Celebrity FaceMash App Concept

Client

Getty Images

Goals

During 2015, Getty Images was in the midst of ramping up their consumer initiative. Working as the only solo entry in the 2015 Hackathon, I designed and built this Celebrity FaceMash prototype in two days to illustrate a concept I had been toying around with. I wanted to create an app so simple and fun, people of all ages could appreciate it. FaceMash allows you to mix celebrity faces with your own. Currently the prototype allows a fixed number of faces in the mix, and has three different options for gender mixing.

Role

UX designer, visual designer, prototype builder

Duration

3 days

Outcome

I presented the interactive prototype on the big screen in a room of 29 other teams, then in a smaller setting in front of the judges, to great surprise. The project won second place as a write-in for people’s choice, and a Judges’ Choice award.

I created the interactive prototype above using Axure. You can play with it right here. Have fun creating random faces from celebrities, and tinker with the gender balance too. Other functionality that didn’t make it into the prototype included: Add your own image via device camera, video integration, and social sharing.

Process

Since I was my own team, I could be nimble as necessary to make quick decisions and act on them. First, I began to sketch with pen and paper. The core of the app would be a series of stacked face slices that could be configured either randomly like a slot machine or by dragging. I hoped the random aspect would bring delight, and a clean, uncluttered interface would keep people interacting. Next, I used Axure to create the prototype, because I wanted it to be accessible both on mobile and desktop (Pixate would have only allowed mobile). Axure was a bit clunky to create complex code with, but I was eventually able to wrestle it to the ground.

Taking it further

Even though Getty Images was uniquely poised to further develop this concept, the company decided to shift its focus from user-generated content to ad-driven content marketing. I still have hope that this app and others like it can be produced by the right company.