Interactive illustration in print media targeting children's Thesis

Interactive illustration in print media targeting children's market(under12) - Thesis Example Against the back drop of this information, it won’t be an exaggeration to state that the increasing sophistication of the digital market has captured a major share of the children’s segment, thus indirectly driving them away from the conventional medium of reading i.e. the print media. Furthermore, the development of internet, and the growing affordability as well as ease of home computing has led to a further growth in increasing the attractiveness of the interactive digital media. Children today, have a wide variety of options at their disposal in terms of reading and learning, with internet and interactive digital media forming a huge chunk of their modern childhood activities. Considering the immense potential and popularity of the interactive digital media, and the fact that it has now penetrated educational settings, the significance of interactive print media seems to have taken a back seat. However, the importance and credibility of the print media in revolution izing the social and educational experiences of young readers cannot be completely written off. It is on account of this very reason that educators, researchers, content producers as well as policy makers are now showing an increased interest and concern regarding the dominance of interactive digital media and its likely impact on the invasive experience and understanding of essential social concepts of children. They have stressed that the revival of the print media is necessary as it has an immense potential to stimulate the intellectual, emotional as well as physical development of children. The unique characteristics that the print media offers can go a long way in helping children in shaping their understanding of the world around them. It can also help in the development of a well designed interactive print media can help in engendering a sense of true learning among the young readers. This paper on interactive illustration in print media throws light on various aspects of the print media and its likely impact on the young readers. In the process it traces the roots of this medium and charts its evolution into a highly interactive medium which is specifically designed to stimulate a keen sense of understanding and growth among the target audience, i.e. young children (Schumm, 2006; Wooten, 2009). History of illustration in print media targeting children The market for children’s books was virtually non-existent in the olden times. Most of the picture books prior to the sixteenth or seventeenth century were mainly designed and targeted at the adult audience. Children were not given due importance as an independent market segment and hence there were rarely any books targeted specifically at them, although a privileged few i.e. mostly children from rich upper classes of the society were exposed to and /or had access to illuminated manuscripts (Pope, 2010; Cullinan, Person, 2005). Figure: An example of an illuminated manuscript for children According to Aries, the artists during the tenth and the eleventh centuries hardly displayed any interest in illustrating for children, as they did not consider them an important segment of readers. He