Spaces

Design Process - wireframes
Landing Page
Home Page
Your Space
Collections
Create Collection
Add a Space
Communities - Tags
Community Spaces

Inspiration

Introducing Spaces, the ultimate community-driven exploration app! Imagine a platform where you can curate and share your favorite spots, transforming your personal journeys into shared treasures. Spaces is all about connecting through the places you love, bringing communities together, and rediscovering the joy of exploration. Unlike conventional social media, we've ditched follower counts and popularity contests to create an honest space dedicated to community-driven discovery and authentic connections. Think of it as your own social map, where you can pin all your cherished places and relive the memories.

What it does

The platform is built around the smallest unit called 'spaces.' Each space is an individual's experience that can be discovered by any other individual. Spaces with similar properties can be grouped into 'Collections' for easy organization and sharing purposes. We utilize tags to uncover and establish communities, with the tags serving as a means to amplify the voices of these communities on our platform.

How we built it

We began by brainstorming and finalizing our concept, with a strong commitment to promoting inclusion and supporting the community. Next, we created wireframes and sought guidance from mentors. We concentrated on prioritizing the features that set our platform apart as unique. We promptly started developing the frontend and subsequently worked on the database design. Once the database design was finalized, we implemented the API logic and resolved any remaining bugs. Additionally, we conducted UI touch-ups to ensure a polished user experience.

Challenges we ran into

We chose to work with newer technologies that we were less familiar with, driven by our desire to learn and grow. Throughout the development process, we encountered several challenges. One significant challenge was replacing the standard Red Markers in Google Maps with custom markers that could support pictures. Additionally, working with Tailwind.css presented new learning curves, but once we understood it, it greatly facilitated our work. Another obstacle we encountered was uploading media, primarily due to restrictions on payload sizes. However, through persistent experimentation and tinkering, we successfully implemented image storage.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Production-ready User Experience
Utilizing industry-standard React libraries
Efficient utilization of database queries
Image storage in MongoDB
Fast and straightforward API
Highly configurable for future improvements

We aimed to make our app more than just another run-of-the-mill social media or reviews platform. This goal posed significant challenges, but we're proud to have created a unique and meaningful experience for our users.

What we learned

We recognized the importance of efficient workload distribution, enabling us to adhere to our timelines and complete the project on schedule, while allowing for some buffer time to address any last-minute bugs. Additionally, we learned valuable lessons during this hackathon, such as the significance of reaching out to others when facing challenges and discussing problems, as these practices can go a long way in problem-solving.

What's next for Spaces

This marks just the beginning for Spaces. With a solid foundation and a clear vision of our goals, we are confident that our application will continue to soar to greater heights. In the near future, we have exciting features on the horizon, such as the ability to share your favorite communities and collections with friends. Main feature we would like to bring into the app is the multi-city and multi-country communities. Also stay tuned for the upcoming 'Near' tab, which will display the most exciting places within a 5-mile radius, making it easier for you to explore the nearby gems. We'll also introduce short video uploads and a rich markdown editor for creating engaging content blocks.