LIS

RODUCTION

IGNEL
JOK P

V
B

/ VIVIAN ZIEREIZEN & KENDRA STALDE

ewonor DESIGNING THE

iPAD,
DIGITAL PUBLISHING, DIGITAL CULTURE

PROCESSES IN E

TECHNOLOGY, VIGNELLI

THIS PAPER FOCUSES ON THE PROCESS OF MAKING THE VIGNELLIS, @ digital publication for the iPad and the

technical challenges that came along with it. The end result was a functional ePublication that could

be read on the iPad in iBooks. The publication explored the life and work of two famous designers,

Lella and Massimo Vignelli of the Vignelli design firm. The goal of the project was to introduce us to a

technology we had not yet learned much about and allowed us to gain some experience in sourcing

material and gathering assets to make an entire publication from front to back.

It is very important for designers to realize the
importance of the shift from print to digital
and to accommodate this change as best as
possible within their practice.

According to Ron Burnett, “there is no doubt
that we have entered an unstable period of
change as various traditional forms of media
shift to accommodate the impact of the
Internet and digital culture in general.” Since
the introduction of tablets such as the iPad,
there has been a shift in how users interact
with content. Contemporaneously, the process
of publishing material in the electronic realm
has become increasingly easier.

The shift from print to digital has many
benefits. Books, which previously took up

physical space, can be stored in electronic form.

By making print more of a valued commodity,
designers can enhance the quality of books

that pass from the digital to the physical realm.
There is no denying that there is something
beautiful about print—the textures, the smell,
the ability to say “this is mine.” The electronic
book, on the other hand, is not finite; it is
forever changeable and belongs to no one. It is
not a physical object one can hold on to. This
group project focusing on digital books was
assigned to us in a third-year typography class
instructed by Celeste Martin titled Typographic
Systems at Emily Carr University of Art +
Design in Vancouver, BC. The project involved
sourcing content, both text and imagery, to
create an EPUB-type ebook from scratch. Since
we were given the option of selecting our

own material, we chose three articles about
designers Lella and Massimo Vignelli. While
their names may not be familiar, their work on
American Airlines and the United Colors of
Benetton is instantly recognizable.