DISNEY’S STORY APP

As Creative Director for Disney Interactive Media Group, I led the development of Story, launched in 2012, Disney's innovative approach to digital storytelling and memory preservation. This mobile application enabled users to transform their photos and videos into elegantly designed digital narratives that could be shared both on social platforms and securely with family and friends via email—giving users flexible privacy options for their personal memories.

My team identified a key market opportunity of the time: while many apps focused on simple photo sharing, there was a gap in solutions for cohesive narrative creation—a natural fit for Disney's cultural position as a storytelling leader. Story pioneered several features that have since become industry standards, most notably our groundbreaking color-extraction technology that automatically pulled colors from the backgrounds of photos and videos to create harmonious text captions—an innovation that earned US Design Patent #8989490 ("Feature Sensitive Captioning of Media Content," issued March 24, 2015).

Beyond the product concept and user experience, we developed the app's brand identity, navigating Disney's complex brand architecture and approval processes, ultimately securing direct approval from then-CEO Bob Iger. Our strategic positioning paid off—at peak periods post-launch, Story overtook Instagram on the Apple App Store's top download charts.

The images below illustrate distinct user journeys through the app, demonstrating how different types of users could create and share their personal narratives using Story's intuitive interface and innovative features.