1HDC 09.09 - The Future of Digital Reading - Submissions


Designed by Huang Yanying
Product Design major
School of Art, Design & Media
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore


Digital reading devices are increasingly being conceptualized and developed as a single repository of many books. A book used to be a physical entity with its own book cover treatment, appearance and visual identity. Now a book in a digital reader is a collection of immaterial text, with no physical or tactile attributes to differentiate it from other books.

Every book is different. What current digital book readers take away from the reading experience is the unique physical and visual identity of each book. They take away the book’s capability to project outside of what is inside.

I am proposing the application of the folding origami concept to digital books.

A “book” will be a single sheet of shape memory electronic paper that can be pre-programmed to remember one (or several) folded origami shapes. A book is presented in an origami shape that is relevant to its contents. When a user takes a book to read it, it will unfold automatically into a flat reading digital screen. When the e-book is not needed, it will revert back to its folded origami shape.

The book can further track when the user has paused his/her reading and update its origami form or visuals to reflect the story’s progress.

A book will no longer be a restrictive flat functional box, but a changeable form that is rich in nuances and interaction with its user. Publishers and authors can now draw on the rich tradition and different cultural aspects of paper folding to add another dimension to their storytelling.

On a personal note, I feel much of what is cultural and human is in danger of being unwittingly lost with the mass adoption of designs that (more frequently than not) pursue the rational and the functional over what is meaningful. Yet, it is these cultural behaviors and human rituals that make our interaction with the world richer. While we can’t turn back time and reject the march of technology, it is still possible to combine the old and the new, so what is worth preserving is not lost.




The electronic book will likely become a media platform which supports more than just downloadable books.
The following sketches illustrate my ideation around how the e-book can provide a rich experience in various environments.



Separating the Book’s Brain from Its Body

Paper books are cheap and variable—they can be precious or disposable, sturdy or fragile, beautiful or utilitarian. The Kindle and other e-books, on the other hand, contain electronics that are capable of downloading and storing content, saving mark-up, and negotiating content rights, electronics that are inherently expensive and precious. So I propose separating the smart (and expensive) part of digital reading from the manipulated artifact.

Sensual
Paper books are sensual and kinesthetic experiences, but the experience is different from book to book. Paperbacks are light and soft, with pulpy and fragile pages. Hardcover design books are heavy and hard, with thick, glossy pages. Kids books sometimes have cardboard pages. Magazines can be rolled, newspapers folded, and reference books are made to stand on shelves. Digital reading in the future will need to provide the same kind of varied experiences that support the differing motivations, settings, and content of books.

The book brain can be a device with much stronger personal ownership than the book body. It is a piece of core personal electronics like the mobile phone, that you always carry with you, protect, and don’t loan to other people. The brain broadcasts the current text to display (via Bluetooth or some similar wireless technology) to the book body, which contains the bare minimum of technology to display the text, transmit notes back to the brain device, and support the page turn gesture.

Paper books do all have a few things in common despite their differences—pages that turn and can be marked, written on, and torn. All book bodies would support the SAME page turn gesture, a diagonal swipe. All book bodies would support marking (thumbing) a page, and most would support annotating. All marking and annotating would be transmitted to the brain device and saved, so it could appear on whichever body you are currently using.

Varied Modes
One of the benefits of digital reading is the environmental benefit of not needing a physical book for every story, but we will probably still need different physical artifacts for our different modes of reading. You could have a large, glossy, and flat body for the coffee-table top. For reading while traveling or on public transportation you could have a cheap and compact book body that might not support notes, but that you wouldn’t be heartbroken if you lost. You could have a backlit, soft cover book body for reading in bed. You could have a sturdy, rubber-edged, and easy to hold book body for your kids.

Your personal book brain device travels with you for all of your personal modes of reading. It can be worn, or carried in a pocket or purse, or placed on the nightstand. A larger home library brain device could live on a shelf in your home, and certain book bodies could be synced to a specific title—like books on display or reference books. Your personal device can borrow or add book data to the home library device. Some book bodies allow the personal device to be docked to the body, reuniting the body and brain of the book, for example for kids who might have a harder time understanding the separation.

Ecosystem
The manufacture and design of the brain devices would be constrained to a single standard to maximize compatibility (like an API), but the marketplace for design and construction of book bodies and accessories would be open (like apps). This way the book bodies could meet varying demands, and improve as the available e-paper and haptics technologies improve and become affordable.

Book data would be available for purchase and download from online sellers. Brick and mortar booksellers could offer instant downloads to your device, and if you don’t have your device with you, they can text you a code to access the content when you are able to download it. They could also sell the different types of bodies—airport bookshops could sell replacement flimsy bodies, mall bookstores could sell fancy and decorative book bodies. You could also buy special collector’s packages for content that is emotionally resonant—Twilight or Harry Potter custom book bodies with the complete series text, for example.

Social
You could pass a book to a friend, complete with any notes you’ve added, simply by bumping your device with theirs. This would remove the book from your device and add it to theirs, just like handing over your paper copy which is part of the precious and yet transient quality of books. This also helps with rights management and preserves the timeless tradition of asking for your copy back. You can also email them your copy, or burn it to a ‘blank’ book body (a very cheap digital reader body that imprints once with text and then cannot be re-imprinted, like CDs).

If multiple people are broadcasting the same book in the vicinity of a book body, it displays markup from both devices. This way you can mark up a book at home, then view together with someone and see your combined notes. This would also enable serendipitous discovery of someone nearby reading the same text as you.

The device itself can be worn (showing the title you are currently reading) as an identity display, and the book body you carry will say a lot about you. Do you carry a sleek and white book body? Do you carry a Twilight book body? Do you carry an ultra-tiny or a large-format book body? Do you carry it in your pocket or in your briefcase? Additionally, smart clothing and accessories like book bags could read and display the title of the book currently being broadcast by your device.


(Final thought: I also find some romance in the idea of these book bodies coming to life with content as you approach them. They are utilitarian and physical, but become rich with seductive stories and imagination through their interaction with you.)

My concept uses plastic plates as the “book” which contain the text on a solid state memory chip, and a “reader” which contains the processor, memory, sensors for interface, and the projector for the display. Using plastic plate books accomplishes several things. First is makes the books durable and cheap to manufacture. Second it makes it easy to share, loan, trade, or sell your books. Once a book is placed in the reader it is stored in memory until the book is finished, this allows sharing without copy write issues as well as the ability to carry multiple books at a time. With the use of a digital-book shelf users can also display their book collection as they would with printed books. The reader comes with a “blank book” for general use, like for downloaded books or if you don’t want to show what you’re reading. It uses a simple gesture interface. Flicking your finger down on the corner advances the book one page, flicking your finger up brings you to the previous page. This simple gesture keeps the classic feel of turning pages in a book. Users can also bookmark pages. These are represented by tabs on the top of the page, allowing you to quickly switch between non-consecutive pages. A stylus is also provided for taking notes and making comments. The reader would have wireless capabilities to allow downloading of new material. This would also open up a whole world of social reading possibilities. The reader could automatically update your facebook or twitter status when you finish a book complete with your comments. Users could use it to get or give recommendations for new books or to look up words or phrases they are not familiar with. I believe this concept brings together the best of both the printed and digital reading experiences

Design by, Manny Darden, Jae Yeop Kim & Scott Liao
Graduate Candidates, Media Design Program
Art Center College of Design

The Page
Adaptive Delivery Device

One of the major benefits of having gadgets is that it constantly connects us to the world and what’s happening in it. Though these technological devices have allowed us to interact with data from anywhere we choose, there isn’t a unique delivery system for the information they’re delivering especially when “news” is concerned. The printed versions of newspapers can offer mobility, much like a device, but access to content can be cumbersome in certain reading situations. How do we combine the affordances of print and online versions of news and translate that hybrid into a single device? A medium that conforms to human practices and the varied scenarios of accessing news.


THEME
A device that truly considers the daily scenarios of our audience as they engage with news content.

ATTITUDE
Familiar, Classic, Adaptive.


CONCEPT
The first question we ask is, “what if there was a device that inherited all the affordances of print, and screen based news formats.” Our goal is to design a flex­ible grid system that attacks this question. The user is presented information in an aesthetic which is much more inline with print but then can navigate through the content to access different sections and objects of the paper which is a behavior accustom to online practices. The second question we ask is, “what if the device is adaptive to the activity or environment of the user while he or she is immersed with the content?” The strategy we have set forth is to allow the form of the device to be physically manipulated using the practice of folding to harmonize with the situation in which the user is engaged.



Design by, Judy Bacalso
Industrial Design Program UPVCC
University of the Philippines

Design brief:

OPOB '09 is a ‘‘one page, one book’’ concept designed to make reading more essential and dynamic. It is made more simple and easy to use digital reading device where it has a special LCD system made to improvised technical features that contains all the information of a 1 Book. Attached on its left side is the special system manipulating all the information and settings to help guide the readers.

This ‘‘one page, one book’’ concept contains more than just an information which has more digital features such as; moving images/pictures, topic trailers/Videos/Graphics, Zooming Letters/ Resizing letters for eye-problem users, Language translators/ Audio translators, Music player, Games/Word puzzles, Calendar and time Display updates, and a special Headset connector. A flexible, water-proof, solar/power charging and a space saving device for maintenance.

Readers can easily compile all the page books together in one cover by attaching and connecting them with the use of its magnetic system ( another way to conserve space in all storage areas ). It can be also removed from the compiled Pages and can be easily placed anywhere you go ( bookmarks can also be useful in case the readers wants to find the desired page book to use ). For social purposes, ‘‘one page, one book’’ can be easily share to other people and other page books. Readers will have to connect the number of desired page books with the use of its own system settings to duplicate or copy any desired topic or information they want to share.


By: Judyli89 UPVCC

Design by, Siegfred Jorge
Industrial Design Program UPVCC
University of the Philippines

Design by, Bea Joyce Enmil
Industrial Design Program UPVCC
University of the Philippines

“Read While you Write”

reading for the future is quite a vast subject to tackle with. There are so many ideas that may pop out of one’s mind. For we may not really know the future we can just guess.

The design that I have come up with is a book contained in a highlighter. However, instead of its normal function, which is highlighting stuff on paper, it produces not only colorful lines but rather words from a book. Such words are shown using the author’s own penmanship. So, the reader not only reads the book he likes, but can also see the real penmanship of the author. Thus, reading while writing or highlighting while reading.

This gadget can be used anywhere anytime as long as there is something that the reader can write on with. Plus, it is so handy. One can carry it anywhere as a key chain. So wherever the reader goes he can read the book he wants.

The consumers can purchase this product through bookstores in line with other readable materials. He/she just needs to find the title that he/she wants.

This gadget caters the usual senses used in reading a present book. If the reader wants to flip pages then he/she can just write on as many papers as he/she wants. For I’ve learned that flipping pages gives a fulfilling feeling to a reader.

The reading experience can be shared to others through sharing gadgets or the paper that was used by the reader.

Design by, Caryl Fehazel Faunillan
Industrial Design Program UPVCC
University of the Philippines

“D Reader”

Reading books wouldn’t be that ordinary in the future. With the advancements in technology, the digital world would be far imaginable than these days… Like this concept of having a digital book. From all the researches I made, I came up with this idea and called this the “D Reader” which means “digital reader”.

The “D Reader” is Wifi- ready and is bluetooth equipped with voice recorder and bluetooth- enabled headset. It enables one to the desired change fonts. It has an adjuster for lights to suit the user’s need.

Moreover, the “D Reader” has the following additional features:

  •  speakers for family gatherings;
    
  •  It can be connected to a printer for sharing. It also has a document viewer and enables one to publish documents;
    
  •  Markers for identity (click the command “underline”);
    
  •  One can record personal memories which could be related in the readings (e.g. annotations);
    
  •  One can directly go to the desired spot once by bookmarking it;
    
  •  One can browse the available books and purchase it online;
    
  •  For every book there is a specific code. Once the code has been entered, the readings will automatically flash on the screen;
    
  •  Before purchasing, one already has the idea about the book if it is beautiful or not since one can rate it, discuss, recommend, share, tag. (Environment) – people can come together to talk about their books;
    
  •  Can display a user’s most readable books and enable people to share their favorite books.
    

Design by, Elsy Jean Borja
Industrial Design Program UPVCC
University of the Philippines

Design by, jouanesa lopez
Industrial Design Program UPVCC
University of the Philippines

Clipbook is a digital reading system based on a picoprojector (tiny projector) that projects the text on an independent screen sheet.
The picoprojector consist of several spots in a linear way to take in the whole sheet, which can has various sizes, thick and proportions. The high luminosity led system allows nice contrast in high light conditions.
The picoprojector works as a dock, clipping on the support and reading the built in memory on it. The memory contains the dimensions data to focus the projector and from one to dozens of books.
The support sheet has a smooth and whitish projection surface, but the rest could be very simple or luxurious, thick or thin, light or heavy, cold or warm touch, texturized, with smell, graphic, …depending on the book or edition.
Clipbook can work independently over any support (p.e. a table) with a small internal memory and manual focus.
The interface is gestual, working by means of a camera that scans hand movements.

Sensual
Customizable screen sheet.
Gestual interface.

SocialAs easy to pass and share as a physical book (you only have to pass the sheet).

Modes/Rituals
Very adaptable to any situation.
Different supports for different editions for different situations.
Plug the sheet and read.
Group reading with big format.
Ecosystem
Plenty of opportunities thanks to independent sheet system


Design by, Cecille Gumadan
Industrial Design Program UPVCC
University of the Philippines

This sketch contains two ideas, both proposed as remedies for the fact that digital reading deprives the reader of some beloved aspects of books’ physicality: use of books as decorative items, use of books as a way to physically broadcast identity to self and others, ability to swap books/hand them over to a friend, and missing the experience of the colorful art on the book covers.

Idea One: “Mocks” (Bocks!?—nah!)

These rectilinear, color-coded book-shaped objects for a regular bookshelf are ironic, whimsical and possibly snarky abstractions of books. You use Mocks for colorful decoration, and/or to reference the messages book spines send to onlookers in a room. For example, your MockShelf can contain 3 ‘volumes’ of “Morality,” 2 volumes of “Immorality,” and 26 volumes of “Self-Help.” Or mock-tome upon mock-tome of vague categories like “Animals”, “Space”, or “Success.” You could have 40 “Phone Book”s in a row and 30 “Bible”s. Or a whole case full of “Reading for Dummies” spines. If absolutely necessary, these Mocks could be manufactured as containers to hold books, magazines, or weaponry. Mocks are colorful, too, and can be arranged in pleasing patterns that belie their sardonic humor.

As the airheaded socialite in Auntie Mame says, “Books are awfully decorative, don’t you think?”


Idea Two: Digital Book Library and Exchange

Inspired by the research insights (of course) and by the iPhone App “Bump” (photo exchange), this program (part of the Kindle or iPhone platform?) is a way for people to “give” or refer a book to another digital reader. Two readers can bump their Kindles or iPhones or whatever handheld devices together, sending just a visually beautiful graphic of a book cover (with title and author on it,) to the other person. The recipient can do several things with the graphic. He/she may keep the reference in their recommendations folder to buy later, buy an analog or digital copy immediately online and then later refer to this beautiful reminder graphic in their digital library and flip through all the “books” with satisfaction. So many books read! Now people can reference the pretty book covers as proxies for the books themselves (as markers of what they’ve accomplished by reading, as identity markers, etc.) just like they used to with the hard copies!

Stacey Greenebaum, NYC

ReadIT


Current digital readers are taking off (Kindle at the forefront) with the obvious comment that the digital reader leaves behind the physical form of the book and the age-old experience of “curling up” and reading a book. This isn’t necessary a hurdle for the digital reader - after all the iPod has little to no recollection of the needle on a record. Instead let’s continue to celebrate the classic form of the book side by side with the fresh form of the digital reader. My solution addresses two major aspects of the challenges of digital readers - the timelessness of the bound book and the ecosystem of books and reading.


BOOKS AND THEIR COVERS
Books should walk a fine line between utilitarian objects and artisanal pieces. Certainly in more ancient times the book was so prized that it was a work of art in and of its self. Today more often than the cover art is the only artful aspect of the book. The kindle almost entirely loses this and for no reason. Despite the adage of how we should not judge a book by its cover, we do just that. It is how we pick out a book at a bookstore. It is how we take note of what others are reading at the park, on the bus, in the coffee shop. A book’s cover is present in all stages of the book reading experience - We remember a book by it’s cover; the book cover has a sensory appeal when holding the book and a kinesthetic appeal when opening the book; and these aspects are still hugely important to us when we pass a book along to a friend to read. This reader incorporates a wrapping screen that can display the typical spine front and back cover of a book. There is minimal buttons, etc. in favor of a touchscreen interface so that there is a little as possible to compete with the cover art. The side opposite the spine would have the texture of pages edges so that it is easy to tell by feel which side is the front of the digital reader is.

BLEND THE MIXED MEDIA OF MODERN BOOK READING
Today books are generally available in some combination of bound, digital, and audio form. When buying a book the reader is left to foretell the future as to which medium should be purchased. Unless the reader is prepared to buy the same words in multiple forms, the reader must know at the onset which medium will work best for the reader’s entire life cycle with the book. Will I want to mark up the pages? Will I want to lend this to someone? Will I want to listen to this read to me as I fall asleep one night? Will I just want to read this once and never need to look at it again? Do I want to proudly display this on my bookshelf? All of these are questions that only get answered over time. So here is a reader that most simply can scan the barcode of a book and instantly download the text, cover art, and audio for that book. This way the reader would have with one purchase the physical book, the digital text, and the audio version. Some notable details of this new book ecosystem would include:

  • The barcode would have to be “activated” - In a bookstore, by a netflix-esque rental service, etc. Just like with gift cards in a store, they don’t work until you take them to the counter and purchase them. The DRM enthusiasts among us can sleep well with the potential that this activation could be linked to a user account so that I book could not be stolen or shared too much. That said, sharing shouldn’t be discouraged and if anything should be encouraged is supported by the interface.
  • The digital reader’s interface has a speaker and headphone port to listen to an audiobook alone or with a friend.
  • The interface would allow for note-taking as you read/listen, page marking, and passage highlighting and the sharing of all of these with fellow digital readers.
  • The interface would allow one to snyc where they left off reading when switching between mediums

Kicker Studio has three concepts. All of our concepts take into account the following six design principles that were drawn from the research:

    • Needs to be able to show book covers (and thus personal taste) via a quick visual reference
  • Has to display traces of history
  • Can have physical characteristics (weight, visible signs of age) that reflect the content
  • Has different physical instantiations for the same content, adjustable based on reader’s context
  • Supports reading multiple things at any given time (although not necessarily at once)
  • Not embarrassed to be seen using in public.

Here are the concepts:

Concept 1: BookLight

BookLight is a mini projector/camera the size of a book light. It can clip onto book-like objects, solid surfaces, or behind the ear. BookLight can project text onto any surface and starts by projecting a reading collection for a reader to choose from. BookLight is controlled via gestures visible through its camera. Readers can page through reading material, make bookmarks and notes, and underline text with a hand or stylus. The camera also detects usage and image changes over time to reflect fingerprints and page “aging.” Pages can permanently take on some of the texture of the surface they are projected onto. Projection can be re-sized for context: reading on a hand, on hand-held reading surface, on a table or wall, etc.

Concept 2: BookEnds

Two “paddles” held separately in each hand create BookEnds, which project a holographic image in between them that displays reading material in air. The size of the reading canvas is determined by how far apart the reader’s hands are while holding the paddles. The reader flips through pages by lifting the right paddle towards left one, as though turning a page in a newspaper or book. The weight of the paddles shifts to reflect the reader’s place in the book. The relative size of each book is reflected in the weight of the panels as well. The panels can be stored standing up on a shelf to charge, displaying the spines of the reader’s collection between them.

Concept 3: Book Blocks

Book Blocks are post-it sized, thin squares with a matte, touchscreen display. Book Blocks snap together to form a larger surface area for reading. For example, many blocks together can form a newspaper-sized reading surface — content adjusts for the new surface space. Publishers can sell special blocks with their content (e.g. individual books, a yearly subscription to the New York Times, etc). Readers can share content by snapping off a block and handing it to a friend. Cafes can have Blocks embedded into tables so that visitors can attach their own blocks to see what the last occupants of the tables were reading.

THE FUTURE MOBILE DEVICE (!)

I think that in the future (sooner than later…) we will carry a personal computer on which we will consume all our media. The device will be our phone, music player, media-reader, word processor etc. The FMDevice is essentially an expandable, flexible touch screen computer.

For E-Reading, the FMDevice can be expanded to increase the screen size, making reading easier. The screen size is controlled by manipulating the interface buttons in the corners of the device. The screen is capable of expanding because of recent advances in elastic LCD technology.

Because it is also a phone and computer, media can shared easily between users via text message or email.

READ N’ ROLL

Hi all, so my idea is of a portable electronic reader that can roll up to about the same radius as a 12oz soda can. It’s inspired by the now old fashioned newspaper. I’d imagine it’d be about a quarter inch thick and available in different heights comparable to those of paper backs, hardcovers, magazines, and newspapers. The outside would be comprised of durable plastic panels that allow the reader to be rolled when not in use much in the same manner as the wheels of a tank, and would protect like one too! When opened, the panels would snap together keeping the book rigid and straight.


The reader could be rolled out completely and pages could be displayed one at a time, divided via the center, quadrants, etc. according to the preferences set by the user. Also in environments where space is tight, (i.e: cars, subways, buses, etc.) the reader could be unrolled only slightly and the page would scale to fit only the open area. Pages could be turned by either sliding (much like the iPhone)or tapping a thumb print icon which can be stationed anywhere on the page as set in user preferences.

When rolled out completely, the farthest panel to the left would be exposed. This slightly thicker panel is the control panel and contains all the buttons regarding user preferences, and also a firewire and/or USB port to upload new books and other information. The control panel also stores the stylus, which can be removed and used for note taking, highlighting, etc. This design enables the control panel or “brain” of the reader to be at the center core, and thus is most protected when rolled up.


Since I’m sure we are all aware that in this day in age we are incapable of simply developing a reader that only facilitates reading (ex: phones can’t just make calls, they have to take pics, surf the web, store music, and wash your car too), I’ve added a few extra features. The Read N’ Roll has large memory capacity and wireless ability to allow for other types of non-conventional reading to be stored and or accessed with your reader, such as–personal documents, websites, blogs, etc.

The control panel’s furthest ends (top and bottom) can still be accessed even when fully rolled up. The very top has a head phone jack that can be set to play any stored audio information even when rolled up in your bag! And on the opposite end, at the very bottom of the control panel is the port that the charger locks into when loaded in the charging dock. AND! Because chicks dig sustainability, when unrolled somewhat and placed in the sun, the reader can be charged anywhere via small solar panels stored in the panels nearest the control panel so that they are also protected when rolled up.
IMG00516.jpg
Enjoy and remember that book lovers never sleep alone!

Hot Studio & friends submission, “The SuperFlyer 5000 Visits the Library in the Cloud”
Our submission consists of 2 concepts (attached as pdf), “Library in the Clouds” and “The SuperFlyer 5000.”

A multi-disciplinary group of 9 participants of Hot designers and friends gathered on Friday, Sept 25th. At 2pm we reviewed the research material, and at 3:15pm we divided into 2 groups to brainstorm concepts. We reconvened at 4:00pm (ish), and quickly sketched, photographed, and typed up our concepts.

We had beer, we had fun, and if we’re being honest, we ran a little over the allotted time. Blame the beer.

Thanks for giving us an excuse to have fun!

[slideshare]

Not sure why SlideShare isn’t showing the deck, the perms on their site are all set to public. Here’s the direct link: http://www.slideshare.net/joshdamon/1hr-design-challenge

Also, C77’s upload limit is 2mb, so here’s a link. http://hottub.hotstudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/90-minutes-v2.pdf