ESTIMATED READING TIME
7 mins
ROLE
UX Designer
UX Researcher
SKILLS
Design Systems
Mobile App Design
User Research
TIMELINE
12 Weeks
Bringing memories
to life with AI
An AI-powered photo experience within the HP app.
01 · FINDING THE OPPORTUNITY
The more photos we capture, the harder memories are to find.
Three barriers to getting started
51 participants surfaced three blockers.
59%
struggled to choose between similar photos.
55%
struggled to find the photo they wanted.
43%
felt photo projects took too much time.
Median photo library: approximately 7,500 images.
02 · UNDERSTANDING THE LANDSCAPE
Everyone owned a piece. Nobody owned the path.
No competitor connected memory discovery to a physical keepsake.
COMPANY
DOES WELL
OPEN GAP
Google Photos
Finds the memory
Resurfaces moments, but does not carry them into a personal, print-ready project.
photobook.ai
Picks the photos
Automates selection, but does not own the source library or the hardware handoff.
Mixbook
Tells the story
Supports the book, but still relies on people to do the difficult upstream curation.
Canva Print
Crafts the design
Offers creative tools, but is not centered on memory discovery or a personal archive.
Shutterfly
Ships the order
Handles fulfillment well, but leaves discovery and meaning-making outside the journey.
HP’S OPEN LANE
The opportunity wasn’t another photo editor.
It was connecting the path from memory to creation.
BEHAVIORAL PERSONAS
Different barriers, same need.
E
Emily — Memory Explorer
Great moments are buried among 10K+ photos.
D
Daniel — Family Memory Keeper
Wants to preserve milestones, but doesn’t have time to finish projects.
P
Patricia — Keepsake Creator
Values physical memories but finds digital creation tools hard to navigate.
03 · UNDERSTANDING AI’S ROLE
Users wanted AI, but on their terms.
AI SENTIMENT
Users wanted AI,
but on their terms.
94%
see value in AI-assisted rediscovery
51%
expressed privacy concerns
Where people wanted help
Create
Automatically create themed projects.
Enhance
Improve color, cropping, and layouts.
Organize
Group photos by people, places, and occasions.
Select
Filter duplicates and blurry images.
Where can AI remove effort while preserving trust and control?
04 · MAPPING A BETTER JOURNEY
Finding where AI could actually help.
Where AI can help
Rediscover · Select · Organize · Create · Personalize · Print · Re-engage
01
Rediscover
Goal: find a memory worth returning to.
02
Select
Friction: choosing between similar photos.
03
Organize
Friction: duplicates, gaps, and decision fatigue.
04
Create
AI opportunity: generate a guided starting point.
KEY INSIGHT
AI shouldn’t just make creation faster. It could make getting started easier.
A shift from product-first creation to a memory-first co-pilot.
CURRENT EXPERIENCE
Select photo → Set up paper → Edit → Print
Manual and product-first.
NEW EXPERIENCE
Connect → Rediscover → Select → Create → Personalize → Print → Re-engage
Memory-first, AI-assisted, and editable.
MANUAL → ASSISTED
AI helps people start. People shape the outcome.
Design explorations are private.
Final designs are confidential, contact me for a private walkthrough!
05 · DESIGNING AI WITH AI
AI wasn’t only part of the experience. It became part of my process.
Claude and Figma Make accelerated exploration; user testing set direction.
THREE DECISIONS
Three decisions shaped the concept.
Three principles guided the direction
01
Rediscover
Surface memories worth returning to.
02
Reduce effort
Use AI to assist with tedious selection, organization, and creation.
03
Stay in control
Make AI suggestions understandable, editable, and reversible.
AI should suggest—not decide.
PROCESS PRINCIPLE
AI expanded what I could explore. Research determined what moved forward.
06 · TESTING & ITERATING
30 users challenged my assumptions.
Resonance testing showed that people wanted a co-pilot—not autopilot.
WHAT CHANGED
Four before → insight → after shifts.
Memory discovery
Before: AI surfaced a memory.
Insight: People needed to know why it was recommended.
After: Explain the recommendation.
Story creation
Before: AI generated the direction.
Insight: People wanted to steer tone and story.
After: Let people shape the direction.
Editing
Before: AI handled more of creation.
Insight: Familiar controls still mattered.
After: Preserve swipe, zoom, drag, and direct editing.
Trust
Before: Privacy appeared later.
Insight: Privacy and pricing affected trust.
After: Surface both earlier.
07 · OUTCOME & NEXT STEPS
From an ambiguous AI opportunity to a research-backed product direction.
80+ participants shaped a direction centered on discovery, control, and trust.
OUTCOME
80+ research participants · 3 experience principles · 1 AI experience direction
The next phase: from research to roadmap.
ITERATE & VALIDATE
Test with a broader audience and refine product requirements.
ASSESS FEASIBILITY
Partner with product and engineering to assess technical constraints, privacy needs, and implementation effort.
PRIORITIZE ROADMAP
Balance user value and build cost to define an MVP and phased roadmap.
08 · WHAT I LEARNED
The biggest lesson wasn’t about AI.
The best AI didn’t take over the experience, it gave people a better starting point.