THE BIBLE
The bible provides an interesting parallel to the evolution and
technical developments of the printed word.
In 1946 German Johann Gutenberg made a revolutionary technological
breakthrough, the invention of the movable
type printing press. This marked the start of the 'Gutenberg Revolution' and
the age of the printed book.
in the case of the bible, prior to the mass produced printed
page scribes had for centuries dedicated themselves to copying the scriptures
by hand, an expensive and labour some task. Gutenberg's new process sparked a revolution
in society and the church, with more books being printed, more people became
readers, and this spread literacy.
The Gutenberg Bible follows a very rigid grid structure. The
two columns of text have the same line and vertical length and this is tightly
applied throughout. This creates great typographic legibility and a clear sense
of visual organisation, defining a hierarchical structure to the information.
It is a very controlled visual language. This grid structure has become the
widely accepted and acknowledged visual image of the bible right up until
today.
Double-spread of the
Gutenberg Bible
With the advent of the digital age the Bible the book which
brought in the printing revolution 550 years ago is having a revolution, it is
now increasingly turning electronic. The
'Bible' app has been purchased by more than 35 million people.
One such example the Glo
Bible + app demonstrates clearly how this shift to a digital world has called
for a complete change in visual language. The application of the grid has now
become a common commodity in our modern world and its simplicity in the Gutenberg
Bible is now commonly viewed as dull. On the reflective, glowing surface of the
computer, tablet or mobile phone visual hierarchy has to be readapted to
maintain legibility and the possibility for complex layered grids, a result of
digital technology, is exploited.
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| Glo Bible screens array |
http://www.ctlibrary.com/ch/1990/issue28/2825.html
http://en.flossmanuals.net/digital-foundations/ch018_multiples-creating-of-unity/
http://sheilapontis.wordpress.com/
http://www.globible.com/
http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/smartphone-apps/growth-of-religious-apps-reaches-biblical-proportions-20120321-1vj48.html
http://blog.youversion.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/glo-bible-screens-array.png
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