Verbum was an early personal computer and computer art magazine focusing on interactive art and computer graphics. It was published from 1987 until the late 1990s. It, along with Info 64, was one of the first periodicals to be entirely based on desktop publishing techniques. Referring to itself as a "journal of personal computer aesthetics," Verbum was notable for placing more emphasis on creative aspects of its subject matter in contrast to the overwhelmingly technical content of other publications.
Overview
In 1991 the magazine began publishing Verbum Interactive, which was billed as the "first CD-ROM periodical." Verbum Interactive was produced using MacroMind Director and was hailed as a groundbreaking product, but criticized for the high cost of the equipment needed to view it, and for the slow performance of the CD-ROM technology it relied upon. It was laid out in PageMaker 1.2 on Macintosh Plus computers and generated camera-ready 300 dpi printout from an Apple LaserWriter Plus. It grew from early black and white content to include color and make use of the growing fields of image manipulation and multimedia. In 1989, Verbum held the first Digital Be-In, which sought to meld the ideals of the 1960s counterculture with the emerging cyberculture of the early 1990s.