Originally for question #1 last week I had two examples I was going to discuss, but after reading question #2 last Friday I decided my second example would be interesting to examine for this weeks question regarding digitization. Although it follows the same idea as “to create is to destroy” with my Poe example from last week, for this week I have chosen an example that looks at an interactive book being digitized and transformed into an app.
Here is just a short video of someone flipping through a finished version of the journal :
In 2007 Keri Smith, a canadian illustrator/writer created and released an illustrated book called Wreck This Journal. This interactive journal asked readers to create and destroy the pages of the book. It is an excellent example of engaging readers in the creative process of journaling and new ways to approach writing and designing books. A few years back she teamed up with Penguin to create an iOS version of this popular book and they released Wreck This App.
Like the print version, the app urges readers to "wreck it" using destructive exercises in creativity. I thought this was an interesting example to examine for this question because it is one that asks you to consider the differences between the physical object and the digital representation. This is especially important because there are huge implications for shredding a page in the journal, whereas in the app everything can be undone. With the journal what is done is done, but the app allows you to reset and erase anything you are not happy with.
Personally, there is something about the book that makes it better than the app, in my opinion. With the book something solid, permanent, and personal is being created. Something, that if you wanted to, could get passed on throughout generations and essentially kept forever, maybe, if it was preserved properly. With the journal you get a chance to physically create an artifact documenting your creative endeavors and it illustrates the ways you have changed and grown as an artist.
The app on the other hand changes this completely. The journal now only exists digitally and in years to come the technology it was created on will be outdated and obsolete. The app also has an undo tool, so potentially everything can be erased, which seems to me like cheating!
The idea behind books like this, and I’d have to say with many children's books (pop-up and choose your own adventure) as well, is that what makes them so enjoyable and popular are the things that can not be replicated in the digitization process. The traditional form of this book is what makes it so fun, and by removing these things, the app falls short and the digital version is creating finished "journals" that are nothing like the original, physical journals.
Although the app provides tools such as pencils, paintbrushes, and markers, each with adjustable color and brush size, it just does not feel the same. I downloaded the app out of curiosity a few months ago (thank god I had a gift card, so no "real" money was wasted), and to me it felt like I was using Microsoft Paint to make terrible line drawings, which of course we have all done at some point, but then obviously they would be deleted immediately after they were finished.
The electronic version of this book does offer a variety of tools to create, however, what you can do with these tools is very limited. The paint palette is disappointing, only offering RGB sliders to alter colors. And even though it offers you the ability to cut and paste things into the form of a collage it does not offer the same satisfaction as doing it with real scissors and glue. While it is impossible to do many of the things the original asks the reader to do, (rip pages, take into the shower, throw glue on it) along with the fact that everything can be erased, it raises the question of whether the digitized version of this journal (as well as other digital formats of books) is encouraging more creative exploration in the format and future of the book or not?
Wow, what a cool idea! I agree with you completely - the possibility of actually taking pens, pencils, glue, scissors, etc., is so much more stimulating than moving your stylus or fingers across a screen. The other thing is that while the paper journal has instructions such as "place your coffee mug here" or "take this book with you to the shower", this obviously can't be done with the app. So whereas the paper journal allows the outside world to "contaminate" the pages and seep into the journal, the app keeps it confined to the digital world.
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