publishing

A major obstacle in moving forward with the invention book is the distribution model. There was interest in buying the book from the different stakeholders we tested. The children, teachers and parents we showed the book were all reacted positively and were excited by the content and form of the book. Although there seems to be a market, getting the book into the hands of children is going to be difficult. Self-publishing with internet distribution is one possible method. Printing a run of 1000 using the Kendall Press would lower the unit cost to $10.68 a book. The initial capital investment however is large. There are internet companies which will print books as well as distribute them on-demand at comparable or lower prices than the local press. However, the quality of the paper and the printing is significantly lower. They also may not be able to add in the tracing paper as we have. Distribution and printing through a larger publisher may also be possible. We are starting to compile a list of publishers which produce books in the same area as we are looking to enter. This is the easiest way logistically if we can find a publisher willing to print the book. Working out all of logistical problems and possible benefits for each method is an important next step for the Invention book.

content

Much of the design work revolved around creating the content and form of the book. The interaction with the user was paramount in driving our design decisions. The feedback from tests on both 5th graders and 2nd and 3rd graders led to major changes in the format and content. We also gathered feedback from a few teachers and educators on making the content age-appropriate. We plan on contacting more educators, science and technology centers, and possibly some development psychologists to really target the content in a way that fosters creativity and invention. However, we want to be careful that in doing so we do not lose the tone and playfulness of the book. We also are looking at how to extend the line of the book. We are considering creating more content for perhaps an online interactive experience or simply more editions and installments of the Invention book.

physical changes

There are several issues with the current printing of the book that we plan to address in the second version. The first is the binding of the book itself. We decided on a tape binding in order to help the book lay flat. Currently, the glued binding is not as robust as we had hoped, especially considering that it will be used by children. In future revisions we plan to use something more along the lines of a lab notebook, with a sewn binding as well as the tape. We would also like to use a white tape instead of a black tape. Time constraints also prevented us from procuring a good material for the dust jacket. The current transparent glamma paper was good at lighter weights, but does not take the printing well at the heavier weight. The rice paper we tried was also ineffective as it was brittle and tore easily. These are all things we plan on changing in the next iteration.