KRONICLE

Client

Client  //  Founder / Product Designer

Role

After the acquisition of Lightbox to Facebook I was not quite ready to let go of the deep knowledge I had gained in the photo app development sector. I had some ideas that were left on the cutting room floor, and I needed to scratch that itch. I had been chatting with a young entrepreneur who was as passionate about photography as myself. Together we co-founded Kronicle. I would design the brand and product and he would take the business meetings and handle development.

Challenge

I have always loved the photography archives from amazing photo archives such as Magnum Photos and Hulton Getty. Remembering how my brother tried to recreate the Lonely Planet Guide cover shots as he backpacked around the world, inspired an idea. What if we could create a lasting archive of images that show changes through time from the exact location they were taken? What if we could reproduce some of the greatest archive images with the landscape of yesterday, today and tomorrow? How could we then display the images together as a chronicle that would be appealing and engaging?

Solution

Kronicle - Then and now, together

The world’s first collaborative time-lapse project. Using a unique tropo-tagging system to precisely mark and capture the location of a ‘Kronicle’, users can find and contribute to a community driven archive or overlay images ordered over time. Users may choose to start their own Kronicle or contribute to the existing archive of historic imagery.

Outcome

We developed and released the beta app for iOS. It launched with geotagged archive imagery in key cities across the United States. Further development ended after we were approached by Kodak who asked us to pivot the app development to become a proprietary app for their upcoming new mobile phone - the Kodak Extra. Unfortunately the phone was released in 2017 to scathing reviews ahead of app completion, so we decided to stop further development. I still love the idea and would love to pick the project up again in the future.

The app was rich with features from image editing software to social engagement.

A six season Kronicle of Anish Kapoor's Cloud Gate.

A personal Kronicle from Belvedere Island.