NEW YORK CITY, NY – Paris-based designers have launched a Kickstarter campaign for its first interactive electronic paper toy project, Papier Machine. With a goal of $55,201, the team is hoping to jumpstart mass production for Papier Machine Vol.0. This is the first volume of a collection of thematic books, and the theme of this volume is the sound.
The company is hoping to share to the world their beautifully crafted book which contains six electronic paper projects. They are also targeting those who are interested in learning more about the mysteries of electronic black boxes. But instead of the usual boring learning experience, the Papier Machine toys will make it fun and interactive.
Upon opening the booklet, users will find pages that are silkscreened with conductive silver ink. This special ink can conduct electricity which permits showing of real printed circuits. It can then be assembled to form the electronic paper toys. The potential of the paper is said to be infinite, so users can use their imagination and challenge themselves to creating something interesting.
The six electronic paper toys are called Gyroscope, Resistance, Playing track, Wind sensor, Writing track, and Tilt Switch. Each of these toys comes with their own user manual. However, the manuals will not include any written instructions with it. What they will find instead are visual steps. The purpose for this is so that no one will be limited by language.
Aside from the paper toys, the book will come with components necessary for the toys to work. It will include two button cells, two piezo elements, and two metallic marbles. It will also be packed with two sound components that can be used over and over again with each interactive toy. There will be a total of 24 pages in the Papier Machine Vol. 0.
Users can cut, fold, assemble, color, and build anything out of it. It will not need some glue as the toys are skillfully designed to be assembled with just strips.
The people behind this project have come a long way already since the birth of their idea. It has been three years already since designers Raphael, Marion, and Agnes worked on the project. Within those years, the trio has garnered attention through awards by the Red Dot Design Award (2016), Audi Talent Award (2016), and OEA Award (2016).
They have also been given opportunities wherein they showcased their product to the public. They previously put up an exhibition at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in May 2017 and at the Maison&Objet fair in September 2017. Their success in their startup sparked a motivation in them to go from project to large-scale production.
The Papier Machine team are hoping that their Kickstarter campaign will be the answer to their funding needs so that they can start their final tests and production. And if all goes well with their required pledged goal, the team will target a worldwide shipping schedule in July 2018. The campaign is currently more than halfway to its goal now. It should be funded in no time.
