This week as part of our assignment, we were to analyze ancient texts to look for the four principles of design (Contrast, Repetition, Alignment and Proximity) or C.R.A.P. One of the suggested websites to find this text was the British Library. If you click on "discover" you will find that you "turn the pages" of many ancient texts. It is simply amazing! I choose to look at several texts because I was so fascinated with them. Although the covers appear worn, the pages are BEAUTIFUL. They are full of vibrantly colored pictures, gold leaf letters and decorations which enhance their beauty. Even though I would imagine that the C.R.A.P. acronym didn't exist when the texts were written, the scribes/writers used design principles. The beautiful colors contrast with the background paper and seem to "pop" off the page. Several of the texts that I viewed had repeating colors and drawing throughout. The text on the pages were aligned in perfectly straight columns and the letters seemed "justified" within the columns. Proximity was a little more tricky because I cannot understand what information in contained in the text; however, at the beginning of a seemed paragraph, there are pictures to indicate the transitions.
I am willing to bet that if you visit the site and take a look at these texts, you will be as amazed as I am. I've posted this before, but I think it bares repeating, Technology is an awesome tool which can connect us in so many ways. I may never be able to inspect the pages of these books in person, but through the internet, I am able to connect with ancient peoples and their works.
