A prototype to demonstrate how Paper Electronics could enable new interactions with Digital Media Combining the analogue spirit of vinyl records and music cassettes with the tactile qualities of print production and the breadth of digital data and services, The Postcard Player is a prototype designed to demonstrate how Paper Electronics could enable people to listen to digital music, or interact with other digital data and services in a more engaging way.

As a work-in-progress the Player has been exhibited in many different forms and iterations, each time providing more information about how people engage with it and how it could be improved. It was not conceived as a solution to a problem, it’s a prototype to open a discussion about how physical interactions can enrich our engagement with digital media.

The Player works with postcards printed using conductive inks. When they are put in the player, people can press the buttons printed on them to hear a piece of music. The cards have no electronic components in them, when they are placed in the player they act like switches that tell it what tracks to play.