Spark makes creating a fun, easy daily habit
There are so many creators on YouTube teaching young people how to create, but not everyone has the skill level, understands how use a canvas, or can dream up new ideas on what to create. It's easy to feel like an imposter, instead of feeling the freedom to have fun, proudly show off your work, and connect with other people.
What if you had a digital studio in your pocket to create, inspire, and connect with others? In partnership with arts and crafts YouTuber Moriah Elizabeth, we learned firsthand from her 10M followers what both experienced and inexperienced creators needed to feel empowered. Spark served up ideas, a way to share work with others, and lightweight games and adventures.
Every day, users are served three 'sparks' that prompt you with inventive ideas for creating. You can play sparks solo, design from a blank canvas, browse inspiration from others, and co-create with friends through lightweight gaming mechanics.
The toolkit offers both the ability to draw creations from scratch, or select assets hand in hand with the prompts, such as stickers and backgrounds, so that everyone has an opportunity to create something beautiful regardless of skill level. There are even a few unique tools, such as animated fairy lights, or plant vines that follow your stroke as you draw.
Day one, we were on the top app downloads in the Apple app store. Two months in, the app had 124,000 registered users and a 70% acquisition rate with over 2+ million creations completed. The valuable lesson here: research. We were able to add features and optimize in a swift, agile manner with each app release.
