It may seem strange to think about printed publications as having a "user experience." But they do, of course. Print is a technology as much as desktop computers and tablets are technology. One of the qualities most natural to the user experience of print is the sense of potential completion, defined by the physical edges. It is a quality that is wholly unnatural to digital formats.

The digital reading experience makes one want to connect and expand outward. Print calls for limit and containment.

Boundaries are good for creativity. The creation of printed materials brings with it the challenge of borders, limits. Creating digitally is such an open-ended process that I find a large part of my work is conveying to teams what the project is not rather than what it is, making borders, limits. ​

Designer Craig Mod continues to explore the edges of print and interactive work through fantastic essays, like this one for CNN.com, and beautiful work. ​