The smart photo frame passively displays shared memories synced from Google Photos. When it detects meaningful moments, like birthdays, past trips, or frequent hangouts, it generates subtle AI-powered prompts. These prompts nudge users to reconnect, sparking spontaneous messages or real-world meetups.
Final Previews
A warm, photo-driven onboarding that helps users start reconnecting in just a few taps.
Quick signup flow that sets the stage with user interests and location for deeply personalized prompts.
A fun photo quiz brings nostalgia, earns points, and personalizes future prompts.
Users can add photos into themed collections that display on the frame, making memories easy to relive and organize.
AI suggests personalized meetup plans in group chats by analyzing friends' locations, shared interests, and availability, making planning effortless.
Earn points through prompts and quizzes, redeem them for coupons and rewards.
The Problem
Importance of in-person meet-ups
Improves Mental Health: Regular in-person meetups reduce loneliness, anxiety, and depression by fostering emotional support and a sense of belonging.
Boosts Physical Health: Meeting friends face-to-face is linked to lower blood pressure, stronger immunity, and reduced risk of chronic illnesses.
Promotes Healthy Habits: In-person interactions encourage exercise, better diet, and routine care through shared goals and social accountability.
Enhances Brain Function: Engaging in conversations and activities during meetups stimulates memory and problem-solving skills.
Extends Lifespan: Frequent in-person socializing contributes to a longer, healthier life by combining mental, physical, and emotional benefits.
Research Insights
I combined qualitative interviews and surveys to understand user needs. In interviews (N=12), many participants felt guilty about losing touch and welcomed gentle prompts via cherished memories. In a survey (N=50), over 80% said a nostalgic photo of a friend would likely prompt them to connect. These insights shaped the personas and journey maps, focusing on time-poor lifestyles and emotional triggers.
The Solution
Meet Rekindle, the Smart Photo Frame that keeps you reconnected with loved ones through AI driven nudges and nostalgic memory curation of shared adventures.
Product Success Validation
28.8% Sign-Up Rate from the Fake Front Door test (vs. 15% benchmark), showing strong early demand for the concept.
80%+ Engagement in the Mechanical Turk test, where users actively responded to simulated memory-based prompts.
95% Interaction Rate in the Pinocchio prototype, confirming high engagement with photo-triggered nudges.
100% Validation Across Experiments, indicating consistent interest and behavior alignment with Rekindle’s goal.
9:41
Seems fun! Let's go!
This suggestion seems epic!
Key Challenges
Balancing Nostalgia & Privacy: I had to carefully plan how the prompts were generated and give flexibility of content selection so that content felt personal yet respectful of privacy.
Dual-Interface Coordination: Designing seamless UX across both the physical frame and the mobile app required consistent flows and branding.
Simplified Interaction: The frame’s interface is limited (no keyboard), so interactions (like swipe or tap) had to be minimal and intuitive.
Engagement without Intrusion: Prompts needed to feel helpful, not annoying; we had to schedule reminders intelligently around the user’s life.
Success Metrics
KPI
Engagement
KEI
Reconnection
KPI
Conversion
KEI
Emotional Resonance
Business & Revenue
Hardware Sales: Direct revenue from the sale of digital photo frames.
Partnership and Licensing Deals: Income from co-branded initiatives, and bundled offerings
Advertising and Affiliate Sales: Revenue from targeted advertising and affiliate marketing, particularly through the travel and events ecosystem.
Design Process
Research
Secondary Research
Explored studies linking nostalgia with increased social connection and happiness
Found that 94% of Americans who frequently meet friends report feeling happier
Referenced academic papers showing that nostalgia can trigger prosocial behavior and improve emotional well-being
Reviewed trends on loneliness, digital disconnection, and the rise of emotionally intelligent devices
Primary Research
Conducted 12 in-depth interviews with working professionals living away from close friends
Uncovered common barriers: lack of initiative, fear of rejection, and poor timing
Identified user motivations: desire to reconnect, appreciation for small gestures, and emotional value of shared memories
Synthesis
Created personas based on user behavior and needs
Mapped emotional and logistical pain points using a user journey map
Defined core insight: “People want to reconnect, but need a gentle emotional nudge at the right moment”
Framed the design challenge: How might we create initiatives that motivate professionals to seamlessly integrate meaningful interactions with their long-distance close friends into their busy lives, and encourage meet-ups?
Research Artifacts
Product
Design
Concept Ideation
Explored many ideas, chose frame + app for emotional, passive reconnection.
Storyboard
Mapped a typical moment: see memory → tap prompt → reconnect.
User Journey Map
Tracked feelings and friction points to shape core features.
MoSCoW
Must: prompts, availability, plans
Should: smart suggestions
Could: memory recaps
Won’t: camera on photo frame
User Flow
Simple, low-effort flows: see → tap → connect.
Sitemap & Navigation
Minimal app structure: Memories, Friends, Availability, Rewards.
Low-Fidelity Wireframes
Quick sketches to test flows early.
Moodboard
Warm, nostalgic tones: memories, travel, friendship.
Style Guide
Soft palette, vintage photo vibe, rounded UI.
High-Fidelity Designs
Final app + frame screens in Figma, simple, emotional, intuitive.
Design Artifacts
Storyboard
Journey Map
Userflow
Kano
MoSCoW
Sitemap
Wireframes
Moodboard
Styleguide
Usability
Testing
Usability Strategy
Tested with 5 working professionals
11 core and secondary tasks
Tracked task success, ease, and user confidence
Key Findings
Photo frame concept highly appreciated
Emotional impact through photos was strong
Confusion in availability sharing flow
Rewards system unclear
Notification logic needed refinement
Usability Template
Documented task outcomes: pass/fail
Rated task confidence and ease
Flagged friction points by severity
Frequency Matrix
Logged recurring issues across users
Used frequency and severity to prioritize fixes
Design Updates
Streamlined availability input
Improved layout of “My Frame” section
Simplified rewards explanation
Clarified notifications and prompts
Usability Tests Artifacts
Frequency/Severity Matrix
User Ratings
Usability Synthesis
Usability Tests
Business
Strategy
Success Metrics
Meetups initiated, prompt engagement, retention, emotional impact
Competitor Analysis
Unlike digital frames or social apps, Rekindle connects memories to real actions
Value Proposition
Turns nostalgia into real-world meetups with low-effort prompts
SWOT Analysis
+ Emotional value, habit-forming, unique format
– Hardware dependency, privacy concerns
↑ Smart tech & wellness trends
↓ Market noise, setup friction
Revenue Model
Frame + app bundle
Travel/event affiliate links
Growth Strategy
New editions (Family, Alumni)
Photo/travel brand partnerships
Localized prompts for global reach
Business Model Canvas
Partners: Cloud photo & travel brands
Users: Working professionals
Value: Rekindle friendships through memories
Revenue: Hardware + affiliate + opt-in ads
Business Strategy Artifacts
Competitor Analysis
Competitor Analysis 2
SWOT Analysis
Business Model Canvas
Success Metrics
Risky Assumptions
Users are interested in the smart photo frame and companion app
Users will act on AI-generated nudges (e.g., plan meet-ups, reach out to friends).
Users will interact regularly with the photo frame
Pretotyping Plan
Validate desirability before building full product
Use fast, low-cost methods to simulate product behavior
Track engagement and real user actions
Fake Front Door Test
Created landing page describing Rekindle
Call to action: “Sign up for early access”
Result: 28.8% conversion (2× our success benchmark)
Pinocchio Test
Manual prototype of smart frame (tablet + slides)
Users reacted to prompts using touch
Result: 95%+ engagement with photo-based prompts
Mechanical Turk Test
Simulated prompts inside real group chats
Posted memory-based nudges, tracked replies
Result: 80%+ engaged with prompts and suggestions
Final Design
Let your friends know your travel plans or available dates for meet-ups easily and vice-versa
Next Steps
Final Thoughts
Friendships don’t end with conflict, they often just fade with time, distance, and silence.
Rekindle was my attempt to interrupt that silence. To help people act on the feeling of “I should reach out”, before it fades. By combining nostalgia, behavioral insight, and smart design, I created a product that doesn’t just show old memories, it helps create new ones.
If even a handful of friendships are saved or strengthened through Rekindle, then this project has done its job. Because in the end, the best memories aren’t the ones we scroll past, they’re the ones we live through, together.
