Keepsake

Splash Page
Library
Journal Shelf
Journal Page
Augmented Reality Scrapbook

Inspiration

Journaling and scrapbooking are important because they preserve memories, encourage self-reflection, and provide a creative outlet to capture life’s meaningful moments. However, using traditional methods can feel repetitive, time-consuming, and turn into more of a chore than an enjoyable activity.

The disconnect between the value of personal documentation and the tediousness of traditional methods inspired us to create Keepsake—an app that transforms memory keeping into an easier, more enjoyable, and interactive experience by harnessing the creative potential of today’s technology.

What it does

Effortless Journaling

Users can create endless pages with:

AI-Enhanced Text: Compose entries with thoughtful AI reflection prompts and suggestions
Voice Memos: Capture spontaneous thoughts through simple voice recordings
Photo Documentation: Add pictures to visually document your day
AI Chatbot Conversations: Chat with Echo to seamlessly enrich your journal with insights
AI-Generated Stickers: Contextual stickers that match your entry, ready to place and personalize on the page

Augmented Reality Scrapbooking

Users can bring their memories to life in 3D with interactive scrapbooking:

3D Photo Placement: Position your photos in virtual space, giving them depth and dimension
Text Integration: Add meaningful text alongside your photos to tell the full story
Interactive Layouts: Explore your scrapbook from every angle with immersive, interactive features
Multipeer Collaboration: Edit your AR scrapbook in real time with friends, creating memories together

Apple Watch Integration

Stay connected and on track with Keepsake on your wrist:

Gentle Reminders: Receive timely nudges through notifications to keep your journaling and scrapbooking consistent
Voice Memo Recording: Capture thoughts instantly by recording voice memos directly from your watch

Creative Connections

Engage with a vibrant community of like-minded creators:

Explore Public Scrapbooks: Discover and get inspired by scrapbooks shared by other users
Save Your Favorites: Curate a collection of the scrapbooks that inspire you the most
Make New Friends: Connect with fellow users by sending friends requests and building your network

How we built it

Keepsake is crafted with cutting-edge technologies to provide users with an intuitive, interactive, and seamless experience. Here’s a breakdown of how we built the app:

SwiftUI for a Modern UI: We used SwiftUI to build a sleek, responsive, and user-friendly interface. This framework allows us to deliver a consistent, high-performance experience across devices while maintaining a smooth, native feel.
RealityKit for Augmented Reality Scrapbooking: To bring your memories to life, we utilized RealityKit, Apple’s powerful framework for augmented reality. This allows users to place and interact with 3D photos and frames in their own space, creating an immersive, real-world scrapbooking experience.
Multipeer Connectivity for Real-Time Collaboration: Using the Multipeer Connectivity framework, we enabled real-time collaboration between users. This feature lets friends and family edit AR scrapbooks together, no matter where they are, creating a dynamic and shared creative experience.
OpenAI API for AI-Powered Features: We integrated OpenAI’s API to power the AI-driven journaling and conversation features. Whether composing reflective journal entries or chatting with our AI chatbot Echo, the OpenAI API ensures a thoughtful, personalized experience for every user.
Firebase for Data Storage: For seamless, secure data management, we implemented Firebase for cloud storage. This ensures that users’ data—whether journal entries, scrapbooks, or shared memories—are safely stored and easily accessible across devices in real-time.
WatchOS Connectivity: to send files and messages from the watch to the phone and vice versa

By leveraging these advanced tools and frameworks, we were able to create Keepsake—a robust, feature-rich app that blends creativity with technology to offer a new way of journaling, scrapbooking, and connecting with others.

What We’re Proud Of & What We’ve Learned

We’re incredibly proud of how far we’ve come—not just in creating Keepsake, but in the growth we’ve experienced as developers and collaborators. Here’s what we’re most proud of and the key lessons we’ve learned along the way:

Growth as Developers: We’ve honed our skills and expanded our knowledge in areas like SwiftUI, RealityKit, and AI integration. The development process has pushed us to explore new technologies and become better at solving complex problems.
Stronger Collaboration: The project has taught us the value of effective communication and teamwork. We’ve learned to collaborate more efficiently, sharing ideas, tackling challenges together, and supporting each other’s strengths.
Creating Something We’re Proud Of: Keepsake is a product of dedication, creativity, and countless hours of work. We’re proud of what we’ve built—an app that blends innovative technologies with a user-friendly experience, and we can’t wait to see how it resonates with users.
The Power of Hard Work and Unity: We’ve been inspired by how much can be accomplished when a group of people comes together with a shared vision. The combination of hard work, collaboration, and persistence has shown us that there’s no limit to what we can achieve when we work together.

Keepsake has been a journey of learning, growing, and achieving, and we’re excited for what lies ahead as we continue to improve and evolve.

What's next for Keepsake

Keepsake is just getting started, and we have big plans for the future! Here's what’s next:

App Store Launch: The immediate next step is to get Keepsake onto the App Store, making it accessible to a wider audience and allowing users to begin creating, sharing, and connecting with their memories.
Enhanced AI Features: We plan to expand our AI-driven capabilities, offering even more personalized journal prompts, reflective suggestions, and advanced content generation that helps users create richer and more meaningful entries.
Enhanced AR Scrapbook Customization: Future updates will allow for more customization options within AR scrapbooks, including additional interactive elements, backgrounds, and tools that will let users create even more dynamic scrapbooks.
Social Sharing and Community Growth: We plan to build on the Community features with more options for users to share their scrapbooks and journal entries with a broader audience, as well as options to collaborate on projects with others directly within the app.
User Feedback Integration: Listening to our users’ feedback is key, and we’re committed to continually refining the app based on their needs and suggestions, ensuring that Keepsake evolves with its community.

Keepsake is poised for continuous improvement, and we’re excited to expand on what we’ve built. Our focus remains on making it the go-to app for creative memory keeping, while staying user-centric and innovative every step of the way.