I was selected by the head of Disney CRM division to conceptualize, design and deliver a new Star Wars credit card series for the Disney Chase Visa Card Program.
Problem and Opportunity
Disney acquired the property rights to Star Wars characters and imagery by 2014, so now they were ready to use their partnership with Chase to create Star Wars branded credit cards.
Little was known so far about the demographic, so they appealed to me for suggestions on characters the audience might like.
I was not allowed use any human characters whose faces were showing, since the licensing costs of the actors would be astronomical. They were also hesitant about showing anything violent, especially weapons like laser blasters.
Process
The coolest (and weirdest) part of the experience was receiving four DVDs holding an obscene amount of digital Star Wars content. They contained illustrations, old film shots, logos, you know... the whole kit and kaboodle.
Being a huge Star Wars fan, I relied on my intuition in choosing four major characters that would excite fans: Darth Vader, Yoda, the droids, and Boba Fett.
Disney agreed on the first three but wanted the fourth to be a storm trooper. Ew. I pushed back. It's gotta be Boba Fett. Disney's user research would confirm my suggestion later on. 🙃
