Introducing Graphy
More than Mindless Scrolling
Books have been around for centuries. The Gutenberg Bible, commonly accepted to be the world’s oldest mechanically printed book, was printed in the 15th century! But since then, have we really innovated books? More than just from papyrus to pixels?
Moreover, there has never been a time in the world with more abundant resources and content to learn new skills and ideas, but what’s the last online course you signed up for, that you actually completed?
Enter Graphy.
A completely new medium to discover, absorb and share ideas.
What is Graphy?
Graphies are episodic, interactive, audio-visual and written content made for the mobile generation — an audience that isn’t engaged by books, and is virtually falling asleep in front of their laptops amidst their online courses. But Graphies are also so much more —
- Graphies are thematic. They lead us through an idea; connecting dots, breaking down concepts, revealing things in a new light.
- Graphies are substantial. They provide content to dig into, with depth that rewards your attention; they contain knowledge to be discovered and ideas to get lost within
- Graphies are immersive. They have stories that stick with you, designed to flow from the screen into the real world.
- Graphies are interactive. They invite active engagement; finding new ways for you to explore and connect with ideas.
- And finally, Graphies are living. Like great ideas, they evolve; growing, changing, remixing and refining.
Graphies breathe life into ideas.
The Thread of an Idea
The wild. The complex. The unimaginable.
Immersive storytelling and narratives are at the heart of what is Graphy, and now, also of our new symbol!
The Rabbit Hole worth falling down
Our identity, of course, is about more than just the symbol. Our vision and creative concept is that of the ‘thread of an idea’, an exploration of how it weaves across and through every touchpoint on the Graphy experience. Each visual of the user experience across the web and mobile, every pattern, every font and every colour has been refreshed to reflect our promise — Graphy is the rabbit hole worth falling down.
Designing Stories with Substance
Before we began designing what was to become the ‘Graphy experience’, we put down some key functional descriptors of what makes a Graphy, a Graphy.
- Graphies are narratively-structured as chapters that are further sub-divided into pages. Each of these pages contains immersive video or motion content further augmented with text, images and interactive quizzes and polls (for starters!) 😉
- Graphies employ the vertical format of a mobile phone.
- Graphies are simple and intuitive.
Navigation
Once we locked these in, we explored possible navigational exploits that would deepen this ‘thread’.
The first being the most conventional format of navigation, swiping left to right. Of course, borrowed from pages in books but heavily popularised on social media platforms like Snapchat or Instagram Stories. On inspection, we quickly realised that this didn’t feel right for Graphy. The experience is a linear progress (which, to be accurate, isn’t technically progress at all!). We’re bouncing from one idea to the next, continually switching context, rather than deepening our understanding of any one concept.
When you’re reading a really good essay (yes, very much like this one), swiping up, you’re moving down, digging further and deeper into richer and more meaningful ideas and conclusions. This feels immersive, and almost bingeable, removing any transitions between pages. Perfect for absorbing knowledge, and as you might guess, perfect for Graphy.
Onboarding
In many ways, Graphy is pushing to reinvent much of what we’re used to in the world of content-consumption and learning. And what’s better than learning by doing? (read: Graphies are interactive)
So, we decided to take it from the top! From the beginning of it all, just as soon you download the shiny new app, and open it up — we make a little introduction to Graphy, our Graphers, the content and the experience. Letting go of most traditional onboarding patterns, we went back to our brand principles and language, and yet again, using the thread as a metaphor, you’re taken along and onboarded through what is, in many ways, a mini Graphy itself!
In the end, our story is best told by our storytellers— Graphers— sharing their weird and wonderful ideas on Graphy. Ready to #getgraphy? Step this way!
Follow Graphy to read more stories and updates about our brand, design and product, and our Graphers.
