# pictureFrame — Design Directions

5 layout approaches · Warm Craft theme · tap to explore

## 1 · Photo Grid

Home is a mosaic of your photos. The frame assignment is a secondary action. Feels like a personal gallery that happens to connect to a frame.

Home
9:41●●●
Your Photos
🏔️
👨‍👩‍👧
🌅
🎄
🐕
🎂
🏖️
❄️
+
Photo Detail
9:41●●●
🏔️
Lake Trip 2024
Added 3 days ago · On 2 frames
Margaret's Frame Living Room
Edit & Add
Share

#### ✓ Familiar

Feels like Apple Photos or Google Photos — users know how to navigate it immediately.

#### ✓ Photo-forward

The content (photos) is the hero. Great for libraries with many images.

#### ✗ Frame is secondary

The physical frame — the whole point — is buried under a tab, not the first thing you see.

#### ✗ Upload entry unclear

Floating "+" button competes with the grid. Upload vs. camera roll confusion likely.

## 2 · Frame-Centric

Home shows your frames first. Each frame has a current photo preview. You navigate into a frame to add or manage photos for it. The frame is always the destination.

Home
9:41●●●
Your Frames
👨‍👩‍👧
Margaret's Frame
14 photos · Updates daily
Live
🏠
Living Room
6 photos · Updates weekly
Live
+ Add a frame
Frame Detail
9:41●●●
← Frames
Margaret's Frame
14 photos · Updates daily
+ Add Photo
Settings
On this frame
🏔️
👨‍👩‍👧
🌅
🎄
🐕
🎂

#### ✓ Frame is the hero

Every interaction starts with "which frame?" — keeps the physical gift front and center.

#### ✓ Clear mental model

Navigate into a frame → add photos to it. Mirrors how users think about the product.

#### ✗ Library is secondary

Your full photo library is a tab away. Users who want to browse all photos have to look for it.

#### ✗ Multi-frame add is extra steps

Adding one photo to multiple frames requires navigating between frame detail screens.

## 3 · Upload-First

The upload action IS the home screen. A big prominent upload button with recent activity below. The app communicates: the main thing you do here is put photos on frames.

Home
9:41●●●
pictureFrame
Hey Matt 👋
📷
Add a photo
Crop, add stickers, put it on a frame
Recent
🏔️
Lake Trip
Margaret's Frame · 2 days ago
🎄
Christmas 2024
Living Room · 5 days ago
Upload Flow Step 1
9:41●●●
Cancel
Crop Photo
Next →
🏔️
Margaret's Frame
Pinch and drag to fit the frame shape
Landscape
Portrait

#### ✓ Intent is unmistakable

First thing you see is "add a photo." The app's purpose is communicated before anything else.

#### ✓ Upload funnel is the flow

Tapping the big button goes straight into crop → sticker → add to frame. No detours.

#### ✗ Repeat visitors see the same home

After the 10th upload, the big prompt feels redundant. No sense of the growing collection.

#### ✗ Library/frames are tabs

Managing existing content requires navigation rather than being surfaced on home.

## 4 · Activity Feed

Home is a chronological feed of what's happened — photos added, shares received, approvals needed. Upload lives as a persistent top button. Feels connected and social.

Home
9:41●●●
Recent
+ Photo
Sarah shared a photo · 1h ago
🎂
Birthday Party
Tap to approve for a frame
Approve
You added a photo · 2 days ago
🏔️
Lake Trip 2024
On Margaret's Frame
Frame updated · 5 days ago
Margaret's Frame cycled to a new photo
Approve Flow
9:41●●●
← Feed
Sarah shared a photo
Add it to one of your frames?
🎂
Choose a frame
👵
Margaret's Frame
✓
🏠
Living Room
Add to Margaret's Frame

#### ✓ Approvals surface naturally

Shared photos that need approval appear inline in the feed — no hunting for a notification.

#### ✓ Feels alive

The home screen changes as photos are added and frames cycle. Gives the app a sense of activity.

#### ✗ Complexity for simple users

Margaret opening the app sees a feed with notifications and actions. Might be overwhelming.

#### ✗ Upload is a button, not the hero

The core action (add a photo) competes with the feed content for attention.

## 5 · Minimal Card

Home is clean and spacious — one frame card prominently displayed with its current photo, a clear "Add Photo" action, and simple navigation. Maximum focus, minimum noise.

Home (1 frame)
9:41●●●
pictureFrame
👤
👨‍👩‍👧
Margaret's Frame
Live
14 photos · Next cycle in 6 hours
+ Add a Photo
Library
🏔️
🌅
🎄
🐕
Home (2+ frames)
9:41●●●
pictureFrame
👨‍👩‍👧
Margaret's Frame
14 photos
+ Add
🏠
Living Room
6 photos
+ Add

#### ✓ Frame + action in one glance

You see the frame's current photo AND the "Add Photo" button together. Purpose is immediate.

#### ✓ Scales cleanly

One frame: big featured card. Two+ frames: stacked cards, each with their own Add button.

#### ✓ Closest to the mental model

The frame is the hero, the photo is the content, the action is obvious. No secondary navigation needed for the primary job.

#### ✗ Library is below the fold

The photo library strip is a hint, not a feature. Power users with large libraries need to go to the Library tab.