Speaking Images 2015

How can the 2015 World Press Photo Awards be effectively promoted in order to raise awareness about the stories behind the pictures? The answer is an innovative printing technique that was developed over seven years together with the Institute for Print and Media Technology, TU Chemnitz. It allows the photos to speak for themselves and, together with the original voices of the photographers, additionally provide valuable background information on how the photo was taken. Every image in the unpretentious, landscape-format book is also a fully printed loudspeaker. A flat conductor layer was printed on the back side of each photo together with three layers of polymeric material. Before binding the book, power was transmitted between the conductive layers, causing the polymer to vibrate and turning the paper into a fully functioning loudspeaker. Thus, each photo tells its own unique story and, combined with authentic sound effects, creates intensive sensory impressions and a strong connection between the reader and the photos.