GIFs
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$18.95
| Expected release date is Nov 10th 2026 |
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Product Details
Author:
Matthew Beale, Jamie Henthorn, Megan Mize
Format:
Paperback
Pages:
256
Publisher:
MIT Press (November 10, 2026)
Imprint:
The MIT Press
Release Date:
November 10, 2026
Language:
English
Audience:
General/trade
ISBN-13:
9780262054614
ISBN-10:
0262054612
Weight:
13oz
Dimensions:
5" x 7"
File:
RandomHouse-PRH_Book_Company_PRH_PRT_Onix_full_active_D20260705T121606_156890328-20260705.xml
Folder:
RandomHouse
List Price:
$18.95
Country of Origin:
United States
Pub Discount:
65
Series:
The MIT Press Essential Knowledge series
Case Pack:
24
As low as:
$14.59
Publisher Identifier:
P-RH
Discount Code:
A
QuickShip:
Yes
Overview
An illuminating deep dive into the GIF and its evolution from a technical workaround to a powerful digital communication tool.
Since its creation in 1987, the Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) has transformed from a practical workaround for slow internet connections into a dynamic mode of digital expression. Once used primarily to display simple animations and low-resolution images, the GIF now occupies a central but often overlooked role in many online discourse communities. Yet despite their cultural ubiquity, GIFs remain neglected in academic research fields. In GIFs, Matthew Beale, Jamie Henthorn, and Megan Mize explore the small-but-mighty GIF, inviting readers to reconsider how everyday digital practices reflect and shape broader social and cultural dynamics.
From group chats to global newsfeeds, GIFs permeate our digital lives, serving as humorous, subversive, and artful forms of communication. This book provides a comprehensive examination of the GIF as a cultural artifact, tracing its technological origins, aesthetic development, and communicative power. Across chapters focused on education, marketing and meme culture, creativity, identity, and community-building, this investigation explores how GIFs shape contemporary meaning-making, emotional expression, and digital participation, positioning the GIF as an integral piece of internet culture and history.
Since its creation in 1987, the Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) has transformed from a practical workaround for slow internet connections into a dynamic mode of digital expression. Once used primarily to display simple animations and low-resolution images, the GIF now occupies a central but often overlooked role in many online discourse communities. Yet despite their cultural ubiquity, GIFs remain neglected in academic research fields. In GIFs, Matthew Beale, Jamie Henthorn, and Megan Mize explore the small-but-mighty GIF, inviting readers to reconsider how everyday digital practices reflect and shape broader social and cultural dynamics.
From group chats to global newsfeeds, GIFs permeate our digital lives, serving as humorous, subversive, and artful forms of communication. This book provides a comprehensive examination of the GIF as a cultural artifact, tracing its technological origins, aesthetic development, and communicative power. Across chapters focused on education, marketing and meme culture, creativity, identity, and community-building, this investigation explores how GIFs shape contemporary meaning-making, emotional expression, and digital participation, positioning the GIF as an integral piece of internet culture and history.
