Book of Metsä
Digital and traditional craft in perfect harmony
“Book of Metsä” is a physical-digital interactive experience that immerses clients and visitors in the history of Metsä Group.
This unique artifact combines archival photographs and film, which are back-projected onto custom-bent glass mounted on an enclosure made from Metsä’s own wood products.
Interactive artifact
We were commissioned to design a unique, interactive way to showcase Metsä's history for clients and visitors. The goal was to create a physical-digital installation that would serve as both a compelling interior design feature for Metsä's visitor centers and an innovative storytelling tool.
The client requested a scalable solution that could evolve over time, catch the eye of passersby with its novel design, and go beyond a traditional touchscreen. A large part of Metsä’s business revolves around paper and pulp production. Hence, a history book seemed like a natural form factor for the installation.
The Process
Upon researching the topic we realized that existing interactive books rely on top-down projection and revolve around page turning interaction. Such a solution results in shadows and clumsy interface, both of which break the illusion.
Creating the book, therefore, needed a completely novel design solution, as well as custom hardware and software for back projection. We have proceeded with 3D visualization and CAD modeling, physical prototypes, and finally a test setup. The creation of custom touch capacitive glass proved to be the most challenging and required multiple approaches and prototypes.
Book of Metsä
Enabled by a glasswork-based touch interface, our book replaces the analogue page turning with a sliding motion which conceals pages into the virtual “spine” of the book and takes advantage of the curved shape of the artifact.
This minimalist and elegant solution complements the space of Pro Nemus visitor center in Äänekoski, becoming a part of a holistic interactive brand experience. "Book of Metsä" was created by craftspeople and creatives in Forssa, Lahti, Espoo and Helsinki.
The early visitor feedback has been extremely positive and time spent on the installation far surpasses the previous Metsä history installation.
