LENSE

Opportunity

How do we enjoy our photos?

There is currently no way to document and remember our memories in a way that captures their nuances and the stories attached to them. Our camera rolls are oversaturated with photographs and we never get to enjoy the stories that they hold.

LENSE is centred around personal, intentional, and meaningful storytelling, designed for people who live to the fullest, the ones who celebrate the big moments and value the little ones.

Inspiration

Linking Our Memories 

LENSE is works similarly our brains, memories are interconnected to each other by common attributes.

Each piece of content uploaded to the app is tagged with metadata to categorize it. Tags such as location come from the phone itself, while others like the activity or the people in it would be generated by an image recognition algorithm. A connection is then formed between memories with the same tags, just like in the brain.

The Idea

The Essence Of A Moment

The purpose of a memory is to tell a story.

Memories are the way in which content is organized in the app. Each memory represents an event in the user’s life. When a user creates a memory they can add photos, videos, voice notes or text to capture the essence of that moment.

The photos and videos from the memory can be enjoyed individually, or watched in the form if a mini movie made automatically using the music associated with the memory.

The photos and videos from the memory can be enjoyed individually, or watched in the form if a mini movie made automatically using the music associated with the memory.

“It makes me feel like my life is a movie.” –Zeynep Bozdayi

When looking at the content inside a memory, each piece fades into the next as the user scrolls, giving them the opportunity to take their time and enjoy the moment. Meanwhile, the song that the user added to the memory starts playing as well, immersing them in the moment.

At the end of the memory, the user is presented with related memories to the one they just saw.

The Gallery

Designing Serendipity

LENSE is designed to spark fun moments that create serendipity. More than a database, the app is an organic experience where the user can stumble upon forgotten, special memories by chance.

The gallery is the place where all the memories are stored and users can go to explore moments from their lives. Within the gallery, there are 3 ways to look at memories:

• Explore View algorithmically arranges memories on a dynamic layout in a different order every day. The aim to surprise the user with memories related to recently opened ones, life events that happened on the same day, birthdays, etc.
• Time View sorts the memories chronologically.
• Map View plots the memories on a map.

Search

Finding Memories

Users have the ability to find or filter memories in the gallery using the search tool. The gallery automatically updates to only show memories that fit the search criteria.

Photos, Videos & Stories

Capturing A Moment

The capture tool is designed to help the user tell the story of that moment. When a user creates a memory they can write story, take a photo or video, or record a voice note narrating an anecdote. Afterwards, they can add more elements to enrich the memory such as the above or a song.

The journaling feature helps the user describe things that can’t be communicated through visuals, such as aromas or taste. It displays a series of prompts to help the user paint a picture of the moment they’re living.

Postcards

Sharing Stories 

Postcards are the way in which users can share their memories with the people that they love. They are personal and ephemeral.

When a user creates a new memory, they can choose who they want to share it with. The person they share the memory with receives it in the form of a postcard. Once opened, the user has 24 hours to decide whether they want to save the postcard, otherwise it disappears. This assigns more value to each postcard, and avoids clutter in the postcard inbox (which is one of the problems I set out to solve).

Each postcard is free to float around the screen just to make them fun to play with.

Journals

Collecting Moments

Journals are curated collections of memories. They allow users to look back on a specific part of their lives, like a summer filled with adventures or a semester abroad. Journals can also be collaborative. For example, a friend group going on a trip can add all their individual memories to their trip’s journal so they can remember those moments forever.