Nasa Graphics Standards Manual
The reissue of an Apollo-era Nasa design manual shows a way forward for the beleaguered world of book publishing, writes
look up. and up. And up. Keep going. A little higher. See it? That’s the future of publishing, right there, somewhere free of the usual earthbound limitations of imagination and way up beyond the stratosphere. The future of publishing is rocket science.
In 2016 a remarkable event occurred in publishing that gave lift-off to what the industry might experience as a revolution: The reissue of the Nasa Graphics Standards Manual, originally released in 1975 by design firm Danne & Blackburn. A single-volume, ring-binder encyclopaedia of Nasa’s visual identity, no less, illustrating everything from the celebrated Worm logo that travelled on every spaceship, aircraft and terrestrial vehicle, to the typefaces used on building exteriors and letterheads, and the embroidered badges on staff uniforms, the manual was described by its creators as a “true systems programme” of language and illustrations. It remained the graphic face of the space agency until it was rescinded in a 1992 design rethink.
The 200-page facsimile, produced as a
hardcover book two years ago, may now see the publishing world boldly go where independent explorers previously went individually. The key to the manual’s revival was a Kickstarter crowdfunding initiative that sought US$158,000 to reproduce the work — but raised US$941,966 thanks to its 8,798 backers.
The Nasa masterpiece is far from the only book project blessed by a successful crowdfunding effort, but it remains the most acclaimed. It was also name-checked almost immediately when I visited the London headquarters of publisher Thames & Hudson, where director Lucas Dietrich spoke passionately — and exclusively — about the brave new publishing world that has appeared on the radar of a company that, although almost 70 years old, is determined to embrace the new.
“We’ve always published great books — visual books, coffee table books, however you describe them — on the visual arts, meaning everything from archaeology to architecture, fashion, design, art, art history and photography,” says Dietrich.
“But like most publishers we don’t know who our readers really are. We have anecdotal information from bookstores about who’s buying our books, but we don’t necessarily have any customer data. Tastes change, markets change and with the rise of various platforms and sales mechanisms, online companies such as Amazon do know who our customers are and how many books they’re buying. Today’s tools mean you can reach audiences in new ways.”
“So you have that dynamic,” he adds, “and the fact that bricks-and-mortar stores have been disappearing at quite a rate. That’s a real challenge; we haven’t been affected so much by digital publishing though, because there’s no e-book market for our titles — readers want the real book.”
“All this suggested an opportunity for a publisher to create relationships directly with consumers in a new publishing venture. We know people out there want to buy our books, but there are fewer places to do that now, so it becomes much more about marketing.”
“And crowdfunding is the other interesting thing that’s been happening. One hears about movies and tech products launched on Kickstarter, but there have been some high-profile books on topics on which we publish that have raised lots of money. And if something as weird as the Nasa graphics manual can raise almost a million dollars...if I brought that book to the publishing board no one would touch it.”