Project Overview

The Australian global success story which spread the word that “Bullying is for people with no imagination”.

Dandelion is an interactive anti-bullying book for children which encourages kids to embrace their creativity to build their confidence. The story was written when the author’s son was bullied, so he wrote a book which would give parents a platform with which to discuss the topic with their kids.

It was designed and developed as an App (becoming the #1 Book App in the Australian App Store within 2 weeks), out-ranking Dr Seuss and Pixar on the App Store and was selected by Apple for ‘Best of 2012’. However, such was the impact of the story, that it was published by Penguin Random House as a hardcover picture book. The project has spun off into merchandise, a stage play and is now being developed as a children’s TV show.

Organisation

Protein One

Team

Galvin Scott Davis - Author / Creator
Anthony Ishinjerro - Illustrator
Luke Emrose - Developer
Hylton Mowday - Composer
Linal Haft - Narrator

Project Brief

The story for Dandelion came about when one of Galvin Scott Davis’ sons experienced bullying. Cyberbullying has increased due to a rise in digital connectivity. Dandelion provides a digital platform on tablets and smart phones for children and adults to broach the subject of bullying.

The internal brief we built was to ‘reverse the traditional publishing model’ by creating something so unique on digital platforms that it would build a big enough audience to warrant being published in book stores. And the dream came true!

The App allows children and parents to interact with the main character and protect him from the bullies. The tim-burtonesque design of the world immerses the reader where they can tilt the environment with the device and even physically blow dandelions from the screen to make wishes.

Project Need

The app offers a truly original experience, interface, and gamification of an original fable. The ability to blow the dandelions within the storytelling process is a first and required months of custom code development.

The world of dandelion also reacts to the gyroscope in the device to create a parallax effect within the story. This, coupled with touch interactions, voice over and original score set a new benchmark for publishing in a digital format.

The digital innovation of the project led to it being sold physically in book stores throughout the country. The need for the story has been proven as schools both nationally and internationally have adopted it for their classrooms. The subject of bullying is a tough one to approach, though dandelion approaches it in a truly original way. Prompting one school in Minnesota to adapt the App to a stage play for their end of year review.

Design Challenge

There were many challenges to the design of the project, not least in being able to create a tactile world in a digital space and then leveraging the technology to compliment the storytelling artwork.

Beyond this we also used Kickstarter as a platform to raise funds to complete the story. This meant that we had to ‘pre-design’ many pages, merchandise and rewards in order to use these to market the project.

The artwork from the pages of the book had to be scalable enough so that we could produce iPad covers, wall decals, activity sets and much more.

We also wanted to create a children’s book which looked unlike any other. This meant being able to retain the integrity of the dark world and subject matter while also engaging a young audience.

Even the design of the main character, Benjamin Brewster, was thought about long and hard. A boy with no face, no identity because of his tormentors. This has made Benjamin a truly original character in design.

Sustainability

In the first instance, creating a digital book instead of following the traditional route of publishing with paper meant that we would only create something that would require ‘materials’ if the uptake warranted it.

We also chose only to produce exclusively for iOS as Apple are the greenest device manufacturer presently.

Our design of activity sets was planned so that we could produce them on-site, internally as required. This means that we have no ‘excess’ stock and only print the sets once they are purchased.