The Concept
In 2019, I was working as an Illustrator. I'd authored two comic books, promoting them on Instagram, and publishing digital copies on Gumtree.
The whole experience felt clunky. I was aware of platforms like Webtoon and Tapas, but they felt cluttered, lacking the professionalism I was looking for.
I believed there was a better solution. I set out to build a platform that would:
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Empower creators with simple self-publishing tools
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Improve digital reading experiences on mobile
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Reduce our environmental impact by building a better digital experience
Building The Platform
Our Creators
I knew that the success of the platform would be driven by the creators publishing with us. In our first 3 months, we published 25 creators, with a collective online following of over 1 million people. Special thanks to Victoria, our Publishing Assistant, for helping discover some incredible artists.
The Platform
Throughout the design process, I had two priorities:
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The reading experience
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The publishing experience
I wanted our design system to feel tactile, mimicking the feel of reading a real comic on a digital device. I also wanted it to evoke nostalgia and simplicity. Above all, I wanted to achieve a sense of immersion for the reader.
Special thanks to Pana, for working with me on the design and build.
Covid-19, The Collective Colouring Book Project
In April 2020 the world began to feel the full force of Covid-19.
I'd built a community of creators as a launchpad for the product, and I wanted to do something to lift their spirits. I decided to push back the product launch and release a one-off project.
I had the idea to create a free digital colouring book, compiling the work of multiple artists. In 72 hours I compiled a 70-page colouring book featuring the work of 30 artists across the globe. We amassed 50,000 downloads in 7 days.
The Launch
On June 12th 2020, we launched the platform, with a feature on It's Nice That.
After a brief early access period for our community, we launched. We built a community of 1000+ creators and readers and engaged with them across socials and Discord. The response was an abundance of support.
We continued to onboard a number of artists and grow our userbase, empowering our creators to monetise their work, and readers to enjoy a simpler, more immersive reading experience on mobile.
Reflections
This project was one of the most challenging, yet exhilarating I've ever worked on. It was an adventure personal exploration and learning.
In June 2020, just after launching The Collector Club, I joined Contact, a platform empowering creators. I planned to stay for three months and soak up some experience in a start-up before getting back to my own project.
At the time of writing this, it's January 2022, and I'm still at Contact. It didn't feel right to leave, I knew I had so much to learn. I dedicated myself to diving in and giving my all. Eventually, I decided to hit pause on The Collector Club.
Whether I'll return to this, I'm not too sure. There are definitely ideas here that excite me. What I do know, is that this project fed my creative spirit, and enabled me to be at my highest point of contribution. And that's pretty special.
