«Neputns»: how the book in Latvia also became a design object
Publishing house «Neputns», operating since 1997, has close ties to the art world and produces books of high print quality. Its history reflects how perceptions of the book as a visual and design object changed in Latvia.
Today a book is no longer seen only as a means of storing and reading text. It can also serve to document visual testimony, offer aesthetic pleasure, or create active interaction between the reader and the publication.
Changes in the 1990s
In Latvian publishing, this broader understanding of the book began taking hold in the second half of the 1990s. At that time, Latvia's cultural sphere saw a widening view of artistic expression and design approaches, greater awareness of the role of visuality in culture overall, and the emergence of real opportunities to put such ideas into practice.
The role of «Neputns»
Closely tied to this process is the publishing house «Neputns», which has operated since 1997 and from the outset maintained close links to the art world. Today its output includes books of high print quality, ranging from studies on various art forms to works of fiction. The publisher stands as one example of how, over the past three decades, the book in Latvia has acquired an additional dimension — visual and design-related.
