Next week on the 18th May, Byte the Book devotes an evening to the question What Place do Book Design and Illustration have in the Digital Age? There are likely to be many answers.

As e-books become more and more common as a reading experience, we have also noticed the complementary phenomenon of the physical book as beautiful artefact. There is a line of argument that suggests that this is the future of the printed book. E-books are convenient and lightweight. They are highly consumable,  but also disposable, compared to the beautifully designed hardback that the reader will keep and treasure as a lifetime possession. However ‘born digital’ book design and illustration for e-books also offer great potential, still to be fully exploited. There is the potential for interactive experience, for kinetic and audiovisual elements, for transmedia approaches. I will be joining the conversation next week to find out more.