PAGE VS. PIXEL
Paper vs. Screen
MATERIALITY
DIGITALITY
COMPLEMENTARITY
MEDIATION
SENSORIALITY
The duality (whether mutually exclusive or complementary) between paper and screen can be summarised in a cyberpunk metaphor: paper is flesh, screen is metal. What we're dealing with here is a transitional medium, with constantly mutating hybrid characteristics. Paper and pixel complement each other, even as they compete with one another.
The convergence between print and digital media is expressed by the metaphor proposed by Alessandro Ludovico, who associates paper with flesh and the screen with metal, as distinct but interdependent bodies, underlining their sensory differences.
The project Paper vs. Pixel takes the form of a digital book that evokes the physical medium, incorporating essays and quotes on the convergence and complementarity between print and digital media in hybrid forms of publication. The navigation modes suggest the page-turning gesture associated with reading in print, taking advantage of the dynamics of the digital medium with micro animations and interactions. Evidencing the fluidity of the digital medium, it is possible to change the font size or the light and dark viewing mode, as well as access additional content that expands the book object.
This publication seeks to visually evoke the metaphor of flesh vs. metal, associating conventions of the printed medium with the dynamic possibilities of the digital medium. In this way, it encourages reflection on the complementarity between paper and the pixel, broadening the concept of the book and providing a dynamic reading experience.
The duality (whether mutually exclusive or complementary) between paper and screen can be summarised in a cyberpunk metaphor: paper is flesh, screen is metal. What we’re dealing with here is a transitional medium, with constantly mutating hybrid characteristics. Paper and pixel complement each other, even as they compete with one another.
Alessandro Ludovico, Post-Digital Print: The Mutation of Publishing Since 1894, 2012
MATERIALITY
DIGITALITY
COMPLEMENTARITY
MEDIATION
SENSORIALITY
The convergence between print and digital media is expressed by the metaphor proposed by Alessandro Ludovico, who associates paper with flesh and the screen with metal, as distinct but interdependent bodies, underlining their sensory differences.
The project Paper vs. Pixel takes the form of a digital book that evokes the physical medium, incorporating essays and quotes on the convergence and complementarity between print and digital media in hybrid forms of publication. The navigation modes suggest the page-turning gesture associated with reading in print, taking advantage of the dynamics of the digital medium with micro animations and interactions. Evidencing the fluidity of the digital medium, it is possible to change the font size or the light and dark viewing mode, as well as access additional content that expands the book object.
This publication seeks to visually evoke the metaphor of flesh vs. metal, associating conventions of the printed medium with the dynamic possibilities of the digital medium. In this way, it encourages reflection on the complementarity between paper and the pixel, broadening the concept of the book and providing a dynamic reading experience.
Madalena Carvalho