Laike is an AI-powered moodboard app that allows to generate and curate content using prompts, in addition to found media.
With the meteoric rise in Generative AI programs that can write text, create images, audio and video. They’re already being implemented into either existing software or workflows. Research has shown that what’s currently fueling the dominant use of Generate AI is Search, Art and Brainstorming. More specificially out of 2000 people who were polled for their use of AI and the results were: (Source is here)
I started off initially by creating some rough designs for Laike, to essentially flesh out the visual design, user-flow and colour scheme.
Start Pages
Search Pages & Final Result
I queried online creative forums (primarily in realms of the design industry, as well as areas such as advertising) to see what apps are used to create moodboards. Out of a total of 54 responses, the top 4 apps for moodboard creation were:
Illustrator (24.1%)
Pinterest (14.8%)
Figma (13.0%)
Miro (11.1%)
From this information, a lot of creative practitioners are understandably using tools that are already implemented into their workflow. Whether they be Illustrator or Figma (Design), Pinterest (Search) or Miro (Project Management). Additional feedback from the responses stated whilst moodboards are “good for onboarding clients”, technical barriers came into play. This also included how a few users didn’t necessarily like the idea of a separate app or browser, limitations [certain allowance of how many images per moodboard, forced layouts and watermarks].
After the first round, I asked a second query regarding additional features that would help in creating moodboards. The bad news is I was only able to get one response. The good news, said response provided me a mutlitude of additions to Laike. These came in two areas: Organisation and Colloborative.
The namesake of the app is another spelling of “Lake”. The reason for the name is that I liken the concept of idea generation, similar to a body of water. Letting inspiration ‘flow’ or to take from somewhere ‘deep’. That and the phrasing of the name allowed for a clever nod to the app’s functionality: L(ai)ke. Colour-wise, I wanted to go for a holographic aesthetic. Blending both the technological use of AI and the calmness of water.
#E1FBFF
#EEE1FF
#E1FFEB
#DBFCFF
(Secondary Colour)
#3F7CFF & #5124E9
(Secondary Colours)
#01D273 & #01A85C
(Primary Colours)
What makes Laike so great and different from similar apps?
The main USP of Laike is the ability to utilise Generative AI to create images, rather than the user use images they’ve found or created (although that option is available to give users the option). The “Generate AI” function itself piggybacks off the Leonardo.ai API both in user experience and execution. Leonardo.ai’s API was chosen because of it’s ease of use.
Given the feedback on how some creatives don’t like using separate apps for moodboards but was still useful for onboarding clients. Implementing Laike as an extension to already existing application like an Adobe Program would make integration to a workflow pipeline smoother. Users wouldn’t need to create an account initially, but in order to export to an Adobe program, they would need to signup/sign-in into the app.
Given the app’s nature, this user journey reflects the more open-ended approach to how a user might interact around Laike.
To compliment the app’s final design, I created landing page to compliment it.
What would you like to see next?
