Google Books and the IA

It was interesting comparing the two different sites that archive books digitally..they both definitley have pros and cons. I Looked at “The Letters and Works of Lady Montague”, and both sites had their advantages and disadvantages with it. The IA site was very straightforward, with nothing else on the page other than a search box, and page turning cursors. It was kind of nice how that replicated real reading experience to a degree, as many people have voiced the sentiment that reading online can be such a drag. This was a little nicer, with no other visual clutter, and the book as scanned really replicates the book itself, down to the yellowing of the pages. All I missed was that smell…the only thing was it was harder to jump around the book itself, it was easier to turn the pages, or if you had a specific search term..can’t search page numbers directly. It would also require a bit of research to find out where you could attain a hard copy, whereas with the google site has it all right there. Depends on what you are looking for. 

The Google books site also had the work, but the interface was quite different, featuring the book, search boxes, offers to buy the book, links to other sites that sell the book (do we see a pattern here?), downloadable format, html, on offer to add it to a library, and even to find it in an actual library rather than a virtual one. The book was searchable by page number or term. The site was quite commercial, and had that interface that I do think is no fun to stare at. You know you’re online. On the other hand, you do have the resources there at your fingertips if you do need anything else from the book, no need to search out where you can purchase a copy or download it, all is provided to you. It is also nice that you can search by page number as well, as sometimes you may be looking for a reference that has a page number and that can speed you to it. Both have pros and cons, and I have to admit I’ve loved these sites when you’re stuck not being able to get a book at the library..these sometimes are saviors when the book gets misplaced (yes Fenwick, I’m talking about you!), but neither of them replace that great feeling of holding an old book in your hands..its about the smell.

Project at hand

After much debate and rethinking, I’e decided to do my website as an online gallery of the modernist architecture in the city of Barcelona. I had originally considered rethinking historical websites on specific sites, such as the market there, but instead decided in terms of design flexibility and finding a more specific historical audience, it would make more sense to undertake something with a slightly broader focus. Rather than one specific site, that would have a very limited amount of viewers, this may appeal to art history students at all levels, to architects and architecture enhusiasts, and to anyone with an interest, either academic or touristic, in the modernist buildings of Barcelona. There are sites that are devoted to this, but most are primarily focused on tourism to these sites, and do not provide comprehensive history about the buildings themselves, and often ver little information about the architects, or the history of Modernista architecture as a whole. 

The main concerns that I am having in terms of design reside in the look of the site itself: I am having quite  time wrestling with how I want the site to look: is it cheesy to try to emulate at all the artistic sensibility of modernism in the site’s design? Would it be better and more clear and cohesive to let the design of the buildings speak for itself with minimal interference with the surrounding design? In terms of readability and making the site look clean, I am leaning more in this direction. Then I am battling with the font: should I try to use a modernist font at all in the site, or replace that with a graphic or something to get at the point and use a more modern font instead. Again, the direction I am leaning. I want the site to be artistic and creative, but at the same time, when dealing with a type of architecture that is so intensely decorative and flourished (as well as colorful) I am thinking that it might be beneficial to keep it streamlined. 

As for what I would like the site to achieve, I want it to be an online gallery of various buildings and decorative aspects of the modernist architecture of Barcelona. It is plentiful to say the least, with at least 115 different buildings that would commonly be referred to in this manner. That is surely a conservative count. Some are UNESCO sites, as is the case with the Palau de la Musica Catalana. Many of the buildings have interesting histories, and I would like to make that available alongside the images of the architectue. I would also like to provide the locations of the buildings for anyone interesyed in a potential visit to them, as well as biographies of the architects, and the history of the movement in a global context. I would also like to make available some resources for further research on the movement and the buildings. That way if there is anything else in terms of research tools that someone might need, there would be links.