This quote comes from a 2003 article by Johanna Drucker titled “The Virtual Codex from Page Space to E-Space.”

I find it fascinating to read a six-year-old article on how electronic media interacts with the concept of a book, especially now that the ubiquity of devices like laptops, netbooks, tablets, Kindles, iPhones, etc. has began to truly impact how we consume the written word. However, many of Drucker’s points are still valid. The quote above touches on something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately- that the codex format employs something special that is the result of its physical construction. This special property is how elements from two side-by-side pages can interact graphically. When you hold a book open, you visually take in both sides at once, though you know you will likely begin reading at the top left, work your way down to the bottom, and then resume at the top right. In many textbooks or diagrams, the two sides present a unique opportunity to engage the design of the page in a conversation of elements on each side. “Breaking” the gutter with a visual element that crosses from one side to the other begins to create another space that is beyond the page. In other words, the single page has some inherent design limitations that can be harnessed when another page is attached to it and used to expand the graphic possibilities of the layout. As this works wonderfully in printed media, I think it could do even more in an electronic device that maintains the convention of the codex.