Abstract
This paper presents an advanced process for designing “a-books”; augmented printed
books with multimedia links presented on a nearby device. Although augmented paper is
not new, our solution facilitates mass market use through industry standard publishing
software that generates the a-book, and regular smartphones that play related digital
media by optically recognising its ordinary paper pages through the phone’s built-in
camera. This augmented paper strategy informs new classifications of digital content
within publication design, enabling new immersive reading possibilities.
Complementary affordances of print and digital, and how these are combined and
harnessed by a-books in comparison to previous augmented paper concepts are first
discussed. Subsequently, an explanation of the workflow for designing a-books is described.
The final discussion includes implications for content creators of paper-based publishing,
and future research plans.