I teach in a lot of different fields, one being Interior Design - I would emphasize all kinds of design, whether graphic, computer, creative or universal designs. And that made me think, there is universal design for creating things/rooms/ environments so the most people can use them - a toothbrush no matter the company, as a similar design, a hair brush, or a phone would be other examples. Could this concept work with books? The basic premise would be to get the most people to use them, but how?
Books have similar shapes and designs, but what would be the ultimate universal design, so that most people would want to read it. It could be the story, in whatever genre, but it would have to connect with the reader, and everyone has different tastes. It shouldn't be required, but could it have the appeal on its own to get people to try, to buy, or check out. All the different platforms would be taken into account, whether hardcover/paperback, ebook, audio, interactive, blended, large print, multimedia, etc. So what to do?
We could consider the most successful books in sales as a possible guide. The Bible is the largest selling book of all time. Should the book of our universal design involve faith? What about those who are areligious, or should this be a book of guidance for anyone considering or understanding faith? The largest number of books owned by people is Mao's Red Book. While it could. Be argued that this is a type of faith, isn't this actually the guidelines for a political structure and culture. It's also follows the point made about requiring a book since the books available were required of all citizens within its sphere of influence. For fictional works, the bestselling book of all time is DaVinci Code, by Dan Brown. Interestingly, it questioned faith as it tried to seek the clues to mysteries within the works of the Masters. There were those who went as far to compare readings of the Bible and the Code to understanding the keys to their beliefs. And there were those who eschewed one, two or all three of the works.
So what is the best way to create a universal design for books? When it comes to a room, there have to be a certain structure in place so that individuals of all walks of life would be able to enjoy and live there. The book perhaps could be structured to include more of a potential demand, but could the interest be too specific for each, because of the cost? We can print on demand, could we establish a structure so that each person could choose what they want emphasized, or could there be a universal survey of what was wanted, and create books with the majority interest in mind? Then would it be 51% or greater? Would it be structured like a masters course in storytelling with a certain standard checklist of what must be covered - but wouldn't that take away from the author's creative spirit and vision? We write what we feel - who would have guessed a book about a boy wizard would be so successful, 23 publishers didn't think so - fortunately, the 24th did. Dystopian novels do well, but so do inspirational books - historical and historical fiction hold their own against each other, young adult novels are bought by people of all ages.
Maybe it comes down to this, that each of us on an individual basis, find that special book, so special, that we want to share it with someone else. And maybe' just maybe, they think it's so special, that they share it with another and so on. So maybe it's not that it has to be universal, but that it fits nicely in our sphere of influence and becomes part of ours, and our friends, and their friends, universe?? I'm good with that. So tell me that special book that you'd like to share - and let's make it ours, and maybe a few other's special books...
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