Paper WeChatReimagining Social Media Through the Logic of Printed Media
Overview
In an era where digital information continues to accelerate, the warmth and texture once unique to printed media are gradually fading from daily life.
Paper WeChat reimagines WeChat’s interaction model through the logic of printed media: text gradually blurs over time or “wrinkles” with repeated reading; “delete” becomes a manual correction, “copy” is reinterpreted as tearing and pasting; and the “Moments” are transformed into a layered, browsable newspaper. The project leverages the metaphor of paper to provoke reflection on old tangible media.
In an era where digital information continues to accelerate, the warmth and texture once unique to printed media are gradually fading from daily life.
Paper WeChat reimagines WeChat’s interaction model through the logic of printed media: text gradually blurs over time or “wrinkles” with repeated reading; “delete” becomes a manual correction, “copy” is reinterpreted as tearing and pasting; and the “Moments” are transformed into a layered, browsable newspaper. The project leverages the metaphor of paper to provoke reflection on old tangible media.
TeamHongyu Yue, Fengyu Wang, Xinyue Zhang, Zhaoyang Zhong
DurationMar 2024 – May 2024 (2 months)
InstructorProf. Qin Du (Tongji University)
KeywordsSpeculative Design, Printed Media, App
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Unlike digital content, which allows trace-free browsing and permanent storage, printed materials show the passage of time through fading and the marks of repeated handling.
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Digital content can be duplicated and shared at no cost, while printed pieces are inherently unique—each “copy” requires tearing or reconstruction.
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Digital deletion leaves no trace, whereas edits on paper inevitably reveal marks of correction.
- While digital posts appear in parallel layers on a screen, printed media are organized through physical stacking.
We reimagined WeChat, the most widely used social platform, by incorporating characteristics of printed media.