Readme

When contemplating what the future of reading may mean, it is one thing to ponder the physical or habitual aspects of reading, but another to consider the shifts in the manner in which texts and literature, and therefore reading, are contextualized. Words and phrases may contain meanings extending past what the author attributes in his or her narrative. For example, temporal or location-dependent contexts may play an increasingly significant role in today’s texts.

Literary anthropology, as defined by literary theorist Wolfgang Iser, suggests that while the reader will always have an interpretation of the text he or she reads, the interpretation itself participates in the ongoing development of the reader’s self identity. Literary anthropological research is therefore organized by the belief that a relationship to a literary text can become an interesting point for the continued interpretation of culture and the way culture is weighted.

As graphic designers, we are interested in the interpretive practices associated with these reader/text relations. In the past, literary theorists have used literary analytical devices (i.e. codes) to critique literature in order to denote the function of various semantic apparatus. We, as designers, can also use similar methodologies to lay bare the semantic structure of a piece of text.

Except, instead of using literature as our medium, we at LUST prefer to use the ever-growing stream of data we, as a digital society, produce. And instead of using literary methods of critical analysis, we can use self-designed digital tools such as (computational) code, algorithms, and databases to mark large sets of text at a more empirical level. Each time a previously annotated ‘narrative’ is re-visited—or marked—the context of the last reading changes, therefore also affecting—or changing—the current reading as well. Using similar recursive methodologies, a codex of data (or millions of points of entry) can be developed which supports any research query or interest.

It is this aspect of reading that we have attempted to contextualize in the design and typography of this book. For example, words are colour-coded in a gradient from dark (more) to light (less) as a comparative value of frequency versus uniqueness. Also, several indexes are featured as random access interfaces to the articles. And finally, the subject matter in the texts is extended beyond the book through comparisons with Wikipedia entries of similar semantic meaning (micro- versus macro-context).

So in essence, in the conceptualization of this book, we are not only trying to produce graphic and typographic design. But, by augmenting code and form with critical language theories, we are also practising what we like to call Digital Anthropology.

LUST