Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book is concerned with documents, specifically documents that are published and consumed in various ways across different mediums and systems. It examines documents within the context of graphic design and graphic communication. Research into theory and terminology is intended to aid direct explication and communication of ideas relevant to the discussion, production, and use of designed documents, in particular when dealing with the complexities of documents realised in many variations. The book presents two case studies, looking at the document sets of the IKEA catalogue and The Guardian newspaper as they appear in diverse forms across different mediums and systems. With the IKEA catalogue a core layout native to the print catalogue is retained across various digital instantiations, whereas The Guardian organises content in a more varied manner across assorted systems.