Do People Really Want To Customize Your Product?
Last week, I attended a virtual film screening hosted by an AI startup in LA. But this wasn’t just a passive viewing experience—it was interactive. Audience members, watching from home, could influence the film in real time through a chat-based app on their smartphones. It’s early days for their technology, but the promise of what’s coming is clear.
I watched the film with my 8-year-old son. His exposure to AI so far has mostly been through me—turning his artwork, toys, and wild prompts into AI-generated images with Midjourney. This was different. This time, he wasn’t just observing AI; he was engaging with it. As the characters moved through the story, audience interactions shaped the narrative. By the end, participant names were even included in the credits. Clunky? A bit. But cool? Mostly.
It reminded me of something else: the wallet-making kit we created. Traditionally, I was the one designing and crafting the wallets. But with this kit, the roles flipped—users can now create their own. Excitedly, parents have been sending me photos of their kids’ creations. The designs... let’s just say… they’re bold. (And sometimes, objectively terrible 🤣)
But there’s something interesting here.
Christopher Nolan directing a film is obviously different than my 8-year-old experimenting with interactive storytelling. Likewise, I—an old, grizzled Duct Tape Wallet veteran—can craft a beautiful wallet in my sleep, while a 10-year-old? Not so much. But both experiences hold value. One is about mastery at the highest level. The other is about curiosity, experimentation, and play.
So, as someone who straddles the worlds of product design and storytelling, a few questions come to mind:
How do you empower users with the right level of guidance—enough to inspire, but not so much that it stifles?
Do people really want to create, or do they prefer something artfully done for them? (Or does it depend on the context?)
What level of personalization gives someone a feeling of accomplishment? For example, in our wallet kit, the hardest steps—cutting and prepping—are already done. Does that make the experience better or worse?
The list goes on... excited to keep experiementing.
💛 Garett
