Computing made for hands, not screens

Each SOOOT Card is a tiny physical app. Insert it into the SOOOT Box and it starts its content or function. Pull a content card out again and playback stops.

The card is made from playing-card stock; what it does is determined solely by the arrangement of its holes. A simple piece of paper becomes a physical interface that can be written on, drawn on, labelled and collected.

The system gets particularly interesting when several cards come together. Up to four SOOOT Cards can be inserted at once, combining their functions. A 30-minute card combined with a ×4 card, for example, becomes a timer for the stretch-and-fold cycles of a sourdough. A Sleep Timer card can be combined with an audio card so that the sound slowly fades out after a set time.

Global settings can be changed with cards, too. The Motion Sensor card, for example, enables motion-triggered playback. Several soundscape cards can then stay in the SOOOT Box – and play a different sound each time someone enters the room.

SOOOT at Dutch Design Week

At Dutch Design Week, visitors can experience the SOOOT Card Stack “MOOD: Nature”, among others. It is joined by Radio and Podcast Card Stacks – collections of related SOOOT Cards. The radio presets include ByteFM, the podcast radio station detektor.fm and Echobox Radio. The podcasts range from “Gartenradio” and the cycling podcast “Antritt” to “Spektrum der Wissenschaft”, the “brand eins Podcast” and “Geschichten aus der Geschichte”.

Visitors can also try timers, Motion Sensor functions and freely configurable Custom Cards. In Party Mode, the Box itself becomes part of the atmosphere: through its built-in microphone, it responds to music and sound in the room and translates them into a light show on its red LED matrix.

A compact interface for digital content

The SOOOT Box is a compact, black, tilted object. Stereo speakers sit on the left and right, the card slot is on top, and the front carries a sparse matrix of classic red LEDs. Thanks to its built-in battery, the Box can be used without a power cord – on a kitchen counter, a bedside table or wherever it finds its place.

SOOOT connects via Wi-Fi when needed. Many functions, including soundscapes, timers and audio files stored by the user, also work offline. The built-in microphone is activated only when it is needed, and an LED shows whenever it is on.

Set it up once, then put the smartphone away

The accompanying SOOOT App for iOS and Android handles the Wi-Fi setup, lets users fine-tune the Box and prepares content and functions for Custom Cards. In future, it will also activate additional SOOOT Card Stacks. The app is still in development and is not yet publicly available.

In everyday use, it stays in the background. Once SOOOT is set up, it is operated directly through the cards: pick one up, insert it, combine it or pull it out again.

From birdsong to punched paper

The idea for SOOOT began four years ago with Jörg Pressel, Managing Director of three-2-one. The starting point was motion-triggered devices that played birdsong. They prompted a simple question: what if the sound could be chosen and changed, and played through a better audio system – while the interaction remained just as immediate?

Pressel’s fascination with punched cards eventually led to the idea of using paper as a physical interface. During development, another possibility emerged: several cards can be inserted at the same time. Physical objects can then not only select digital content, but also combine and modify functions.

The technology disappears behind something remarkably simple: a piece of paper. For Jörg Pressel, inventor of SOOOT and Managing Director of three-2-one, this very contrast is the core of SOOOT: “I was fascinated by the idea that a simple piece of punched paper could become an interface for something digital. There are no electronics in the card, yet it can represent content or a function you can hold in your hand. That contrast between the simplicity of paper and what it can make the SOOOT Box do is at the heart of SOOOT.” The system is patent pending.

First public showing in Eindhoven

Dutch Design Week 2026 marks the first public presentation of SOOOT. From 17 to 25 October 2026, visitors to the Piet Hein Eek Showroom in Eindhoven can operate working SOOOT Boxes and try the different cards and combinations for themselves.

A functional “EINDHOVEN” SOOOT Card will be given away during the exhibition. Two SOOOT DDW 2026 Collectible Cards will also be available, complemented by the SOOOT DDW 2026 Exhibitor’s Frame: all three cards framed, in black or white.

More SOOOT Card Stacks are in the works. Each new stack brings new functions that can be combined with the cards people already have. SOOOT is being developed as a commercial product, with market launch planned for 2027. Further information will follow at a later date.

Journalists can request an online or on-site appointment. High-resolution images, a fact sheet with technical specifications and further press material are available at soootbox.com/press.

About three-2-one

three-2-one GmbH is a design studio based in Krefeld, Germany. Founded in 1997, the studio works across digital design, programming and print – so far mainly for clients. With SOOOT, three-2-one is developing a product under its own name for the first time, bringing these disciplines together in one system.

The studio develops the electronics, enclosure, firmware, card system and SOOOT App, and designs the printed SOOOT Cards.