We’ve done it, and we’re out the other side!
Now, a few weeks on, we’ve had a chance to look back to review the main takeaways, evaluate our innovations, and consider the next moves.
Main Takeaways
The nature of working on an innovation project, at least for us, is to imagine a great position to be in (in relation to the work at hand), and then pose a series of ‘what if’ questions to try to find a way towards that dream outcome being accomplished.
This consists of working through a succession of feedback loops that build on the last and inform the next; be that to continue along the same route or to change tack altogether. It’s not for the faint-hearted! After all, enjoying the quest of the unknown and squarely facing the possibility of failure is a central theme.
This approach is a great example of using inventive thinking to navigate a way forward. Keeping a creative mind when up against restrictions and recognising the opportunities that they could present is a valuable trait to cultivate.
Innovations
We had several wish list items to tackle at the beginning of the project, and most, if not all, have been accomplished one way or the other. We have certain details we wish to keep under wraps, of course, but here are a couple of major advances for us:
In the pursuit of creating a magical experience, we have found a way to achieve automatic and recurring personalisation in the web-book without collecting or storing personal information. This was a high priority for us considering our target users are children. We wanted to both engage and involve the reader, and encourage people to share the experience as a personalised gift for others to enjoy.
We have also found a way for the experience to change over time (in recognised time periods). This presents us with exciting possibilities that impact much of our in-house project work, as the core of what we do is to bring the printed page alive!
Next Moves
Through completing this innovation work, we have realised that what we are creating is actually very innovative. This is a good thing, of course; we are at the forefront of using the web storybook format to create enchanting and in-depth experiences in an increasingly quick and cursory online world. But with innovation, there is also risk, and understanding how we present and communicate our product and message will be crucial in how it’s received.
The world of tech and media is moving at an incredible pace, with AI capabilities (and the access to this) fast changing the face of production in screen-based creative products. In our view, AI should only ever be used as a powerful data tool, not as a creativity replacement. We are dedicated to human-made endeavours, with human creativity and human interaction at the core. This is where the real stories are; in the making behind the work, as well as in the product or experience itself.
This innovative work has led us to realise the huge potential and value of what our proposition can bring to both makers and recipients. And we have exciting plans that tackle both of these aspects head on. We certainly have our work cut out. But never shy of a challenge, our plans and company aims have become more ambitious as a result of our findings.
We’ll keep you posted…
Thank you for reading!
Eleanor :-)
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