Aura is an AI-powered empathy engine designed to transform the art of gifting. In a world saturated with generic algorithms that recommend more of the same, we wanted to build the opposite: a tool that fosters deeper human connection by helping anyone craft and gift a hyper-personalized, real-world experience for the people they care about.
Instead of buying "stuff," you can now gift a memory.
Inspiration
The project was born from a simple, universal human problem: the desire to give a truly thoughtful gift, but the struggle of translating our love and knowledge of a person into a concrete plan. We've all been there – a friend's birthday is coming up, and we know they love "vintage films, cozy cafes, and bookstores," but how do you turn that abstract vibe into the perfect day?
Current recommendation engines fall short. They suggest another movie, another cafe, another book. They create echo chambers. We were inspired to build an application that could break out of those domains, understand the feeling behind someone's tastes, and use that understanding to create a holistic, real-world experience. Aura was designed to be a creative partner that helps you answer the question, "What's the perfect day for someone I love?"
What it does
What Aura Can Do 🎯 Personalized Experience Planning Smart Recommendations: Input someone's interests (like "jazz music," "artisan coffee," or "vintage photography") and get curated venue suggestions AI-Generated Plans: Receive detailed, narrative experience plans written by Google's Gemini AI Cultural Intelligence: Powered by Qloo's API to understand cultural connections and preferences Location-Aware: Finds experiences specific to your chosen city or neighborhood 🎁 Gift-Focused Design Audience Selection: Create experiences for partners, friends, family, or yourself Occasion-Based: Tailor experiences for birthdays, celebrations, thank-you gifts, or spontaneous surprises Budget Considerations: Choose from $ (budget-friendly) to $$$ (premium) price ranges Exclusion Filters: Avoid things the recipient doesn't enjoy (crowds, spicy food, etc.) ✨ Intelligent Features Real-Time Suggestions: As you type interests, get instant suggestions from Qloo's cultural database Contextual Recommendations: Location-aware suggestions (e.g., "Broadway Shows" for NYC, "Coffee Culture" for Seattle) Surprise Mode: Generate spontaneous experiences with minimal input Enhanced Search: Find experiences by category, rating, or specific interests 🎨 Beautiful User Experience Dreamy Aesthetic: Gradient backgrounds with floating animations and starfield effects Interactive Elements: Like, bookmark, and share experiences Responsive Design: Works beautifully on desktop and mobile devices Micro-Interactions: Smooth hover states and transitions throughout Example Use Cases Birthday Gift: "My partner loves jazz and artisan coffee in Brooklyn" → Get a curated plan with specific venues, addresses, and booking information Thank You Gift: "My friend enjoys art galleries and wine tasting in Manhattan" → Receive a thoughtful experience combining both interests Surprise Mode: "Create something spontaneous for my sibling in Los Angeles" → Get unexpected recommendations based on demographic insights Self-Care: "I want a relaxing solo experience in San Francisco" → Discover mindful activities and quiet spaces
How we built it
Aura's magic lies in a two-part harmony between a powerful frontend, a resilient serverless backend, and the synergy between Qloo's cultural data and Google's Gemini LLM. Frontend: The user experience is a beautiful and intuitive interface built with React, TypeScript, and Vite, styled with Tailwind CSS. The goal was to create a "dreamy," welcoming atmosphere that encourages creative input. The UI is designed as a conversation, guiding the user through defining the recipient, the occasion, and their unique tastes.
Backend: We opted for a modern, scalable serverless architecture using Netlify Functions. Our entire backend is a single, powerful Node.js function (aura-plan.js) that acts as the "brain" of the operation. The Qloo Integration (The "Cultural Brain"): This is where we get our actionable intelligence. Our backend orchestrates a multi-step process.
Frontend: React 18 with TypeScript for type safety Tailwind CSS for responsive, utility-first styling Lucide React for beautiful, consistent icons Vite for fast development and optimized builds
Backend & APIs:
Netlify Functions for serverless backend processing Qloo API for cultural intelligence and taste-based recommendations Google Gemini AI for generating personalized experience narratives Real-time suggestions with debounced API calls for performance
Deployment: Netlify for hosting with automatic deployments Environment variables for secure API key management SPA routing with proper redirect configuration
What we learned
This hackathon was an incredible learning experience. Our key takeaways are:
The Future is Synergy: The true power of AI lies not in a single model, but in the synergy between different specialized systems. The combination of Qloo's structured, cultural data graph and Gemini's creative, narrative power is what allows Aura to feel truly intelligent and human.
Product Vision is Everything: Our most important breakthrough was pivoting from a generic "recommendation engine" to a focused "thoughtful gifting companion." This human-centric vision guided every technical decision we made.
Resilience is the Most Important Skill: Debugging is not a sign of failure; it is the process of discovery.
Log in or sign up for Devpost to join the conversation.