Photo Decision Assistant
AI file cleaner · Survey, opportunity mapping, AI-generated wireframes
An AI file cleaner that started from a vague complaint. Users said they had too many duplicate photos, but the real problem wasn't clear.
The brief was an AI file cleaner. The starting point was one thing users kept saying:
"I have too many duplicate photos."
Deleting duplicates sounds like the answer, but the complaint could mean several different things. Before designing a cleaner, we needed to understand which problem we were solving.
"Too many duplicates" can point to different needs. Each one leads to a different product.
How might we use AI to help people confidently decide what to keep, delete, organize, or share, while understanding that the value of a photo or file depends on its context, privacy, and personal importance?
We ran a survey to understand the complaint, mapped the opportunities in the space, then generated wireframes with AI to explore several directions quickly.
Ongoing. The wireframes are being used to explore and compare opportunity areas before committing to a final design.
Each opportunity became a pair of wireframes, generated with AI and then reviewed and refined. Numbered markers point to the key idea on each screen.
Pick the best photo for a purpose
Instead of asking which photos are duplicates, the app asks what the photo is for. The best shot for the family group may not be the best one for social. The app explains why it suggests each pick, and keeps one per purpose.
Pick by purposeChoosing for the Family group, with reasons like "Grandma is sharp and in focus".
Compare and keep per purposeOnly the differences are marked. The other 10 shots are suggested for the Attic.Free up space without deleting
The Attic moves photos off the phone so they can be restored in one tap. It sits between keeping and deleting, so clearing space doesn't feel permanent. The only shot of a moment is held back automatically.
Keep, Attic or DeleteAttic is suggested, showing space freed and restore options.
The AtticSpace freed, search, and a yearly review of photos not opened in a year.Check a photo against who will see it
The same photo is checked differently depending on the audience. A family group gets a quiet pass. A public post gets stricter checks, with one-tap fixes for location and readable details. Checks run on the phone.
Family share, quiet passNothing to flag for close family. Shows what was checked.Public post, flags and fixesRemove home location, blur a number plate, optionally ask Priya first.- 01Research the complaint before designing a cleaner, because "too many duplicates" could mean several different problems.
- 02Frame choices around purpose, so "duplicates" become the best photo for family, social or work.
- 03Add the Attic as a reversible middle step between keeping and deleting.
- 04Explain every AI suggestion, so users can see why a photo was picked or flagged.
- 05Use AI to generate wireframes, so we could compare several opportunity areas quickly before committing to one.
The project started with a solution already implied: a cleaner that deletes duplicates. Questioning the complaint opened up choosing, letting go and sharing as separate opportunities. AI-generated wireframes made it quick to see each one on screen and compare them.