Picto-Snap
A Retro Form of Social Media
Client: ART 218 • Tools: Figma, Adobe Photoshop
This project is kind of an odd one out. For the final assignment in design history, we were assigned into groups and tasked to redesign an existing brand based on one of the art styles/eras we learned about. My group went with Snapchat and we redesigned it around early Mac OS. We also sort of fused it with PictoChat (a chatroom feature on the Nintendo DS) and took inspiration from other forms of early digital handhelds (like Game Boy, Tamagotchi, Tiger Electronics) . Nostalgia around Y2K was having a moment in the internet zeitgeist when this project was assigned. Even though early Mac OS predates Y2K, a lot of handheld electronics from the early aughts had simplistic digital visuals that shared similarities to classic Mac OS.
Heavily influenced by early Macintosh UI and Game Boy graphics.
We really only had a weekend to complete this project, as opposed to about a month like most graphic design assignments. That being said, I think we did pretty good for the time we were allotted. I made GIFs of the ghost mascot and of a generic avatar in Photoshop, then made an example of switching from “Mac Mode to Game Boy Mode” in Figma. Like the Cat Café project, this is another project where 90% of what I want it to be is still only in my head. I’m really excited to add on to this one. I think making a character creator prototype in Figma would be a good place to start. Also making something actually playable, like in RPGMaker would be fun too. I’d need to look more into Snapchat though to see what it’s actually like in order to prototype more screens for the app (I’ll admit, I’ve never used Snapchat, had to really on my group to know what its like).
Variations of the app’s mascot.
The Creative Process
