The redesign of the prodigious novel Star Maker, by William Olaf Stapledon, first published in 1937, serves as an experiment on…

The redesign of the prodigious novel Star Maker, by William Olaf Stapledon, first published in 1937, serves as an experiment on highlighting the qualities of a book’s physical existence, some of which cannot be accommodated by an e-book.

In many studies people understand and remember what they read on paper better than what they read on screens. The thickness of read and unread pages helps to form a coherent mental map of the text providing a much firmer sense of place than a progress bar. Paper and ink reflect ambient light. Computers and tablets emit light, which may tire eyes and tax concentration.

This project is a comprehensive study of paper material, text layout and physical size. The book features various paper goods and weights along with a bookcase containing 16 A5-sized artworks representing a visual interpretation of each chapter, and a square-sized constellation map of the books content.

Daniel Siim. Star Maker. 2014