Silhouette

Silhouette transforms any texture into instant product mockups

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Inspiration

Designers, creators, and small business owners often struggle to visualize how their patterns or textures will look on real products. Traditional mockup workflows require Photoshop templates, manual masking, and multiple tools, time-consuming and technical. We wanted to create a one-click solution that brings instant, high-quality product mockups into Adobe Express, where simplicity meets creativity

What it does

Silhouette lets users instantly apply textures, patterns, or photos onto product silhouettes (like dresses, book covers, and accessories) right inside Adobe Express. Users can:

  • Upload or snap a photo of their design.

  • AI-enhance the image for clarity and color balance.

  • Choose from curated silhouette categories (Apparel, Accessories, Print).

  • Preview and customize layouts on multiple silhouettes instantly.

  • Export the final mockup into their current Adobe Express document or download it as PNG.

This turns Adobe Express into a rapid visualization tool for fashion designers, Etsy sellers, and anyone wanting to bring ideas to life without complex tools.

How we built it

UI in Adobe Add-On Playground: Designed a three-panel interface (Upload → Select Silhouette → Export) for smooth workflow.

Image Handling: Implemented base64 file handling in the Iframe JS for previews and texture application.

AI Simulation: Built an enhancement button with contrast adjustments to mimic AI-powered improvements for demo purposes.

Dynamic Grid: Populated silhouettes dynamically based on user-selected category (apparel, accessories, print).

Document Integration: Used Adobe Express APIs to add exported mockups as elements directly into the user’s canvas.

Plan to Ship (Post‑Win)

Weeks 1–2: Finalize Core Features

  • Polish UI/UX based on hackathon feedback—refine button states, loading animations, and panel responsiveness.

  • Harden timer logic and “power‑up” injections, ensuring seamless mid‑sprint asset drops.

Weeks 3–4: Beta & Feedback Loop

  • Recruit 20–30 active Adobe Express users (agencies, studio teams) for a closed beta.

  • Collect usage data and qualitative feedback on workflow, stability, and feature desirability.

  • Prioritize bug fixes and UX tweaks in sprints, shipping weekly Playground updates.

Weeks 5–6: Marketplace Submission & Freemium Rollout

  • Package Timely as a production add‑on via Adobe CLI, submit to the Express Add‑ons Marketplace.

  • Launch Free Tier (core challenges, basic themes/power‑ups) and Premium Tier (exclusive theme packs, animated overlays, private leaderboards).

  • Implement in‑add‑on subscription billing via Adobe’s monetization APIs.

Month 2+: Community & Growth

  • Introduce Global Design Challenges with public leaderboards and social‑share cards.

  • Build an in‑panel Challenge Creator so any user can set up their own theme, duration, and prize badge.

Why Adobe Express?

Simplicity Meets Power: Express’s intuitive interface lowers the barrier for creativity—perfect for injecting playful gamification.

Instant Feedback Loop: Being live inside the Express canvas means users never leave their workspace, preserving flow.

Community‑Driven: Express thrives on shared creativity; Timely amplifies that by turning design into a social, competitive experience.

Our Why: We’ve spent years in solo design sprints and know how isolating they can be. Timely was born from our desire to make every session feel like a fun team event—where ideas spark faster, laughter bubbles up, and even complex briefs become thrilling challenges.

Technical Confirmation

Feature API Verification
Panel ↔ Canvas Messaging editor.communication.postMessage/onMessage Built prototype: panel sends “start”/“stop” events, Document JS reacts.
New Artboards for Each Sprint editor.document.createPage() Tested in Playground: each challenge end created a fresh page.
Dynamic Shapes & Power‑Ups editor.elements.addShape() Successfully injected rectangles/circles with custom styles in tests.
Texture & Image Overlays editor.elements.addImage({ base64 }) Added sample base64 textures to canvas; rendered immediately.
Session Details as Stamped Text editor.elements.addText() Rendered start/end times and “Champion” stamp text on export pages.

Challenges we ran into

  • Mapping texture previews onto varied silhouette shapes while keeping the UI simple.

  • Handling large image files without lag.

  • Designing a minimal but interactive interface that works well within Adobe Express’ right-side panel.

  • Simulating AI enhancements with limited backend resources for hackathon purposes.

What we learned

  • Designers value speed and accessibility over heavy features, they want results fast.

  • Working inside Adobe Express’ Add-On environment requires clever optimization and understanding of messaging between Iframe and Document scripts.

  • Gamifying design (via premium packs, community voting) can enhance engagement and stickiness.

What's next for Croply

Premium Packs: Offer advanced silhouettes like sneakers, bags, and tech accessories.

AI Texturing: Use generative AI to adapt textures for better fit and realism on complex silhouettes.

Community Features: Enable voting, commenting, and collaborative design boards for silhouette ideas.

Dynamic Scaling: Auto-adjust textures to fit proportionally on any silhouette size.

Freemium Monetization: Free basic silhouettes; paid packs for advanced templates and exclusive layouts.

Built With

  • adobe
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