A Touch of Fry: YourFry Collaborative project for Penguin Random House and Stephen Fry

Paper is an inextricable component of our daily lives and is set to continue to be a fundamental platform for human communication. However, we know that the web has extended the connectivity and reach of human communication far beyond the physical limitations of paper. The “A Touch Of Fry” prototype demonstrates how digital and physical interactions can meet in a new research territory. The prototype builds on prior research by Rogers, in the field of ‘printed electronics’. Notably this prototype tests the reach of printed electronics for the book publishing industry. It does this through co-design practice (Rogers et al 2015) at a global scale through the invitation to design this prototype for the Penguin Random House Your Fry project YourFry.com. The prototype was tested at Cheltenham Festival, the Mozilla Festival and The Unbox Festival in India. The originality and rigour of the prototype is evidenced through the Stephen Fry award for excellence in Innovation (January 2015). Following the award Rogers, was funded by Penguin Random House to co-host a workshop at the South By South West Festival in Austin Texas (March 2015). The 150 minute workshop included 40 members of the professional digital and publishing community and explored people’s relationship between physical and digital in the context of the future of the book. Content for the workshop was generated by several high-profile Penguin authors including Stephen Fry, Geroge the Poet and the chef Yotam Ottolenghi.