By the book

Through the historical account of the mechanically perfected printing of Johannes Gutenberg’s 42-line Bible. This project typographically explores how this shaped the beginning of the world’s relationship with industrial mass production and the democratisation of knowledge. Gutenberg’s idea followed the first automated machines that executed tasks of producing largely mass-produced texts. Gutenberg’s process helped create large volumes, copies and reinterpretations of books, spreading ideas, This modern development was pioneered by western inventors and thinkers. I use a large number of contrasting elements throughout the layout to create a narrative for the audience to form their position on the impacts of the mass dissemination of information and the importance of printed artefacts. Were these famous thinkers contributing to a legacy that has helped create authority and power? Or has it aided the global democratisation of information? The history of mechanical printing and the spread of knowledge has influenced how we experience communication and typography in the contemporary.