DEEP STORY: A Toolkit for Creative Professionals

How can visitor experiences be designed not only to inform or entertain, but to create a lasting change in a guest’s interest, attitude or, ideally even behavior? This is the question explored by Bob Rogers, founder of BRC Imagination Arts and an influential personality in the international theme park and entertainment industry, in his new book “Deep Story”, due to be published on September 8, 2026. His ambition is considerable: Rogers wants to provide creative professionals – including those beyond the attractions industry – with a practical toolkit for developing what he calls “transformational visitor attractions”.

Buchautor Bob Rogers © Bob Rogers At the heart of the book is the idea of “invitational transformation”. Unlike a change that a person is already consciously seeking, this kind of experience is intended to invite visitors to develop a new or stronger interest in a subject, brand, place or activity – “they can turn the disinterested into fans and fans into advocates”. The aim, then, is not to “impose” a particular attitude on visitors, but to spark an emotional connection that, ideally, they discover for themselves. The art, Roger argues, lies in uncovering a connection that already exists between visitors and a subject or brand – “Find, don’t invent!” – even if the visitor was previously unaware of it. Rogers speaks of connecting the “heart” of the audience with the “heart” of the attraction, brand or subject, so that visitors ultimately feel they have arrived at this connection or realization through their own experience.

Rogers describes how such a transformation can be achieved through design, among other things, with the concept of “Story-making”. Unlike conventional storytelling, visitors are not simply told a story but are given a place within it. Rogers sees Story-making as a participatory process that takes into account how people enter an attraction or experience, move through it and interact with it both physically and emotionally. The story is not added retrospectively to an existing concept, but is intended to serve as the underlying structure that shapes every element of the experience.

Rogers demonstrates that these principles are more than theoretical ideas through numerous examples from practice. The former Disney Imagineer draws on decades of experience, illustrating his thinking through completed BRC projects, personal experiences and encounters with industry colleagues – and legends – which gives his observations a high degree of authenticity. At the same time, Rogers deliberately looks beyond his own professional sphere. Classic works of literature, popular storytelling traditions, specialist publications and the ideas of other authors also help him illustrate his methods. This combination of first-hand project experience, industry knowledge and literary references makes the principles easy to follow while also ensuring that, despite its professional focus, the book remains highly entertaining to read.

Across seven sections, Rogers develops a series of frameworks, methods and guiding principles. Particularly memorable is his rule to begin with the desired outcome or objective of a project. Before architecture, design or technology are defined, there must first be clarity about what visitors should think, feel or do differently afterwards. Tools such as the “Objective Statement” and the “Mission Statement”, or guiding principles such as “Target the disinterested”, help translate that objective consistently into the design. The focus should not be on the brand, the experience or the designer, but on the visitor.

The transfer into practice also works well. Rogers – himself a master of storytelling – illustrates his methods through numerous real-world projects, drawings and concrete development steps. This makes it easy to understand how his principles can be applied to the reader’s own projects, without the book claiming to provide a rigid formular for doing so. In closing, Rogers appeals to his readers’ common sense, encouraging them to use the tools presented responsibly and with positive intent.

Not every idea in “Deep Story” is new. Experienced industry professionals will already be familiar with the notion that an experience should be designed from the visitor’s perspective, that clear objectives are essential, that emotions can have a more lasting impact than a mere collection of facts and that, ultimately, frontline staff also play a decisive role in shaping the impression a guest takes away from an experience. The book’s strength lies instead in how it organizes, distils and combines both original and familiar principles, consistently aligning them with the desired transformation of the visitor.

That is precisely what makes the book a must-read for leisure professionals. For experience designers, creatives and storytellers, as well as operators and project teams working on leisure and visitor attractions, “Deep Story” offers a wealth of practical inspiration. Readers looking not for a ready-made recipe, but for methods that help them question, structure and refine creative development processes while thinking more consistently from the visitor’s perspective, will find Rogers’ book to be both a well-founded and inspiring toolkit.

Rogers, Bob: Deep Story. A Complete Guide to Creating Transformational Visitor Attractions. Peter E. Randall Publisher, 2026, 193 Pages.