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A customizable children’s book that stars your girl as a tech hero.
✖ 10,000 copies sold
✖ FWA Site Of The Day
✖ Apple Store App Of The Day
✖ Part of public school curriculums across the country
Secret Code inspires girls to get into technology.
While working on a client brief at AKQA, some coworkers and I decided that the project we produced didn’t go far enough. On the side, we gave ourselves a similar but more ambitious brief: Make male-dominated STEM fields more diverse.
The result is Secret Code, a customizable picture book and AR App that tackles the problem at the source, when children start developing aspirations. Studies show that stereotypes impact aspirations by age 6. What male-dominated industries like technology lack are role models that girls can relate to, Secret Code makes girls see what they can be, at an age that matters.
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Make any girl the hero.
On our site, you personalize the name, skin color, hair color/style, and eye color, so the character in the book looks just like the girl you want to inspire.
The story is about technology…plus bravery, curiosity, and leadership.
Instead of cleaning up her messy room like she’s told, Rox decides to code a robot to do it for her. When Chorebot becomes too smart for his own good, Rox is on her own to figure out a solution.
The most inclusive book, ever.
Mixed-race parents, same-sex parents, and single parents are common IRL. But nonexistent in children's books. Parent customization allows any family to see themselves in Secret Code.
Our AR app turns inspiration into action.
At the end of the book, the story isn't over. The last page drives you to download Rox’s Secret Coding Game, our companion AR app that lets kids design their own robots and learn how to code.
A different kind of launch video.
Knowing that Secret Code is more than a story, our launch video explains the problem we’re solving and how we’re solving it.
Press
Co-creator/Art Director: Mara Lecocq
Co-creator/Author: Nathan Archambault
Lead Technologist: Rodo Dengo
Illustrator: Jessika von Innerebner
Publisher: POW! Kids Books
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