Publishing

We live in an age where devices are extensions of our bodies. We cannot function without them. This puts us in a position where we are dependent on them. This inevitably develops industries for such devices. Thus designers and inventors create new ideas which will benefit users and offer appealing novelties to make our lives easier.

Publishing and Technology

This area of the industry has irreversibly been affected by the invention of the World Wide Web. Today most people read on their Kindles, iPhones or laptops and have more books on their devices than in their homes. This is an ecologically friendly advancement since the use of natural resources has been reduced. On the other hand, it has economically been proven to benefit the industry since publishing is done on demand. It is both profitable and time-saving.

Consumer and Product

All products have to go through the ‘consumer filter’. So inevitably have to ask ourselves: How does this affect the publishing industry?

Consumers changed their preference according to recent technological developments and who can blame them? Reading from a Kindle which can hold a library with over 10 000 books is far more efficient than actually going out and getting 10 000 books. You would need to invest a lot of money into storing and obtaining that kind of collection. Not to mention how time-consuming it would be. People will opt for having it all in one place in no time and this is understandable.

What Do Consumers Want?

Studies have shown that people tend to find it more enjoyable to read from physical copies of books. They deem them more serious and more important than, for example, EBooks. Interestingly enough, they also feel better about themselves. We live in the modern age where appearance means more than reality. People love the appeal they get when they have a real book in their hands regardless of what is actually the content of the book. It doesn’t even matter who the writer is. The image which is portrayed is the only thing that counts.

There is also the idea of thinking that somebody invested in this copy to get published – meaning it has to be worth reading. A lot of psychological issues are involved when discerning a consumer’s train of thought.  One will have to admit that it is not far-fetched that we even caught ourselves judging a person by the contents of their bookshelf.

Cover VS Content

We have to raise questions: How will they judge this book by these covers?

This notion has influenced the world of publishing immensely. No longer is the content foregrounded but the appeal of the product. Newspapers, books, magazines are bearers of information. But their primary function has been altered. By bringing design into the equation the publishing game has been irreversibly changed. The scope of design has thus been expanded and it seems that content has fallen to second place.

Content has become more oriented to popular culture than ever before. Publications mostly have to do with entertainment and celebrities.

Publishing has become a growing industry which develops more and more every day. It used to be a restrictive field but today it is more available than ever. With the birth of the internet and with growing technological advantages it cannot cease to evolve.

Publishing is done regularly on almost an hourly basis. Historically it was connected to physical copies made of standard materials such as paper. Today it is far more complex and different from what publishing used to look like.

Today

Google and Amazon alone have had an enormous impact on the availability of published works. Nowadays you can have your choice of eBooks, online newspaper subscriptions, and magazines, blogs, videos etc. All of these will provide you with the news you are looking for. Standard newspapers, as we know them, are gradually becoming redundant and are slowly approaching extinction. People are simply getting used to reading from a Kindle, Ipad, phone or laptop.

These new approaches are considered a time-saving strategy and a cost-effective take on reading. Publishing and printing are both done on demand. This means that the economic aspect of the industry is met. Redundant printing and publishing are altogether avoided. Also, there are huge amounts saved just on storage.

There is also the idea of green publishing which has been developed in the last couple of decades. Basically, it reduces the negative effect we have on the environment by, for example, making less physical publications. Paper is not used, and printing is postponed because of the ‘on demand’ policy.

Newspapers

Publishing has still mostly to do with newspapers. Accordingly, it comes as no surprise that this part of the industry will be the first to flourish. Most newspapers today are sold to people who subscribe to them or they are distributed through retail newsstands and given out for free as a means of advertising.

Periodicals

The notion of periodical publishing has to do with issuing a new edition at a given time. There is a certain schedule which needs to be followed. Though very similar to the way newspapers and magazines work, this branch of publishing was often perceived as an altogether separate part of this industry.

Books

Book publishing takes up a large chunk of the media industry. There has always been a craving for popular fiction which has been successfully nourished for centuries. In some earlier ages, books were a luxury available to a privileged few. Luckily for us, this has changed and reading books has never been more accessible than today.

Books are usually published by smaller publishers, and less frequently by large publishing houses. The smaller companies tend to specialize in a certain area of writing and thus secure their place in the market. What is more, many writers create their own small publishing companies in order to feature their own work. It is very entertaining to think about the ways in which this branch of publishing has developed.