WeScrap: Preserving Real Stories

Prototype link: WeScrap

What is WeScrap? WeScrap is a digital storytelling app that is designed to help people preserve and share their personal stories, memories, and wisdom for future generations. With a virtual scrapbook, users can add photos, text, and drawings to craft meaningful narratives. Time capsules allow users to lock memories for future viewing, while viewers can engage by leaving sticky notes or stickers with heartfelt messages.

Furthermore, artificial intelligence enhances accessibility through transcription and auto-generated layouts while keeping storytelling human-driven. The Image Trace feature transforms images into silhouettes, sketches, or vector art, adding a creative touch. Users can document special moments, local events, and holidays in a shareable, interactive format. WeScrap isn’t just used for remembering the past, it is also used to celebrate life's moments and passing down stories from one generation to another.

Our Research and Findings Our research focused on understanding how people preserve and share personal memories in the digital age. We explored traditional scrapbooking, digital storytelling tools, and user needs for long-term memory preservation.

Secondary research: There is an ongoing loneliness epidemic within the United States. Loneliness has surged within the public consciousness after the COVID-19 pandemic reduced opportunities for meaningful social interaction. Within the U.S., the American Psychiatric Association found that one in three Americans feel lonely every week, especially those between the ages of 18 and 34 (Connors, 2024). In addition, 73% of Americans believe that technology is a leading factor within the loneliness epidemic. (Ross, 2024). With WeScrap, we can use technology to bring humans together rather than apart. According to Walling-Wefelmeyer, both digital and physical scrapbooks have the potential to evoke therapeutic and cathartic emotions (2021). Recalling and reinterpreting memories through the piecing together of media allows people to work through their feelings. Sharing these scrapbooks in person or digitally provides others a chance to identify with one’s experiences and further human connection.

Personal Experience: As Digital Media students with experience in different creative apps, we gathered from our peers within the same program what features they prefer in such programs. We noted how AI tools can enhance the creative process via optimizing transcription, providing layout suggestions, and offering image tracing. These tools help users to speed up their creative processes so that they can focus on their human narratives. We found that our peers also enjoy group activities that revolve around the consumption and creation of media. Games like GarticPhone and streaming parties help to connect students outside of school with each other.

Findings Users value personalization, preferring tools that allow freeform creativity like drawing and adding text. Interactivity matters—features like time capsules and viewer engagement (sticky notes, stickers) enhance emotional connections. AI should be assistive, not intrusive, helping with layout ideas, accessibility, and image tracing. Sharing options are essential, allowing users to preserve and distribute memories across generations. These insights shaped WeScrap into a user-friendly, interactive platform that celebrates storytelling in a meaningful way.

1. Describe your most important design decisions. What research findings and/or user testing results led you to make these decisions? (Max 500 words) Key Design Decisions for WeScrap Our research revealed that users want a highly personalized yet easy-to-use platform for preserving memories. Based on these insights, we made several critical design decisions to enhance usability, engagement, and storytelling flexibility.

Most Important Design Decisions Our research revealed that users want a highly personalized yet easy-to-use platform for preserving memories. Based on these insights, we made several critical design decisions to enhance usability, engagement, and storytelling flexibility.

• Virtual Scrapbook with Freeform Editing We designed WeScrap as a flexible digital scrapbook where users can create shareable scrapbooks (collages of images with captions), journals (written entries), and time capsules. User interviews showed that traditional scrapbooking enthusiasts value creativity and dislike restrictive layouts. Therefore, freeform editing allows users to tell stories in their own unique way.

• AI as an Assistive Tool, Not a Replacement Artificial Intelligence is only used for layout suggestions. Users wanted storytelling to remain human-driven. This assists by making the process smoother.

• Shareable & Community-Driven Experience In regards to the COVID Loneliness epidemic, people engaged with one another through virtual spaces to find comfort and community. Scrapbooks, journals, and time capsules are traditionally shared with loved ones. By making a virtual scrapbooking tool for users with their loved ones, users can find a form of therapy through its connection with those important to them. User feedback emphasized the importance of making memories accessible to loved ones while allowing users to control who can view and interact with their scrapbook.

Built With

• figma