Submission by Carmen Dukes, John Finley, Angela Huang (SVA MFA in Interaction Design, Class of 2011)
We are proposing a set of digital books that provide the tactile feedback and interaction of a physical book with gestures and functionality that augment the reading experience in a digital setting.
The Digital Book
Our digital book has multiple components to ensure a satisfying reading experience regardless of the reader’s goal.
Pages
Our digital books are composed of pages which maintain the kinetic reading experience. While the feel of the pages simulates a physical book, the pages includes varying levels of interactivity (described below) that enhances the reader’s connection with the content on a sensory level.
Stylus
All books contain a stylus, allowing a reader to create notes and interface with the book through menus and options. The stylus is customizable, allowing the reader to change the color of the writing very easily.
Search the readers digital library
A swipe of the front cover of the book, allows a reader to easily change the book’s title.
Menu Options
Every page gives users a variety of options to interact with their book. They can change the books internal appearance (page, text settings, etc), adjust stylus output, accessibility, share and save content.
The digital book can include a set of generic menu options that are always present no matter what type of book is being read as well as a specific set of options that may be related to book club interactions, learning, a reader’s social network, or other content specific interactions.
Include the sensual
Much of reading is all about the sensual experience. Our digital books provide an experience that mimics the physical, with pages, hard and soft covers, and an external representation of the book (book cover). Reader’s can display their different digital books proudly on their shelves, therefore maintaining their identity. We anticipate some types of books being utilized more than often (dictionary vs. cookbook vs. fiction book), so readers who prefer to display their books as objects/art/artifacts can have the option of owning multiple digital books instead of (or in addition to) one book that holds all of their library. (More information described in Modes)
Support the social side of reading
We realize that the act of reading happens before the book is opened and after the book is closed. Our book allows users to do many things with others who are engaged in the reading process
1. A centralized place
Our digital book is tied to a web service which ties together multiple users through a social network. From the website, users can find other book lovers, exchange ideas and comments on their readings, and manage the books they read.
2. Digital Book Clubs
With paper books, people can get together and share their thoughts around a work they all enjoy. We wanted to carry that through to the digital book we were developing as well. Users can join ‘digital book clubs’ where they join together in a more asynchronous fashion. At the end of each chapter, users can share and view discussions right in the book.
3. Book Tracking
When you finish a chapter in a given reading, the book updates the site with your status. through a central dashboard, you can view your progress in all of your books. When you add your friends to the site, you can compare progress as you discuss.
4. A Personal Notebook
When you write notes, record audio notes, and bookmark pages, your book knows. When you save these items in the book, they are backed up to the website. That way, your notes and purchases are preserved if your digital book is lost or stolen.
Consider the varied modes and rituals of reading
Readers are increasing their skill set and acquiring new knowledge, while others read for pleasure and entertainment. Our digital book contains a set of features to augment all of these tasks.
1. Note Taking
The reader can use their stylus to take notes in the margins of the book
2. Keyboard
The reader can also type notes into the book. With the tap of the stylus. The text would shift down or to one page and a virtual keyboard would appear allowing a user to type in notes and comments
3. Voice Recording
The reader can record audio notes on any page of the book and save and share.
4. Gestures
The reader can use their fingers to:
Highlight text
Delete notes
Bookmark Pages
Copy, save, and send text
5. Test comprehension
Text books could benefit greatly from a digital extension/version of the book. Our proposal includes the ability to incorporate interactive quizzes at the end of of chapters for users to take. The digital book would give feedback on the given answers by providing the correct answers and highlighting the areas in the book that correspond with the question and answer.
6. Adjustments to text
Based on the reading mode, through a menu, a user can change the font type, size, color, and weight. They can also adjust the appearance based on lighting conditions (ex. bedtime reading vs. outdoor reading).
7. Reading Aloud
Our digital book offers a text to speech option. A reader can choose to have the book read to them in a variety of voices (celebrity, author) or genres (scary, serious).
8. Bookmarking
While reading, the book maintains the readers position in real-time. In the case of interstitial reading - where reading often ends abruptly - when the reader closes the book,the pages that have been read are color coded indicating at-a-glance, read vs. non-read pages.
The Ecosystem of Reading
Recommendations
With a large enough user base, our system will be able to provide recommendations to users on many different levels. In paper books, the publisher will write information about the author and their related works. We want to take that one step further and bring outside books and readings right into the book. Beyond a biography of the author, we have expanded the role of the dust jacket and inside cover to include recommendations by your friends, other people in the network, and a searchable listing of other things written by that author.
Book Buying Process
Bookstores still exist in our ecosystem, a reader could browse a physical bookstore as they normally would. The purchase process, however would change. To buy a book, a reader could use their digital book to scan the physical book and instantly the book would download to their digital reader. Alternatively, if the reader did not have their digital book, the reader could take the physical book to the store counter and purchase the book by entering his user name/password/pin associated with the digital account. After a successful transaction, the book would download and the user would know that they have new content when the digital book glows.