31, 2008 |

Priser

Statistik

Verk
2
Medlemmar
59
Popularitet
#280,813
Betyg
½ 2.7
Recensioner
2
ISBN
2

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