The Demise of the Book? Not a Chance!

It’s hard to escape the current tidal wave of predictions that “the book” is dead. As happens so often when something new is invented, enthusiasm tends to outpace common sense, until the dust settles and we all take a closer and more rational look.

When TV was invented, everyone predicted the demise of radio. It didn’t happen, of course. TV simply took its place along the spectrum of ways to receive content.  We watch TV while relaxing at home, and listen to radio in the car or at work. In similar fashion, social networking and e-books are vying for their rightful place now. We can celebrate the appearance of e-books, but we don’t have to talk about the demise of traditional books. Both will continue to exist, and we will all find the information we need in different ways at different times.

Before you accuse me of being a Luddite, please note that I would certainly cheer if they stopped delivering five printed telephone directories to my home every year. It would be good for the planet and good for the trees if they didn’t. But I find it difficult to believe that the sensory experience of flipping through a photo-filled coffee-table book in front of the fireplace will go away anytime soon. There will always be a place and a time (and  yes, a need) for relaxation, reflection, and beauty, and books deliver that experience in a way that no ugly-text electronic device can, at least at this writing.

We now have a chaos of content coming at us from all directions at ever-increasing speeds. Eventually, when half of everything we read is filled with typos, and the other half contains opinions not backed up by a shred of evidence, we’ll remember that proofreaders, indexers, and editors exist for a reason. When our eyes tire of endless streams of ugly, gray, back-lit text, we’ll remember that book design, quality typography and cover design also fill a need.

Everyone I talk to feels overwhelmed at the amount of information we feel pressured to process on a daily basis. While we now have a variety of choices in the way we receive information, I believe at some point we’ll again value quality control, organization, and visual and mental peace. What do you think?

What do you want to know? What topics should we explore together? How can we help you along your publishing journey? Everyone here at 1106 Design wants to help. Post your comment here or email us at office@1106design.com