Why do we enjoy riding bicycles? Why do we take pleasure in reading books? In both cases, the design of the object is an excellent fit for both the human body and the human mind. Books and bicycles have a way of inviting us to use them; and they reward that use with pleasure. With the book’s future the subject of debate, Sharon Helgason Gallagher of ARTBOOK | D.A.P. looks at the book from a functional design perspective and challenges digital forms of content publishing and information design to take the human body—and its sense of pleasure—into account.
Sharon Helgason Gallagher is the President and Publisher of the ARTBOOK | D.A.P. publishing and distribution group, representing international book publishers in the arts as well as museums such as The Museum of Modern Art; the Guggenheim Museum; and the Walker Art Center. Gallagher is also the co-publisher of Metropolis Books, whose titles include Vishaan Chakrabarti’s A Country of Cities, Fritz Haeg’s Edible Estates, and Architecture for Humanity’s Design Like You Give a Damn. The group also runs ARTBOOK@MoMA P.S.1, ARTBOOK@WALKER, and pop-up stores at the major art fairs such as Frieze New York, Art Basel Miami, Design Miami, and Art Los Angeles Contemporary. Gallagher is a graduate of Yale University and holds an M.A. in Philosophy from Columbia University.