Zoom
multimedia device
In collaboration with
Miriam Schmitt
Christopher Prenzel

Supervised by
Prof. Peter Eckart

In cooperation with
BROCKHAUS (german book publisher)

The way to read hasn't changed since a long time. Digital devices did. The way how we can get and pass on information got multiple possibilities. The analog book made out of paper is still an important way to conserve knoledge. How can we combine different ways of information in one device? How can we make the process of learning more effective and diverse? BROCKHAUS is a traditional german book publisher who wants to make the reading of analog books in a time of apps and e-reader still interesting and effective. The project also showed the pros and cons of tradition and the process of change.

Reading could be supported by electric devices to make it more multimedia. Codes in the books, hidden in pictures or in printed letters. An added 5th color in the printing process, invisible for the human eye, makes it possible. The multimedia device is able to scan the code for playing videos or showing current pictures, for example in a lexicon. Is that a new way of reading analog books in our digital world?


The design zoom is an interactive magnifier. On the one hand it is a reading aid and on the other hand it provides the reader with additional, more detailed information on the printed text. The handling of zoom is like using a special magnifier that can provide the reader with more profound information by highlighting details of the text and the decisive picture. Videos on a chosen topic can be depicted on the display and an integrated loudspeaker offers additional acoustic contents. A special printing technology links the texts and the graphics to a special code that can be scanned and activated by zoom.

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