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Like much else in publishing, crowdfunding books is all about hope, faith and money. As the disclaimer on the homepage of a crowdfunding site makes clear, in surprisingly blunt prose: ‘Backing isn’t buying. You’re supporting ambitious creative work.’ Almost anything can be crowdfunded – charities, legal campaigns that call governments to account, movies, performances, software, vinyl box sets, board games – and there are a huge number of online platforms that make it possible for people to support the organisation of their choice by pledging money, including ArtistShare, Patreon, GoFundMe and CrowdJustice. In return, supporters receive anything from a bookmark to a limited-edition print; from an exquisite design monograph to the intangible sensation of helping a deserving cause. Design book publishing is dominated by Kickstarter, though Indiegogo is preferred by some publishers, and Unbound and Volume are books-only platforms ....
This article was originally published on Common Edge. Dan Klyn, who teaches information architecture at the University of Michigan, is currently researching and writing a biography entitled Richard Saul Wurman’s 5 Lives. It’s an apt title, since the intellectually peripatetic Wurman has had several career incarnations: architect, author, publisher, designer, painter, sculptor, impresario (he created and thoroughly curated the early TED talks). “In a sense, I’m an amateur, a dilettante, I don’t do anything particularly well, but I see patterns between things,” he said to me in a recent interview, although his modesty here seems somewhat false: Wurman is a member of the Art Directors Club Hall of Fame; an AIA Fellow; has written, designed, and published more than 100 books; won a lifetime achievement award from the Cooper Hewitt; and is the recipient of the AIGA Gold Medal. ....