Note-taking Bible

When I was about seven years old, I explored my parents' bookshelves and I found my mom's college edition of the Bible. I read Genesis and I was pretty fascinated by the super thin pages, but like any young child, I quickly got bored. I have never gone back and read more of the Bible, but lately I have become fascinated with it and I would like to read more. I like the idea of the "REB vest pocket New Testament" because you can take notes in it (it has a section of lined paper) and there is a map so you can see the places that are talked about in the text. For me, reading the Bible would be a self-interpretative process, so taking notes would be very helpful. If they weren't physically attached to the book, I would probably lose them. I also like the ribbon so I won't lose my place.

The Bible

Just like Jolie, I don't have a whole lot of experience with reading the Bible. I studied it briefly for my Bat Mitzvah, and then again for a Jewish Studies course in college. For both occassions, I used a hardback Bible that resembles a textbook. After browsing through this Bible design blog, I find that the Bible designs that are bendable make me feel a little uncomfortable. I never like bending my silly fiction paperbacks, so I don't think that I'd like to bend a book with such important material. I think I'd feel bad!

I know that this the above image isn't a design of an actual Bible, but I really like the cool design of this religious art. The creator came up with the design by using Wordle, which makes the words that appear the most the largest size. Pretty creative! If I was religious I'd probably purchase one of these.

Such a pretty blue

The first (and last) time I opened a Bible, it was by accident. I was about seven and was playing with the bedside table in a Disney World hotel. Assuming all of the drawers would be empty, it was to my surprise that someone left their book! I showed it to my dad and he laughed and said, “That stays here”. Because I don’t have very much experience with bibles, my opinion on this is going to be very straightforward and design based. I obviously like that pretty blue color used in the Transetto flipback Bible. It catches my attention and helps me to easily differentiate the individual sections. Like any flipback book, I envy its ability to be convenient without sacrificing information. Like I stated in class when we first saw this new flipback book idea, my only thought was that I wish there were more books in this format. So overall, I’d have to say though none of these are “appealing” to me, this is the most interesting design.

Small Bibles Are Less Intimidating

Ultimately, I think a digital form of the Bible is probably the best format due to the ability to search a document and to quickly navigate to specific passages. Not to mention the ease of transport and being able to have it with you virtually anywhere. But I'd probably only read a digital Bible if it was well-designed (ie-clear hierarchy, fun colors, designed sections, etc. - more like something you'd find for an iPad, rather than a Kindle.)

But for those who prefer a paper book, my favorite format of the Bible featured on the Bible Design Blog is the Transetto's fip book version. I feel like this format is quite appropriate, especially for the Bible - its portable, compact and comes off as less intimidating overall. Even it's cover design is modern, clean and bright, inviting me to read it. The large, colored numbers and titles are a nice touch and the main reason why I prefer this particular format. Not only do the large colored numbers resolve the way-finding problem many seem to have when trying to read the Bible, they also offer a nice reprieve from the wall of text so often found (by necessity) in Bibles. I do like Traci's idea of color-coding the books of the Bible, so one thing I would add (assuming no limits on budget) are color-coded tabs or sections, maybe printing on the outside edge of the pages so you can easily flip to the section you are looking for.

Actually, if I had it my way, I'd have a series of mini-books, each covering one of the books of the Bible. Color-coded, of course, and similarly laid out like Transetto's. I want the Bible to be broken down into manageable bites. Only then would I, perhaps, be inclined to actually read the entire Bible.

Re: Traci

Thumb-notched Bibles are definitely easier to navigate! I agree that navigation as a whole is difficult, since there are so many books and a lot of them are short. I feel like many churches end up trying to get people to memorize the order, which they shouldn't have to do if the design were presented more clearly.

What is this Bible of which you speak?

While this blog topic took me by surprise, in retrospect, the Bible's design does warrant some attention. It's the only book I own three copies of, but have never read. Looking at my bibles now (first time ever), they seem more textbook than regular book, which leads me to believe they should be designed more like a textbook.

The few times I have actually read a passage in a bible, I was always annoyed at how tedious the passage was to find. If I was designing a bible, I would assign a different color to each of the Books and attach a color corresponding tab to the beginning of each Book. Another idea is to have the Books thumb-notched. Maybe this is a breach of bible design protocol, and I'm sure it has been done before, but I'm a firm believer in practicality. A table of contents would also be useful. For a book that is usually used for reference and, it should be easier to navigate.

I understand why a bible has two columns, but I'm curious about the reception of the one-column epub versions I've seen. Reading a 6x9 book with two columns is a headache. I realize, in a print version, if you didn't have two columns, the book would be as thick as an unabridged collegiate dictionary. However, if the book title was placed on the side with tabs, the margins wouldn't have to be so low and more room would be available for the placement of the text. I think this is one of the few books I would prefer to read on a an eReader.

The Book That Started Them All

I think it's time we talked about the Bible. Not in the door-to-door witnessing way, but from a design perspective. Whether or not you're religious, you need to consider the Bible at some point--it's generally agreed on as the bestselling book of all time.

Designing a Bible presents several immediate challenges right at the beginning: many people consider it to be sacred text, so errors may come across as insulting or even blasphemous, rather than simply annoying; it's got a HUGE audience (How do you market the same book to 10- and 90-year-olds?), and because it's used from light reading to in-depth study, it can be a complicated book to design.

Not to mention that the Bible's been done, in all kinds of permutations, translations and interpretations since Gutenberg himself. As designers, how do we present this text in a way that adds something to the overwhelming body of Bibles already in existence?

The Bible Design Blog is dedicated to following the designers who are trying to do exactly that. One of the most recent entries, in fact, is about a new flipbook Bible!

The blog (again, it's at http://www.bibledesignblog.com/ in case my hyperlink fails for some reason) also details e-Bibles, spiral-bound "blank Bibles" with generous blank pages for notes, and a 400th anniversary of the King James translation, as well as many others.

What was most interesting to me (besides seeing so many markedly different versions next to each other) was seeing what elements people highlighted, such as flexibility of the cover and ease of navigation.

Which Bibles do you find interesting/appealing (or a complete turn-off)? Which design elements strike you as most important?