Lapse

Lapse is a hybrid camera and social networking app inspired by the nostalgia of film photography. It encourages users to live in the moment, and share their authentic selves without the interference of editing or filters.

I collaborated with the Lapse team over a span of two years, contributing to the launch and evolution of their revamped app, which was rebuilt from the ground up. Since its relaunch, Lapse has achieved remarkable success, boasting millions of active users, over 100 million photos captured monthly, and a consistent top-10 ranking in the U.S. App Store for photography apps.*

Camera

Accessible from the lock screen, the camera embraces a "point-and-shoot" approach, with no editing tools to ensure simplicity and authenticity.

Photos aren't immediately available, mimicking the film photography experience. They "develop" later, encouraging more spontaneous shooting without stressing over perfection.

Once developed, photos appear in batches. Users can "Archive" (save to their library), Delete, or "Journal" (share to their story for friends). This is the only moment these photos can be shared to their story, encouraging users to embrace imperfection and reduce sharing pressure.

Memories

The Memories tab serves as your personal photo library, where you can view recent photos, albums, and tagged images. A simple toggle between a "Day" view and a more compact "Month" view allows users to browse their collection effortlessly.

While revisiting your photos, any previously shared images display the reactions and comments they received. The UI is designed to make sharing to other platforms seamless and intuitive.

Users can select photos efficiently by choosing an entire month at once or by long-pressing and dragging to select multiple images.

Initially, exported photos included a Lapse logo and timestamp that couldn't be removed, and images were cropped to a 9:16 ratio for optimal sharing on other platforms. To improve user flexibility, we introduced the export screen, allowing users to keep the full crop and choose whether to include the timestamp or logo.

Tagging a friend is simple—just tap anywhere on the photo, type a name, and suggested friends will appear below. To make the process even quicker, faces are automatically detected and pre-selected for tagging.

Friends & Community

The Friends tab is designed to prioritize posts from your friends, followed by community-submitted content from other Lapse users. This ensures the space remains engaging, even when there are no new updates from your immediate circle, while maintaining a clear distinction between Friends and Community sections.

We designed and built various display methods for showcasing your friends' photos. While a standard vertical scrolling feed was initially developed, we ultimately favored a "story" format. This approach better organizes content by friend or party and makes it easier to keep track of both new and older posts.

The Feed was initially designed to be an immersive full-screen but we later transitioned to a 3:4 layout to better showcase the photos. The UI was carefully crafted to encourage interactions, fostering reactions and conversations around shared content.

We introduced a stickers feature as a fun and creative way to react to friends' photos. Users can create their own stickers by uploading an image from their camera roll or taking a new photo, while also having access to a selection of pre-made options.

You can pinch and drag on stickers to place them however you like on your friend's photo. When stickers are added to a photo, this is highlighted in the UI. Users can then enter "Sticker View," where they can see all the stickers added and who contributed them, adding an interactive and personal touch to reactions.

Chat

The Chat feature functions as more than just a messaging space. While it enables users to send messages, its primary focus is on effortlessly sharing photos directly with friends, creating a more personal and seamless way to connect through visuals.

If you're tagged in a photo by another user, you can easily add it to your own story, making sharing quick and intuitive.

Parties

Setting up a party allows friends to join a shared "roll," where everyone's photos develop later and are visible to all members of the party. This feature makes it fun and effortless for friends to share photos together, whether it's for an event, activity, party, or group trip.

We iterated on multiple versions of this feature to improve clarity and streamline the process of inviting friends to a shared roll. To make it even more accessible, we utilized iOS App Clips, enabling people without Lapse to join too.

Profile

Your profile features a curated "journal," automatically populated with the photos you've shared with friends each month. You can revisit each month in an immersive view inspired by photography app recaps, with a smooth transition from one month to the next.

Users can easily manage which photos are visible for each month and enhance their journal with music for a more personalized touch.

*taken from TechCrunch article "Lapse, the app turning your phone into an old-school camera, snaps up $30M"