Tender Digitality introduces an aesthetically oriented concept that intricately intertwines binary systems in a complex manner, setting them in motion. The concept, in development at the Zurich University of the Arts, responds to the human desire for sensuality, interpersonal connection, intuition, and well-being in digital environments. It explores ways to (re)transmit these experiences into the analog world of a book, developing its own distinct vocabularies.

Readers are guided through the various perspectives of this kaleidoscope, encouraging them to delve into different play forms of ‘tender digitality’ and develop their own approach. Assuming the role of researchers, they discover phenomena of extraordinary beauty or utter bizarreness within the broad spectrum of analog and digital, social, and technological domains. Through exploration, learning, and the cultivation of ‘tender digitality,’ readers can envision their own version of a community where individuals and artificial intelligences, avatars and cyborgs, humans and computers navigate digital landscapes with agency, intuition, and sensitivity.

With contributions by Charlotte Axelsson, Oliver Bendel, Dana Blume, Marisa Burn, Alexander Damianisch, Léa Ermuth, Hannah Eßler, Barbara Getto, Leoni Hof, Marcial Koch, Mela Kocher, Friederike Lampert, Gunter Lösel, Francis Müller, Marie-France Rafael, Oliver Ruf, Sascha Schneider, and Grit Wolany.

CREDITS

Tender Digitality

Publisher: Slanted Publishers

Editor: Charlotte Axelsson

Authors: Charlotte Axelsson, Oliver Bendel, Dana Blume, Marisa Burn, Alexander Damianisch, Léa Ermuth, Hannah Eßler, Barbara Getto, Leoni Hof, Marcial Koch, Mela Kocher, Friederike Lampert, Gunter Lösel, Francis Müller, Marie-France Rafael, Oliver Ruf, Sascha Schneider, and Grit Wolany

Design: Slanted Publishers

Publishing Directors: Lars Harmsen, Julia Kahl

Production Manager: Julia Kahl

Proofreading and translation: Miha Tavčar, scriptophil

Release: February 2024

Format: 12 × 19 cm

Volume: 112 pages

Language: English

Printer: NINO Druck, Germany

Workmanship: Hardcover, thread-stitching, full-color, metallic iridescent cover material

Paper: Majestic Chameleon light blue, 120 gsm (cover) / Juwel Offset, 120 gsm (inside)

ISBN 978-3-948440-69-5

Price: €26.–