today’s post is brought to you by the letters k and e

screensaver from the newest generation Kindle

Do you ever get the feeling that something’s just not quite right, but you’re not sure what it is¿

If you’re curious what the other screensavers are on the new Kindle, scroll through the twenty I snapped. They’ve clearly moved on from the book illustrations and author themes they had in earlier models to writing implements. I’m not sure what larger message I’d want to draw from this, but they’re mostly very pretty. I just wish those turned letters didn’t bother me so much. Is it artsy or just wrong? I’m all for artsiness and playfulness. But I can’t help suspect it’s just wrong, or at least, less about art and more about a fear that people will fail to recognize the “kindle” embedded in the picture.

3 thoughts on “today’s post is brought to you by the letters k and e

  1. I stumbled on your page and find it fascinating and very enjoyable. Regarding the Kindle screensaver of reversed letters, this is neither artsy nor wrong. The image is of “old-fashioned” type blocks in different typefaces. The letters are reversed so they will print correctly when coated with ink and pressed onto paper. By displaying the remnants of an older reading technology on the screen of a new reading technology Kindle is associating the long tradition of books and the printed word to their version of the newest “tradition”.

    1. My point was that there are letters that ought to be reversed but are not: the Kindle screensaver fails to work as a picture of an older technology because what this image would print, if these blocks were locked into place and inked, would be nonsense, with some letters facing one direction and other letters facing another direction.

Comments are closed.