Challenge

Praxis is so core to who we are, it’s hard to imagine it ever changing. For 17 years, this annual collection of AHA! employees’ original, personal creative work has been not only our gift to clients and friends, but also to ourselves. It’s our chance to create, express and imagine beyond the work we do for clients every day. Praxis originated as a printed book—a collection of essays, short stories, poems and plays. As AHA! has evolved, so has Praxis. In 2013, we transformed the publication with photography, illustration and graphic design. In 2014, we wanted to push Praxis, and the stories within it, into new territory.

Solution

One of the things we love about Praxis is that it makes us vulnerable. In the 2015 edition, we abandoned our defenses. We handed co-workers our stories, poems, art, music and photos and told them to go crazy. The results were often unexpected—and awesome. Praxis became a playground of ideas. A multimedia app added rich new layers to our storytelling, with sound, motion and behind-the-scenes details. We even built an interactive online map so more people could tell—and show—us where in the world their ideas emerge.

Impact

Clients and longtime readers said the new Praxis showed a side of AHA! they had never seen before—and made them eager for more. And creating it energized all of us, giving us new ideas for telling stories beyond the page.