De Proef Pers

De Proef Pers (‘The Test Press’) is an interactive installation that allows visitors to the Playing Card Museum in Turnhout to experience the processes of traditional printing in a playful way.

The jury on De Proef Pers:

De Proef Pers impresses by not only preserving craft, but actively passing it on to a new, young audience. The way in which this knowledge and skill is conveyed makes it possible for a next generation to practise and continue the craft themselves.

How did the idea for this project come about?

De Proef Pers came about in response to a request from the Playing Card Museum to incorporate an interactive installation into their existing exhibition. We went through an extensive development process in close collaboration with the museum’s staff and designers, seeking to create something playful and intuitive that would still give ordinary visitors a real glimpse into the craft of traditional printing and typesetting.

What makes your project so special?

We’ve created something that puts physical interaction and visitors’ creative freedom at its heart. We deliberately avoided the usual touchscreens; all our design choices focus on real materials and physical elements, so that the digital aspect almost disappears. We wanted to create an installation that doesn’t resemble a computer but feels like a real machine, like the historic printing presses in the museum.

Do you have any further plans for this project?

For now, the installation doesn’t produce any physical output, but we may work with the museum to add a second component that would let visitors print their results. We’re still exploring how best to do this in a meaningful and effective way.