The New Walden (By Matt Steel)
Out of context: Reply #9
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The design does look great and it’s a gorgeous object, but I have the feeling this project goes against the philosophy propagated in the book. A coffee table book does not say simplify, although the word is printed on the back.
If your point is to bring Walden to a broader audience, why does it cost 38$ (or more)?
Why the annotations? Walden stands in the tradition of enlightenment, meaning making use of your own critical thinking, not taking the easy route.
Why the big margins? The big type? Hardcover? The first – and biggest – part of Walden is about economics. Thoreau almost lists the cost of every fucking nail he used to build his cabin. That was clearly very important to him. So why the uneconomic use of space here?This seems to me like a missed opportunity to really translate the books message into the design. To make something that is both sustainable and desirable and keeps up with the spirit of the book.
For example, my edition of the book by a german publishing house is printed on 60 g/sqm paper. Type is rather small and fills the whole page. It was cheap. It’s light. It’s pocketable. I could really take it with me if I decided to live in a small cabin in the woods for some time.