Paper meets pixels
Image Source: les éditions volumiques
When one thinks about the future of books, magazines and other paper-based media products in general, it’s easy to imagine a world of digital screens dominating. It’s inevitable and will happen in spite of romantic ideas about the sensory experience associated with reading a real book or the joys of collecting and displaying physical media objects made of paper. However, this doesn’t mean that paper-based media storage devices will go extinct in the evolutionary battle to survive in a digital future. Paper based books, magazines, games, etc. will most likely adapt by finding new ways to engage users by exemplifying the unique qualities that only a tangible medium can bring.
One such promising example I recently came across is the research being done by Etienne Mineur and Bertrand Duplat, which focuses on the relationship between reading, the physical handling of books and new technologies. Their work tries to bridge the gap between tangible paper-based media objects and digital media; demonstrating creative (and harmonious) new uses of paper and pixels.
Here’s a great example of one of their projects (a Board game with an iPhone). Visit this link for videos of some of their other prototypes in this area.
