A&O Fonds Grafimediabranche helps the graphics and printing sector of the Netherlands by providing education to employees in various companies. Together with the Digital Society School, we were asked to develop new ways of making the industry more connected and engaged.
Our initial research showed us that most of the industry’s stakeholders weren’t too familiar with technology, thus limiting the tools we could use to present our solutions.
Moreover, A&O Fonds had somewhat of a troubled relationship with their partner printers, due to the absence of a proper PR campaign. Most printers didn’t really believe in A&O Fonds to help in any way other than financially. And there was our challenge: how could we come up with something that would satisfy our client’s needs, but also change the perspective printers had of A&O Fonds?
Initially, we conducted a series of visits and interviews with graphic designers, book designers, paper producers and consultants that were relevant to the industry in general.
Later on, to properly empathize with the main stakeholders of the research, we visited printing companies around the country and spent an afternoon immersed in their processes and work spaces.
These two on-site phases, along with the desk research we conducted, provided us with enough insights to make more established and responsible decisions regarding our project. It became apparent the industry was struggling with innovating their work space, while A&O was struggling to get their message across effectively and in a trustworthy way.
During every sprint we published a research report with our findings.
During our iterative process, we came up with a few prototypes we thought could lead us to a final product. For example, the UNBOOK is a small booklet meant to destabilize book reading. While most people know what to do when they have a book in their hands, the UNBOOK isn’t read like it should. Instead, we used technologies like NFC chips, augmented reality, QR codes and a mix between digital and physical pages to show how simple it is to implement new features to a paper book. The idea was that the printers could start offering these technologies as services.
A second iteration were two boxes, created to be mailed to the printers. We divided them between a “marketing box” (speed over quality) and a “artistic box” (quality over speed).
As much as our client loved the concept of showcasing technologies to their partner printers, the printers themselves still wouldn’t trust or accept something from A&O. We needed to look deeper into the problem, not just try to find the solution.
Eventually, we decided to go for two different solutions that would help the industry in different areas, but similar ways. First, we built a platform that would connect anyone in need of more specific printing services with the printers themselves. Second, we developed a toolkit that would help printhouses with their work culture, team dynamic and facilitation skills.
The A&O Hub App is a “one-stop shop” for all your printing needs. Here you can find companies that provide specific printing services, request paper samples or even get advice on what products fit your book or graphic design project best.
With the Hub App, printing companies have a bigger and more direct reach to their potential customers.