Front Camera
Back Camera
Project Description
Share the Love! was a AR lens experience created with the non-profit client Rainbow Labs. Their goal was to recruit more attendees and mentors to their program creating an interactive experience to incentivize them to join. This lens focuses on affirmations and community. The user is able to be affirmed in selfie mode but also affirm their friends and family when they flip the camera around. Feel free to try the lens below with Snapchat.
Share the Love! was a AR lens experience created with the non-profit client Rainbow Labs. Their goal was to recruit more attendees and mentors to their program creating an interactive experience to incentivize them to join. This lens focuses on affirmations and community. The user is able to be affirmed in selfie mode but also affirm their friends and family when they flip the camera around. Feel free to try the lens below with Snapchat.
My Role
Ideation, UI/UX, Content Strategist, Presentation Deck
Ideation, UI/UX, Content Strategist, Presentation Deck
Problem
LGBTQ+ youth often struggles to find safe spaces and communities, especially if they come from unsupportive environments. Rainbow Labs exists to provide that safe and empowering environment where young people can find community, connect with mentors, and feel optimistic about their futures. They offer a mix of fun activities and career-focused experiences to help youth consider their professional paths and engage with their community.
Currently, Rainbow Labs is facing low enrollment for both mentors and youth, so they turned to Snapchat to boost recruitment. The goal is to create a Lens that invites users to emotionally connect with the program and feel encouraged to learn more about Rainbow Labs. The hope is that the Lens makes youth feel seen and encouraged to reach out to the organization to find community. For mentors, we hope they resonate with the youth from their own personal experience and feel inspired to help the next generation.
Currently, Rainbow Labs is facing low enrollment for both mentors and youth, so they turned to Snapchat to boost recruitment. The goal is to create a Lens that invites users to emotionally connect with the program and feel encouraged to learn more about Rainbow Labs. The hope is that the Lens makes youth feel seen and encouraged to reach out to the organization to find community. For mentors, we hope they resonate with the youth from their own personal experience and feel inspired to help the next generation.
Research
Based on our research, we found three key focus areas.
Our first focus area is how imagined judgment affects people's brains, particularly in youth. We have seen social media create a sense of dissonance between how a person thinks they should look and how they actually look. Since both Snapchat and Rainbow Labs' audience is primarily young and vulnerable, we felt it was important to avoid anything that alters a user's appearance. The goal is for our lens to encourage users to show their authentic selves.
The second area focuses on the relationship between self-esteem and community support. In the United States, about 58% of teens report receiving the social and emotional support they need. In a study on how to promote self-esteem in LGBTQ+ young adults found that acceptance and positive relationships are among the top factors that lead to better self-esteem.
The last area is on how Rainbow Labs' programs have left a positive impact. In their 2024 evaluations, students ranked programs like Youth Council and One Bold Summer as 100 across the board for welcoming, inclusive, and safe.
Our first focus area is how imagined judgment affects people's brains, particularly in youth. We have seen social media create a sense of dissonance between how a person thinks they should look and how they actually look. Since both Snapchat and Rainbow Labs' audience is primarily young and vulnerable, we felt it was important to avoid anything that alters a user's appearance. The goal is for our lens to encourage users to show their authentic selves.
The second area focuses on the relationship between self-esteem and community support. In the United States, about 58% of teens report receiving the social and emotional support they need. In a study on how to promote self-esteem in LGBTQ+ young adults found that acceptance and positive relationships are among the top factors that lead to better self-esteem.
The last area is on how Rainbow Labs' programs have left a positive impact. In their 2024 evaluations, students ranked programs like Youth Council and One Bold Summer as 100 across the board for welcoming, inclusive, and safe.
Concepts
Idea 1
Idea 2
Idea 3
Idea 1: Jenica
Idea 2: Desmond
Idea 3: Sammy
Idea 2: Desmond
Idea 3: Sammy
Our concepts were centered on four key values: spreading joy, fostering community, navigating life paths, and showing your authentic self. The first idea aimed to spread joy by allowing users to turn a rainy cloud over the head into a rainbow with a smile. They could then try it on their friends and have them smile to create a bigger rainbow. The second idea guided users to a lab from Rainbow Labs acting as a career sorter where they can answer by tilting their heads. The third idea focused on community by surrounding users with affirmations, add their own, and extend them to their friends. While the client chose the third idea, all three concepts were fundamental in building our project and became our core values.
Final Lens
As soon as the lens opens, you are surrounded by words of encouragement and affirmations like "You are valued," "You are enough," and "What you feel is real." When you flip the camera around and try it on a friend, the "you's" become "they's". "They are valued," "They are enough," "What they feel is real". This creates a two-way system of both receiving and sharing the love. To spread even more joy, hearts burst around a person's face whenever they smile.
Above is a list of the phrases used throughout the lens. The phrases we chose are a mix of emotional affirmations and more career-oriented messages, all of them truthful and encouraging. Our goal was to create a lens with broad appeal, offering kind words that resonate with everyone, not just those who might be struggling. For the LGBTQ+ at whatever part of their journey they are at to the mentors who want to support them in any kind of way, there is something for everyone with this lens.
Above is a list of the phrases used throughout the lens. The phrases we chose are a mix of emotional affirmations and more career-oriented messages, all of them truthful and encouraging. Our goal was to create a lens with broad appeal, offering kind words that resonate with everyone, not just those who might be struggling. For the LGBTQ+ at whatever part of their journey they are at to the mentors who want to support them in any kind of way, there is something for everyone with this lens.
Retrospect
This Lens accomplished our goal of genuinely connecting with both LGBTQ+ youth and potential mentors, all while guiding them to Rainbow Labs. The input feature was removed from this project due to a tight deadline and the need for code to properly moderate phrases for any harassing messages. A future consideration would be to fully implement it to the project with all precautions in place. Overall, we achieved what we set out to do, and the client was happy with the results. Feel free to scan the snapcode and try the lens out on yourself and your friends. We invite you to Share the Love!
