Print rules. The Web drools.
My name is Sasquatch, and I am a graphic designer. ("Hello, Sasquatch.")
Over my long and storied career, I have designed everything from funeral cards to academic publications to art exhibit collateral materials to websites for a very large international non-governmental organization. My work has been seen in all parts of the world, whether the viewers knew it was mine or not. Today, though, I must confess that I hate the Web. I enjoy using it (e.g., this blog), but I hate creating websites. I hate creating websites because they're never truly finished. There's always something that can be tweaked just this teensy bit, or moved four pixels to the left. However, I love working with print. When a book's printed, that's pretty much it. There may be subsequent editions, but at least it will be a while before I'll have to worry about it. I can read an article on the subway without worrying about my Palm/Blackberry/laptop batteries running down. I can sometimes feel the richness of the paper stock and the subtle texture of the ink on the page. I can read a book in the bathtub without the fear of electrocuting myself.
I have always preferred books—real books—to eBooks or books on tape (or CD now, I guess). So I was simultaneously happified (my word) and disappointed to read this Sunday's New York Times editorial on the decline of book purchases and literary reading in the United States. The weird thing is that in terms of spending, books beat out movies, CDs, video games, and DVDs, yet the figures show book purchases declining 3 percent over the last three years. I don't really have much of a point after this bit. I just know that it's a lot of fun to go to a used bookstore and meander through the aisles. The Web will never do it for me in the same way. Sorry, Tim Berners-Lee.
Over my long and storied career, I have designed everything from funeral cards to academic publications to art exhibit collateral materials to websites for a very large international non-governmental organization. My work has been seen in all parts of the world, whether the viewers knew it was mine or not. Today, though, I must confess that I hate the Web. I enjoy using it (e.g., this blog), but I hate creating websites. I hate creating websites because they're never truly finished. There's always something that can be tweaked just this teensy bit, or moved four pixels to the left. However, I love working with print. When a book's printed, that's pretty much it. There may be subsequent editions, but at least it will be a while before I'll have to worry about it. I can read an article on the subway without worrying about my Palm/Blackberry/laptop batteries running down. I can sometimes feel the richness of the paper stock and the subtle texture of the ink on the page. I can read a book in the bathtub without the fear of electrocuting myself.
I have always preferred books—real books—to eBooks or books on tape (or CD now, I guess). So I was simultaneously happified (my word) and disappointed to read this Sunday's New York Times editorial on the decline of book purchases and literary reading in the United States. The weird thing is that in terms of spending, books beat out movies, CDs, video games, and DVDs, yet the figures show book purchases declining 3 percent over the last three years. I don't really have much of a point after this bit. I just know that it's a lot of fun to go to a used bookstore and meander through the aisles. The Web will never do it for me in the same way. Sorry, Tim Berners-Lee.
posted by Sasquatch at
2:24 PM
4 Comments:
I can vouch for the Sasquatch and his mad designin' skilllz. He's good.
Books probably beat out other categories in spending just by virtue of the cost of a single volume. (Do you remember when a hardcover book cost under $10? That seems like a lifetime ago.) Yet, I don't think many authors (other than your Clancy/King/Grisham level folk) are making more moolah off the costly volumes sold. It's production costs and middlemen.
Websites are cheap to produce (unless they get a good designer) and cheap to maintain. And most look cheap, too. Call me a Luddite, but I hate going to a website and having to relearn where everything is the next week because people don't know when to stop "tweaking". I'm totally with you on the books vs. web issue, although I seem to spend a lot of time communing with the web these days.
Speaking of books, may I say that I just wish the genre of crappy chick lit would die. Curly fonts, pink covers, and all. Ugh.
By
Merujo, at 6/05/2005 3:38 PM
I like books, too. I like the feel of them in my hand when I read. The thought of eventually only having books on little PDA screens makes me queasy. Trees are a renewable resource. Keep the paper reading coming!
Saw on Merujo's blog that it is your birthday. I like her stuff. I figure a friend of hers must be a fairly cool person. So I thought I would come over and wish you a happy birthday. I never leave comments for anyone, but you get one today.
Have a good one, man.
By
Anonymous, at 6/06/2005 1:13 AM
One the greatest art teachers that I ever had the pleasure of knowing, said that the most gifted artists are rarely satisfied with their work... there is always "something" that needs fixing... it is the burden of greatness :) So, I can only gather that you have made some pretty great web designs.
Regarding books... I love books, the way you describe the crispness of the pages reminded me of a passage out of Ray Bradbury's "Fahrenheit 451" and it left me feeling wistful, as if Bradbury's fantasy is taking shape in reality and that something magical is now slipping through our fingers.
I think I will go buy a book.
SJL
By
Anonymous, at 6/06/2005 1:24 AM
Web design has always seemed like something that should suit my creative inclinations and skills, but it just doesn't intrigue me. Perhaps with perfectionist tendencies, I know the details would drive me crazy.
I prefer real books, meaning hardcover, too.
By
Claire, at 6/23/2005 3:39 PM
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