The smart, visually-oriented publishing blog The Casual Optimist shares this video from the multidisciplinary design firm IDEO, presenting three concepts for interactive reading experiences. So do these ideas represent the future of the book?

While digital devices create a number of exciting possibilities for reading, these concepts (and all the others like them) seem like the result of talented people fixing something that isn’t broken. Books have never had any trouble keeping readers’ attention, and they continue to hold their own in an increasingly crowded world of media. Adding GPS to Jane Austen isn’t necessary when generations of readers have fallen in love with her writing for what it is.

But eBooks could still use help from keen-eyed designers and engineers: there’s much to be desired visually, and even the device makers’ own promotional images of their products feature some truly cringe-worthy typography. The Kindle in this shot, currently the first thing one encounters on Amazon’s home page, proudly displays an unindented paragraph. (Apple isn’t doing much better.) As we transition to reading on devices, how can we combine the benefits of portability, accessibility, interactivity with the tradition of elegant typography offered by a well-designed book? And how can we ensure the possibilities of dynamic text don’t come at the cost of legibility? These are the immediate challenges designers need to face as they consider the future of the book.