Epic Originals
Turning Exclusive Content into a Growth Engine
Epic was sitting on a goldmine. Despite making up <1% of the library, in-house Originals drove 32% of engagement and 27% of all reads. Yet they looked no different than third-party titles — leaving both brand value and revenue on the table.
Project Goals
What we set out to achieve
+5%
MoM renewal
Increase paid-user retention
Originals drove binge-worthy engagement
$3M
annual savings
Reduce 3P rev-share cost
Shift usage to Epic-owned content
–20%
spend per title
Lower cost/title production
Scale Originals catalogue faster
<8wk
launch cycle
Increase speed to market
Use real-time reader data to green-light hits
Discovery
Key Insights
1Behavioral analytics revealed paying users over-indexed on Originals (34% vs 26% for free users).
2Qualitative interviews showed Originals were a primary reason families subscribed.
3Revenue modeling forecasted up to $3.9M in rev-share savings by shifting usage from 3P to Epic IP.
Thesis
Treat Originals like their own product line — with dedicated branding, unique formats, and spotlight placement.
Discovery System
Banner Takeover System
I designed top-of-screen banners to drive immediate visibility of new Originals, creating rules to differentiate between new series versus new books in an existing series. I art directed weekly banner creative by age group and format, including Motion Comics. To draw attention without distracting from the reading experience, I introduced lightweight animations using GIFs.
Content Strategy
Series Card & Product Pages
I built a responsive card system to surface all Originals in a compact row, with cards that automatically elevated the newest or most recently updated series. I added "New Series" and "New Book" pills for clarity and urgency, and designed dedicated product pages for each series featuring responsive art, book lists, and summaries. The result was a scalable, automated system that kept content fresh and surfaced the right titles at the right time.
Publishing
New Imprint: Ignite
I helped launch Ignite, a fast-turn, low-cost nonfiction line that cost 50% less to produce than fiction. The line proved its value quickly — "Draw Your Own Cats" saw 411K reads compared to Nat Geo's 248K. I designed the Ignite logo, book spines, posters, and email assets to give the imprint a distinct identity.
Design System
Originals Design System
I introduced a distinct Originals visual style featuring custom typography and a bold color palette, all WCAG-AA compliant. This system was applied across product, marketing, and editorial touchpoints to create a cohesive brand experience.
12 Month Impact
The Results
Engagement & Retention Metrics
↑0%
Originals page visits
↑0%
Avg. sessions/user
↓0%
Subscription churn
Revenue & Cost
Originals now earn back cost in 15 months (prev: 24+). Annualized rev-share savings: $3.9M (↑ 3× YoY)
Speed & Scale
Title release cadence ↑ 39% (112 → 184). Freelance spend: ↓ despite increased output
Takeaway
Strategic product design, fueled by real-time data and paired with brand storytelling, can turn a niche content slice into a growth engine for the entire business.
Key Lessons
Data × Design is compounding
Marrying analytics with design unlocked weekly iteration cycles, not annual ones.
Format ≠ Afterthought
Motion Comics proved that smart content packaging can drive major upside at low cost.
Brand clarity = business clarity
Giving Originals a distinct identity helped teams rally around Epic-owned IP.
Looking Ahead