Sentimental Design

There is something inviting about the book. The crisp pages of the new book, the off-white with the newly printed letters. The new book calls to you, it beckons, open and enjoy it says. there is some sort of simple joy in the turning of a page the light press it takes to press down the page before one continues. The book is compact in most cases, the paperback is the perfect size to enjoy while reclined in a comfortable chair. The book is light, and in lamplight the pages seem warm, reflecting the yellow light of a lamp. When used in combination with a bookmark the design is genius; simply pick the book up and one can pick up where the story was left off. The image of a book is one of sentiment, there is some strange emotion attached to it. A sense of tradition and loyalty.



There is a sterility about this object. The sentimentality of the book is all but gone. Certainly there are attempts to conjure up this emotion, with the faux aged pages, the clever programming, but the emotion is absent. The design is one of a modern age. There is the characteristic curvature of the actual device. Metal and plastic give it a durability and heaviness the book does not have. The polished surface of the screen reflects light and is hard to the touch, sometimes cold and sometimes hot. The turning of pages is more of a presentation than an action. The animated effect of a turning page intending to simulate a book yet something is missing. Somewhere in the metal, the processors, the ingenious ingenuity the heart of the book is lost. Some think that the two are interchangeable, and on the surface they do seem to be. There is something powerful in the simplicity of a book that even cunning technology cannot replace.