In 2007, I was a member of the Pentagram Design team involved in the creation of Amazon's first-generation Kindle E-reader. During this time, it became evident that I was both an observer and a contributor to a groundbreaking upheaval—one destined to reshape established paradigms of communication and challenge the longstanding supremacy of the printed word. The traditional printed book, a preeminent mode of communication for centuries, found itself at the crossroads of an uncertain and transformative trajectory.

This realization led me to reflect on the beauty and unique attributes of the printed page, and in particular the largely unexplored landscape of marginalia. The more I delved into these interactions between reader and author, the more fascinated I became with this communication landscape.

For the last few years, I have been conducting literary archaeology, searching for meaningful examples of contemporary marginalia. In 2014 I launched a digital project containing 50 pages of examples titled the Pages Project http://thepagesproject.com/. It received significant media attention, sparked debate, and demonstrated a broad interest in the subject and so I embarked on a book project to further explore this landscape.

Since then I’ve expanded my archive to over 1,000 volumes in collaboration with Bay Area bookstores, and have consulted with people such as Catherine Marshall of Xerox PARC and Microsoft who has explored marginalia for insights into developing digital readers, and H. J. Jackson the author of Marginalia, Readers Writing in Books published by Yale in 2001. As a result, numerous meaningful patterns and behaviors have become apparent and it has become clear that a book is nothing without a reader. A reader’s impressions and responses are the point, and marginalia is a record of this process.

The goal of the book is to explore the radical decentralization that occurs when unknown readers comment on the printed page. I want to counter the notion that digital media is interactive while the printed page is not, the idea that books are fixed and inviolate. I explore how the act of annotation builds on the original author’s creation, adding depth and meaning— and inviting readers to think about not just the original material, but the impressions of readers that preceded them.

Through an intricate photographic process, The Pages Project delves into the realms of writing, reading, and the compelling potency of the archive itself. The project explores a distinct and largely uncharted landscape, one that offers profound insights into the evolution of communication. I see my book as a resource for designers, typographers, students, and anyone interested in the beauty of the printed book. It will challenge the conventional wisdom regarding the relationship between author and reader and demonstrate that the printed page is a unique communication landscape worthy of our attention.

The book is scheduled for publication in 2024