Lauralee Sheehan, founder of Digital 55, is pioneering innovative, cross-platform digital storytelling.
I first met Lauralee during my indie music scene days in early 20s Toronto. We were both trying to figure out the music publishing world and dreamed of making it big in the local performance scene.
I always admired her band’s bold audiovisual style, so it came as no surprise to me to learn that Lauralee ended up using her ability to connect across mediums to break into the multimedia field. She told me she was really able to hone in on, “the fact that adapting content and designing in a way that's super creative, but also the technical skills, how in-demand that was."
These days, Lauralee is all about designing engaging digital experiences that merge art and tech. "It's like everybody's looking for that experience online, so you can't do that old school stuff. That’s where I'm like, oh, there's a niche here," she explained. But she keeps it real about the challenges too, "I've been a little underwhelmed by people's understanding of creating new IP from old IP...it really involves this long-term collaboration where a new format is created."
It's wild looking back on how things have changed since we met in 2008, and to think our scrappy indie roots laid the groundwork for Lauralee to be pushing these boundaries now! Her journey from underground rocker to digital maverick is so inspiring.
Lauralee also shared a sneak peek at some of her upcoming projects including Filter, a digital series and channel that explores the new cannabis culture, and her eye opening experiences with Kickstarter.
We’d love to hear from you, have you ever produced a project for multiple platforms? Or worked on a crowd-sourced budget? Let us know your thoughts here on Substack or shoot me a message on Instagram (bylaurenbest).
Lauralee is an accomplished entrepreneur, digital addict, but above all an artist. With years of experience working in digital interactive media and learning experience design (LX), Lauralee is a trailblazer, pushing forward how creativity and technology intersect. She has led dynamic integrated digital teams on various award-winning digital, media, and learning projects. Lauralee is a powerhouse in digital storytelling and an "on the radar" emerging executive producer of unscripted content with D55 originals (DBA Coolhunter Films).
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