Holiday Card Experience

Reputation Ink has a long-standing tradition of sending a holiday card experience to their clients each year. While the tradition was well received, they wanted to elevate it beyond a standard video or static card and create something more engaging, interactive, and memorable. The challenge was to break through the noise of the holiday season with an experience that felt playful yet polished, while still aligning with their brand. With a tight four-week timeline and Thanksgiving in the middle of production, the project also presented an opportunity to push creative and technical boundaries quickly and collaboratively.

The traditional holiday card was transformed into an interactive, AI-powered web experience inspired by a Magic 8-Ball, reimagined with a festive twist. Users are placed inside a charming toy workshop where they can ask a holiday-themed Snowball any question and receive a branded, intelligently generated response. The experience was brought to life through custom hand illustrations, detailed motion design, and rich micro-interactions.  Leveraging Rive’s state-driven animations allows us to animate and orchestrate key interactive moments in real time. Every toy, headline letter, and animated element was illustrated by hand and animated to create a playful, immersive environment complete with sound effects and responsive interactions.

The experience was built within WordPress using a custom React-based container to ensure performance and flexibility, while AI prompt engineering powered responses that felt intentional rather than random. Rive animations were data-bound, allowing the React components to call performant motion and update the answer. Mobile optimization was a key focus, with a custom mobile layout and a standout interaction that allows users to shake their phone, triggering dynamic Rive animations to submit a question, reinforcing the Magic 8-Ball concept in an unexpected way.

The interactive holiday experience launched on time and was met with enthusiastic feedback from the Reputation Ink team. The project successfully transformed a familiar holiday touchpoint into a highly shareable, standout brand moment that reinforced Reputation Ink’s creativity and innovation, helping them connect with their audience in a way that felt personal, modern, and memorable.