Social Camera

A camera that knew who wasin the picture.

In 2011, Social Camera brought a new possibility to the smartphone: recognizing the people you photographed and helping you share those pictures.

Working with Viewdle, we developed the mobile experience around its facial recognition technology. Our work connected the recognition engine with the practical steps of taking a photo, confirming a friend’s identity and choosing where to share it.

Put a name to a face

The experience started with familiar faces. Users identified friends in their pictures, creating named faceprints that the app could match against subsequent photos. Tagging became something the camera could help with.

From recognition to interaction

Recognizing a face was one part of the experience. Making the result understandable was another. We worked on the flow between the camera, suggested identities and sharing controls, bringing Viewdle’s technology into an app people could use in everyday situations.

Share while it’s happening

Photos could travel directly to Facebook, Flickr, email or MMS. Recognition and sharing belonged to the same mobile experience, helping users move from taking a picture to sending it to friends.

Computer vision in your pocket

Social Camera put facial recognition into a consumer Android app in 2011. The purpose was practical: help people organize and share photographs through the people appearing in them.