Debates: VERSUS?
This mostly pertains to book covers. In my experience, print and ebook covers are often the same. Along with aesthetics, their goal is to help sell copies by drawing the attention of potential readers. Because many print books are sold online, a cover has to work both in person and online.
When we consider the contents, there certainly are beautiful print books. However, the whole point of good book design is to create a great experience for the reader, not art for art's sake. One of the best features of ebooks is that I can choose my own font styles and sizes, change the line length, spacing and margins. So my ebooks may look little like their printed versions, but if the whole point is readability, then ebooks have the better aesthetic.
John Parsons (john@intuideas.com), former Editorial Director of The Seybold Report, is an independent writer, ghostwriter, and editor. He is the co-author of the interactive printed textbook, Introduction to Graphic Communication, on the art, science and business of print, which has been adopted by Ryerson, Arizona State, the University of Houston, and many other schools and vocational training centers. Custom editions of the book are under consideration by major printing companies and franchises for internal training purposes.