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Product Design · Mobile · UX/UI

Smart Jewelry Memory App

Client
Galatea Jewelry
Role
UX/UI Designer
Summary
UX/UI redesign for the Galatea Momento Pearl™ app, a mobile experience that lets users store and access personal memories such as videos, photos, and audio through NFC-enabled smart jewelry. The project covered the full UX process from usability research and paper sketches through low and high-fidelity prototypes, a custom design system, icons, and animations.
Galatea app hero — iPhone mockup showing the My Gems screen with a Momento® Locket Pearl Flower pendant above the phone. The screen displays the gem's memory thumbnail grid, storage usage (1.5 GB of 3 GB used), and an Add Memories button. Concentric NFC wave rings radiate from the jewelry on a light gray background.

Problem

Galatea created smart jewelry that allows users to store personal memories such as videos, photos, and audio through NFC technology. However, customers struggled to understand how the product worked and how to access and manage their memories through the app.

Solution

I redesigned the app to make it easier to scan jewelry, access memories, and manage personal content. The focus was on simplifying the NFC interaction, improving navigation, and giving the experience a warmer feel.

I also proposed new features that added more ways for users to store and share memories.

Results

The redesign received positive feedback from customers, who noted the improved usability and how much easier the app was to use. The new interface made the smart jewelry experience clearer and more straightforward from the start.

Design Process

Before the Redesign

The original interface used a dark, file-list approach to adding memories. Users were presented with a row of text-based options: Take a Picture, Record a Sound, Make a Video, Open a File, and Select from Gallery. This created cognitive overload and made it difficult to understand the product at a glance.

Original app interface — five dark-themed iPhone screens showing the previous Add a Memory flow: a red diamond gem icon menu with options for Take a Picture, Record a Sound, Make a Video, Open a File, and Select from Gallery; followed by list-based file management screens with a dark red color scheme.

Design Concept

Navigation challenges stemmed from the file-list system, which created cognitive overload. The redesign prioritized visual elements so users could identify their jewelry and memories through thumbnails, without having to read through long file lists.

Early sketches explored the core flows: the Scan/Home screen with a looping NFC animation, the My Gems visual gallery, the Add Memories type picker, and the tap-to-save confirmation step.

Low-fidelity paper sketches — hand-drawn wireframes covering the core app flows: Scan/Home screen with a looping NFC wave animation that identifies the user's gems; My Gems list with visual thumbnails, search, and a More button menu (Edit Name, Share, Link, Delete); Add Memories type selector; Select Memories photo grid with Cancel/Continue actions; Save Memories flow with a tap-to-save instruction and a 'Your Memories Have Been Saved!' confirmation screen with a Go to My Gems button; and an illustration of a phone tapping smart jewelry via NFC.

Low Fidelity Prototypes

I translated the paper sketches into digital wireframes covering all key screens: splash, login with social sign-in options, the Scan Gem NFC screen, My Gems gallery, gem detail with memory grid, Add Memories bottom sheet, photo library picker, camera capture, audio recording, and text editor. Having these wireframes in place helped test and validate the core flows before any visual design was applied.

Digital low-fidelity wireframes — ten grayscale iPhone screens: Splash (logo only), Login (email/password with Sign in with Google and Apple options), Scan Gem (hold phone near NFC jewelry prompt with Scan Gem and Help buttons), My Gems list (gem thumbnail and name, Add Memories link), Gem detail with photo/audio/video grid, Gem detail showing Add Memories bottom sheet, Photo library picker (Photos/Albums tabs), Camera capture screen, Record an Audio screen with waveform, and Add a Text editor with sample content.

High Fidelity Prototypes

Key Screens

The high-fidelity design used a warm visual style, with cream whites, gold accents, and refined typography to match Galatea's jewelry brand. All ten core screens were designed in full detail, from the login screen with lifestyle photography to the memory capture and text editor.

High-fidelity app screens — ten full-color iPhone mockups: Login with Galatea logo and model photography backdrop; Login form with email/password and Sign in with Google and Apple; Scan Gem with jewelry illustration on white background and a gold Scan Gem button; My Gems showing Momento® Pearl pendant with memory thumbnails; Gem detail with photo/video/audio memory grid and Add Memories button; Add Memories bottom sheet (Camera, Library, Add an audio, Add a Text, Add a Link, Document); Photo library picker; Camera capture; Record an Audio with waveform visualization; Add a Text rich editor with a 'Special Message' sample.

Adding Memories

The redesigned Add Memories flow guides users from the My Gems screen through a clear, step-by-step process: select a memory type from an icon-based bottom sheet, capture or import the content, then hold the phone near the smart jewelry to save. The save step includes a visual animation and a "Successfully saved!" confirmation, giving the act of storing a memory a clear and satisfying endpoint.

Adding Memories flow — six iPhone screens showing the end-to-end process: My Gems screen with Add Memories button highlighted; Add Memories bottom sheet with eight content options (Camera, Library, Add an audio, Add a Text, Import from Google Photos, Import from iCloud, Add a Link, Document); Camera capture screen; Save Memories modal instructing the user to hold their phone near the Galatea® NFC Jewelry; Saving memories animation with the jewelry pendant; and the 'Successfully saved! Go to My Locket' confirmation screen.

Scanning Jewelry

When a user taps their smart jewelry to their phone, the app opens and shows the stored memories: photos, videos, audio recordings, text messages, and custom links. The scan flow was designed around a single tap, with memories displayed in a visual carousel for easy browsing.

Smart jewelry in hand — close-up photo of a gold Momento pearl pendant necklace held up in front of a smartphone, set against a blurred green outdoor background, evoking the NFC tap interaction.
Scanning Jewelry flow — five iPhone screens: Scan Gem home screen with Scan Gem button; Scan Gem modal prompting the user to hold their phone near the Galatea® NFC Jewelry with an Open App Only/Memories button; Memory 1 of 10 showing a photo of a couple; Memory 2 of 10 showing a video (dark screen); Memory 3 of 10 showing an audio waveform with a text message overlay; and Memory 4 of 10 showing a Galatea Website custom link with a Visit Now button.

Custom Animations

Animated icon — a diamond gem illustration inside a soft gray circle, representing the smart jewelry in the Galatea app. Animated illustration — a pearl pendant necklace hanging above a smartphone outline inside a soft gray circle, symbolizing the NFC tap interaction between jewelry and phone. Animation demonstrating how to scan smart jewelry using an iPhone via NFC. Animation demonstrating that a piece of smart jewelry can be shared with more than one smartphone. Animation demonstrating two pieces of smart jewelry linked together.

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