Eric Spaulding

I love that moment when something takes your breath away, and your body’s physiological impulse propels you to slump forward, to get closer to whatever that thing is. That little slump is what gives me the goose bumps as a designer and storyteller. For me, design is fiction that hasn’t yet become fact. That slump forward is the bridge that connects the super charged fiction to impactful fact.

I am equal parts tinkerer, principal interaction designer, raconteur, provocateur, conversational design researcher, phenomenologist, experience strategist, and bar walking saxophonist, depending on who is paying the bill. While working at IDEO in San Francisco, my work focused on the intersection of storytelling and interaction design, where story might help a company chip away to reveal the true soul of their business, and then help us express that soul in unforgettable ways.

In 2012 I wrote, produced, and puppet-mastered the world’s first transmedia comedy called Love & Luck(y), about a young couple, their famous ‘talking’ English Pointer pup, and the world’s first talk therapist for dogs. The story unfolded across several channels, such as YouTube, Twitter, and Medium. The doctor’s brand was built across his website — where people could schedule appointments for their pets — and a blog that explained his approach to talk therapy for dogs. This 8-week immersion blurred the lines between fiction and reality with its mix of digital content, live experiences, and opportunities to engage characters to shape the unfolding narrative.

My forthcoming transmedia project -- Sworn Testimony -- is a novella + musical journey about a one-hit-wonder saxophonist who is rediscovered many years after his creative star has burnt out as he teaches music theory to petulant high school kids. When his records begin selling for thousands on eBay as rare collectors items, he has to scheme a way to get his old dusty bin of 45’s from his estranged wife so he can sell them and retire. The only