{"id":128275,"date":"2022-09-19T14:00:55","date_gmt":"2022-09-19T14:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/developer.apple.com\/news\/?id=56pb0goq"},"modified":"2022-09-19T14:00:55","modified_gmt":"2022-09-19T14:00:55","slug":"behind-the-design-rebel-girls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/2022\/09\/19\/behind-the-design-rebel-girls\/","title":{"rendered":"Behind the Design: Rebel Girls"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

Like the groundbreaking women it spotlights, the Rebel Girls<\/em> app has a remarkable story.<\/p>\n

It began a mere six years ago with a book called Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls<\/em>. Written and art-directed by Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo, the premise was simple: amplify the stories of history\u2019s most influential women. <\/p>\n

The result? Not so much an amplification as a worldwide shockwave. Good Night Stories<\/em> quickly became one of the most successful publishing campaigns in Kickstarter history and Favilli and Cavallo soon found themselves with an entire Rebel Girls franchise. To date, the brand has sold more than 8 million books, been translated into nearly 50 languages, and seen more than 18 million downloads of its podcast. And the Rebel Girls<\/em> app, launched just over a year ago, recently won an Apple Design Award for Social Impact.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re creating an omnichannel for girls,\u201d says Jes Wolfe, CEO of Rebel Girls since April 2020. \u201cThe app takes the best of our books, podcasts, and audio stories and puts them into a flagship destination.\u201d <\/p>\n

The Rebel Girls<\/em> app uses immersive audio experiences, gorgeous art, and clever interactive elements to spotlight its historic heroines. The women span cultures and centuries: You can get inspired by the careers of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Amanda Gorman, and Mae Jemison; explore the creativity of Frida Kahlo, Taylor Swift, and Joan Jett; learn about athletes like Simone Biles, Megan Rapinoe, and Chloe Kim; dive into historical icons like the pharaoh Hatshepsut, the pirate Grace O\u2019Malley, and the Egyptian astronomer Hypatia; and much more. Each story is accompanied by immersive soundscapes and original illustrations from female and non-binary artists.<\/p>\n

\"Olympic<\/p>\n
\n

Olympic gymnast Simone Biles is one of the many world-class athletes spotlighted in Rebel Girls.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Rebel Girls<\/em> also deepens the stories of its paperbound cousins: While book blurbs are around 300 words, a podcast or audio version can number closer to 2,000. \u201cEverything we do needs to be in support of storytelling,\u201d Wolfe says. \u201cWe don\u2019t need a whole lot more, because the stories are so rich and empowering.\u201d <\/p>\n

Wolfe\u2019s current focus is the new book Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls: 100 Inspiring Young Changemakers<\/em>, the fifth title in the Good Night Stories<\/em> series and one that focuses on women under 30. \u201cIt\u2019s the first time we\u2019ve done something 100 percent contemporary,\u201d says Wolfe. Arriving Oct. 4 and featuring a foreword by Bindi Irwin, it spotlights such modern luminaries as Greta Thunberg, Bethany Hamilton, Zendaya, and the Linda Lindas. Those stories and others may well cross over to the podcast and app as well. But regardless of where it appears, that story is always the cornerstone. <\/p>\n

\u2018This is really an audio experience\u2019<\/h3>\n

The Rebel Girls<\/em> app started out as something very different: hardware. \u201cThe initial idea was a speaker with a projector attached to it that would go on a girl’s bedside table,\u201d says Wolfe. \u201cThe plan was to showcase the stories on the wall or ceiling.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the team had little experience with hardware, and wanted to move faster than the plan allowed. \u201cThe thought became, \u2018How can we do audio theater?\u2019\u201d says Wolfe. \u201cThe app came from that. And Ter\u2019s job was to adapt the artwork.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n
\n

The app\u2019s Discover page is filled with colorful illustrations and diverse art styles.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Ter is Terenig Topjian, art director and UI\/UX lead for the Rebel Girls<\/em> app. He\u2019s been with the project since Day 1, art-directing illustrations and backgrounds and aligning the app\u2019s design with the well-established Rebel Girls aesthetic and purpose. \u201cThe design is essentially a container for the stories,\u201d says Topjian. \u201c[It] should be beautiful and memorable, but it shouldn\u2019t be flashy. This is really an audio experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

The thought became, “How can we do audio theater?’<\/p>\n

Jes Wolfe, Rebel Girls CEO<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

At the time, it was also a very relaxing audio experience. The earliest versions of the app \u2014 then titled Rebel Girls Dream On<\/em> \u2014 focused on sleep stories. \u201cThat\u2019s part of why you see such toned-down colors and an uncluttered look,\u201d says Topjian. But with time and testing, the team found that kids and parents were listening not just at nighttime but on the way to school, while cleaning up their rooms, or just hanging out. As the use cases expanded, the app became simply Rebel Girls<\/em>.<\/p>\n

While the app\u2019s look and feel might have been quiet, its development pace was anything but. The team typed its first lines of Swift code in early January 2021; just five months later, Rebel Girls<\/em> soft-launched on the App Store.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reason we went from zero code to being quietly live five months later was to get actual data of people using the app,\u201d says Wolfe. <\/p>\n

Those early months involved a near-constant flow of prototyping. The team partnered with 80 families who supplied timely feedback on story content, wireframes, and even the color palette. \u201cI remember testing out this one color and asking for the kids\u2019 thoughts, and so many were like, \u2018No no no, the book is this color,\u2019 and it\u2019s of course that bold dark,\u201d says Wolfe. \u201cThe families helped with everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s not really a kids\u2019 design\u2019<\/h3>\n

When it came to visual design, the original Good Night Stories<\/em> provided much of the inspiration for the app\u2019s interface, typography, and more. \u201cIt\u2019s a dreamy style \u2014 pastel colors, imaginative illustrations \u2014 that\u2019s at the core of the Rebel Girls branding,\u201d says Topjian. \u201cBut while it\u2019s dreamy in the literal sense, it\u2019s also metaphorical: We want it to feel aspirational, to convey dreams and confidence.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"Illustrations<\/p>\n
\n

Illustrations of nine women profiled in Rebel Girls<\/em> (left to right, top to bottom): Greta Thunberg, Simone Biles, Jane Goodall, Shirley Chisolm, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Frida Kahlo, Joan Jett, Aisholpan Nurgaiv, and Junko Tabei.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

To that end, Topjian and team adopted a running strategy for the work. \u201cWe treated each piece of artwork like a little movie poster,\u201d says Topjian. Framing it that way helped the team communicate a piece\u2019s mood while providing a chance to integrate little details about the subject \u2014 “just as a great movie poster does,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\n

The people who create the artwork should be as diverse as the subjects we profile.<\/p>\n

Jes Wolfe, Rebel Girls CEO<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

A typical Rebel Girls story begins with the company\u2019s in-house creative teams, who select subjects and match them with a writer, illustrator, and producer. At any given time, there are a half dozen or so stories in the works; two new ones appear in the app every week.<\/p>\n

That creative team is diverse by design. \u201cWe pride ourselves on creating a platform for a plurality of voices,\u201d says Wolfe. \u201cRepresentative storytelling \u2014 having this huge stable of illustrators, writers, editors, narrators, and producers \u2014 is in our DNA.\u201d To date, Rebel Girls has worked with more than 400 artists from more than 50 countries; their Good Night Stories<\/em> book 100 Real-Life Tales of Black Girl Magic<\/em> was illustrated entirely by Black artists, while 100 Inspiring Young Changemakers<\/em> was drawn by artists under 30. \u201cThe people who create the artwork should be just as diverse as the subjects we profile,\u201d says Wolfe.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n
\n

The app\u2019s illustration of indigenous rights activist and clean water advocate Autumn Peltier integrates visual hints about her work.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Each story features interactive elements and Easter eggs to enhance the narrative. The artwork for indigenous rights activist and clean water advocate Autumn Peltier integrates colorful waves; illustrations for designer Isabella Springmuhl Tejada are based on her own clothing and work. \u201cFor [meterological scientist and entrepreneur] Paige Brown\u2019s illustration, we created a patterned skyscape full of the balloons that carried her experiments,\u201d says Topjian. \u201cThis piece was also a sleep story, so we created an illustration with darker tones and a beautiful night sky.\u201d<\/p>\n

The interface feels almost tactile \u2014 all the buttons and icons are hand-drawn \u2014 and is geared mostly toward the primary audience of 6- to 12-year-olds. But Wolfe says 60 percent of Rebel Girls books and 70 percent of their podcasts are experienced together. \u201cWe design everything to be enjoyed by parent and child,\u201d says Wolfe. \u201cThat\u2019s why it\u2019s not really a kids\u2019 design.\u201d <\/p>\n

Establishing that balance \u2014 the sense of being a kids\u2019 app that doesn\u2019t entirely feel like a kids\u2019 app \u2014 is part of what drew Topjian to the job in the first place. \u201cWe think of it as an elevated kids\u2019 app,\u201d Topjian says. \u201cIt\u2019s sketchy but it doesn\u2019t feel scribbled. As a designer, I really appreciated how they treated the child as a person who\u2019s growing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Like a live demo\u2019<\/h3>\n

As you might expect from such a young app, Rebel Girls<\/em> is a work in progress. \u201cWe\u2019re learning and trying and experimenting,\u201d says Wolfe. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of like a live demo.\u201d<\/p>\n

Currently, the team is experimenting with more interactive content like polls, quizzes, and solicitations for reader submissions \u2014 like art for a soundscape on a bird sanctuary. The app is also leaning into shorter, snackable stories that clock in around five minutes. And Rebel Girls\u2019 new paper book will feature QR codes that link to the audio version of a subject\u2019s story in the app.<\/p>\n

\"Though<\/p>\n
\n

Though the styles may change, the app\u2019s illustrations are designed to feel \u201cpart of the Rebel Girls universe,\u201d says CEO Jes Wolfe. Pictured (left to right, top to bottom) are: Ada Lovelace, Megan Rapinoe, Grace O\u2019Malley, Madam C.J. Walker, Josephine Baker, Autumn Peltier, Yoky Matsouka, Isabella Springmuhl Tejada, and Wang Zhenyi.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Wolfe is certainly pleased about the attention the app has received in such a short time from young girls and families, but she says her most surprising feedback came from a demographic she wasn\u2019t expecting. \u201cWe get emails quite frequently from 14-year-olds and 19-year-olds who say, \u2018Look, we may be too old for this, we’re not your target audience, but we love these stories so much. They’re just like a constant source of inspiration in our lives.\u2019 That’s pretty great.\u201d<\/p>\n

Learn more about Rebel Girls<\/a><\/p>\n

Download Rebel Girls from the App Store<\/a><\/p>\n

Behind the Design is a weekly series that explores design practices and philosophies from each of the 12 winners of the 2022 Apple Design Awards. In each story, we go behind the screens with the developers and designers of these award-winning apps and games to discover how they brought their remarkable creations to life.<\/em><\/p>\n

Explore more of the 2022 Behind the Design series<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Like the groundbreaking women it spotlights, the Rebel Girls app has a remarkable story. It began a mere six years ago with a book called Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls. Written and art-directed by Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo, the premise was simple: amplify the stories of history\u2019s most influential women. The result? Not […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":128276,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[55],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-128275","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-apple-developer-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128275","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=128275"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128275\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/128276"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=128275"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=128275"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=128275"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}