Constructing the Hypertangible Novel: Writing and Design as Process

Constructing the Hypertangible Novel: Writing and Design as Process

Berta Ferrer

University of Reading, UK (berta[at]arquitectadelibros.com)

Abstract: As the printed book co-exists with the influence of the digital, narratives become hybrid and are transformed into documents in which the content can very easily flow from one form to another. As a result of this, the first decades of the 21st century have seen the emergence of publications that challenge traditionally orthodox reading practices. This article examines the response to the digital development in novels that foreground the material dimension of the narrative and are print-specific. These works do not reject the digital realm but absorb its characteristics and expand the possibilities offered by the material dimension of the book. By analyzing Graham Rawle’s Woman’s World and its process of creation through the collage and cut-up techniques, this article aims to show how design can contribute to foreground the physical dimension of literature in novels with hypertangible qualities. This examination draws attention to design being embedded in the writing process that constructs both material and narrative dimensions. Findings show that these novels can be a product of a ‘designwriting’ process, in which design serves both as a tool to shape a narrative, and as a process that expands it and creates an object that offers an embodied reading experience. Ultimately, this highlights the importance of physical reading in the age of digital media.

Keywords: book design; creative process; hybridity; materiality; print

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Author

Berta Ferrer is the Architect of Books (Arquitecta de libros), an expert in unconventional narratives and in books that foreground their materiality. Holding a Ph.D. in Typography and Graphic Communication from the University of Reading, as well as MAs in Graphic Design and Architecture, she specializes as a graphic designer, researcher, lecturer and writer in book and editorial design. Her creative and scholarly work delves into the potential of the book as a physical object in the digital age. She currently is Programme Leader at the BA in Graphic Design & Digital Media at LABA Valencia in Spain, and also teaches on the BA in Graphic Communication and the MA in Communication Design at the University of Reading in the UK. Additionally, she conducts international workshops and seminars on book design that encourage rethinking traditional reading practices and the material aspects of the book.

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Cite this article:
Ferrer, B. (2025). Constructing the hypertangible novel: Writing and design as process. Visible Language, 59(3), 326–347. https://www.visible-language.org/journal/issue-59-3-hypertangible-novel/

First published online May 22, 2025. © 2025 Visible Language — this article is open access, published under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license.

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Visible Language Consortium:
University of Leeds (UK)
University of Cincinnati (USA)
North Carolina State University (USA)