Systems and methods for haptic and gesture-driven paper simulation are disclosed. For example, one disclosed method includes the steps of receiving an electronic document; receiving metadata associated with the electronic document, the metadata comprising a characteristic indicating a type of paper; generating and transmitting a display signal configured to cause display of the at least a portion of the document; and generating and transmitting a haptic signal based on the type of paper, the haptic signal configured to cause a haptic output device to generate a haptic effect.