PROCESS

RESEARCH

iMemories was created in 2006 in North Scottsdale. The company found a unique opportunity to bridge the gap between legacy media digitation and the new addition of smart phones. iMemories thought of a way to combine the two together and host personal, digitized content in your pocket. 

I had to conduct research to understand exactly who was using iMemories. How old are they? What do they do for a living? Are they comfortable on a smart phone? And how do they use the platform?

With that, what about the new parent company, Lifetouch? At this point Lifetouch had been in business over 80 years and came to iMemories already controlling a large piece of the professional photo space. I had to take time to understand their business and their plans for iMemories. But who are their users? What do they want in a platform? How would they use iMemories. These were all questions that required a great deal of walking in their shoes. 

MARKET ANALYSIS

After I had a solid grasp on my new user base, it was time to see what else existed in the market place. So, I took to the internet to find any company that allows users to upload a photo or video. From photo editors to storage sites to social media, I took it upon myself to see how photos and videos were being handled. 

Throughout the process, I took copious notes of what I liked, what I didn't like, how I felt, etc. These would all be used later in the process when I would concoct my own blend of these platforms, picking only the best parts of each.

INFORMATION AGGRIGATION

After combing through each and every platform I could get my hands on, it was time to organize and analyze. Using screen shots, I would create files using Sketch to lay out all the pros and cons of each platform. While company A may have had a great way to organize content, company B's process to share a content was far superior. It was a battle of the platforms to see who would walk out on top. But luckily, my job was not to pick a winner, it was to build an all star line up.

I wanted to make sure this research was top notch. So I spent hours making sure I had my reasoning and comparisons ready to go when needed. I am a firm believer that I had found the best of the best. Next came the tricky part, incorporating this to the users liking.

PERSONA INTEGRATION

Thanks to the success of iMemories, I was gifted with a large number of of resources and marketing materials. I was provided with personas, task flows, and use cases to help with my new prototype. Perhaps one of most successful strategies for iMemories was focusing their energy into learning everything about who uses their products and what they need. So personas were no longer just the culmination of facts feelings and opinions; rather they were real stories that were quite literally pinned on the walls of their workspace. 

It was my job to take all my findings and think about these specific users and their stories. There wasn't a moment in my process where I had to wonder what an average iMemories user would think. I already knew it, and we had the data to prove it. 

INITIAL SKETCHING

Like most designs, it started with pencil and paper. I wanted to get all the different concepts on paper so they can start to build of one another. After several iterations, it was time to take the scribbles over to Sketch where they can start to become solidified. However, the design was far from complete. It would take several more iterations, meetings with developers, and critiques from iMemories management until the design and flows were ready to become a prototype. 

PROTOTYPING

The wireframes were looking great and now it was time to make them feel like a real website / mobile app. Using real scenarios from actual iMemories customers we developed prototypes which not only show the potential of the new platform but tell the story of real customers.

We took every screen from every device (phone, tablet, desktop), and made sure that each can accomplish the users goals without any confusion. They were all sewn together using InVision and prepared for a big presentation with the CEO of Lifetouch.

NEXT STEPS

The iMemories presentation to the new CEO was fantastic. He and his team were blown away and thrilled to have this pushed to the iMemories development team for immediate production. 

Even now, iMemories is actively working with their team of incredible developers to have the iMemories 3.0 up and running as soon as possible.