Pitching the Idea to Julien

Welcome to episode 3 of “Genius Loci: The Story”. Today we have a very special guest, Julien Suard, our sidekick with whom we have been working for more than four years at Design Sprint SA.

Julien had to be won over

Julien, with more than 20 years of expertise, is far more than just a designer. He is the maestro of prototyping, having collaborated with many startups and large companies as part of our design sprints (innovation workshops). His skills are unique, which makes him indispensable for testing prototypes at the end of each sprint week.

The risk was that he might not understand or might not be won over… it could have killed the project before it had even truly begun. As “Genius Loci” was our own project, we wanted him to be convinced by our vision before investing in it fully.

The “Genius Loci” Revelation

The idea of “Genius Loci” was born long before we spoke about it openly. The moment finally came in February 2022, after we had acquired the domain name. It was during a design sprint at the Vallée de Joux in Switzerland. In the picturesque setting of this region, surrounded by mountains and immersed in the very essence of Switzerland, we unveiled our concept to Julien over a fondue (a Swiss cliché!).

The idea of a medal (golden at first) with a QR code came from a simple gold coin from a children’s game placed on the table. By scanning this code, users could unlock the stories and secrets of a particular place. Julien’s first reaction? He listened, taking in every detail and trying to picture how it could be implemented.

The Decisive Moment

The main idea behind “Genius Loci” is to showcase heritage. Every town or village has its own history, but there is no universal tool to tell these stories. Local tourist offices often offer their own apps, but these are usually limited to a particular region or town. We saw an opportunity to create a universal tool that could be used anywhere, thereby offering an enriching experience for users.

The Shared Vision

For Julien, the idea evoked the possibility of leaving a trace, a memory, in special places. After a few minutes of taking it in and making the idea his own, he told us about “his” place: the summit of a mountain, the Canigou, where people live memorable moments. A shared vision of creating something unique and powerful.

With Julien by our side, we knew we had the right people to bring this vision to life.

Stay with us for the next episode, where we will discuss the first tests we carried out to validate our idea with our target audience. See you soon!