For the launch we’ve put together a short 1 minute video to really highlight some of the cool parts of the new Memory Jar. Watch it here or go to Vimeo to watch in HD.

Of course, a big thanks goes out to our beta testers and others who have provided input along the way. You’ve all been a great help and I sure hope you love the final result as well.

Stay tuned for the launch on Friday! Existing users will see the update prompt come up in their iPhones so you won’t miss it.

One of the main goals for the new app was to create a way to not just store your memories but also to share them with friends and family in a beautiful new way. That’s why you’ll notice the new presentation with photos and memory details displayed in a ‘card’-like format. Check it out…

Viewing memories

This new screen in the app has been purpose-built for viewing your family memories. It’s made to be an attractive (and interactive) way of looking through your memories. The main highlight here is the new display which presents your photos in the format of a ‘card’ with the date and title shown on the front. More than 1 photo? Just swipe to flick through and view the others.

A nice thing about this format is that you’ll be able to share any memory really easily to your friends and family (via email, Twitter or Facebook which are integrated into the app).

But what’s really cool (we think anyway) is the way you ‘flip’ the card over to see the details of your memory shown on the back.

Just like in the ‘old days’ you used to write some notes (date, location, activity, people etc) on the back of your prints, with the new Memory Jar app when you ‘flip’ over a memory card you get the details shown on the back. Here you’ll get the detailed description plus we’ve also added the ability to see the age of your family members (by setting up their birthdays in their profiles).

So, not only will you get a new tool for turning your family photos into something so much more but you’ll automatically record exactly how old your kids were at the time.

Photo browsing

With the updated browsing mode you’ll get a really nice photo-based view to quickly flick through your photo memories. Quickly filter by family members at the top and then the photos from all of their memories are shown in the tiled display below.

It creates a really nice way of remembering all the fun and interesting things your family has been up to. And of course, tapping a photo will take you straight to the full memory like we showed you above.

So, what do you think?

A ton of effort has gone into getting the new display for your family memories just right because it really does matter. Again, we’d love to hear your feedback on the new look and format. Let us know in the comments or contact us directly with a message.

We’re not far from being available in the App Store so, if you haven’t already, don’t forget to sign-up and be notified when we launch. You can sign-up here.

In this post we’ll share a couple of the main screens and then in our next post we’ll share the final details of how your memories are going to be presented, saved and shared with the new app.

New Home screen

The new Home screen provides the first peek into the new design and color palette for the app. The Home screen provides fast navigation to browse existing memories for each family member and also to add a new memory. For a personal touch, the background image changes regularly to display a random photo from your memories.

Adding a new memory

The new Add Memory screen makes it really fast and easy to create the family memories you want to record forever. The selector at the top of the screen allows you to record a new memory against 1 or more family members (great if you have more than one child). And your memories will be incredibly rich if you select multiple photos and add details including a title, date, tags and description.

So, what do you think?

We’d love to hear your feedback on the new look. Let us know in the comments or contact us directly with a message.

Next post we’ll share details on the exciting new presentation format for your memories which we think you’re going to really love.

Watch for the new icon when we launch. And speaking of launch, don’t forget to signup to be notified when Memory Jar is launched by going to our signup page.

Watching it on the crowded train I had to stop myself from getting emotional. The combination of the powerful message and the beautiful storytelling just seemed to hit a nerve. Those that know me will know I don’t get emotional very easily but watching this would have to make even the most hard-nosed father tear up.

Because of this video, I was inspired me to make Memory Jar a reality so that I could record our special family memories. And it’s hopefully also making me a better parent today. Watch and enjoy.

-Stuart

In 10-15 years time my goal is to have a massive archive of beautiful memories that are not just a priceless record for me but also a wonderful gift to pass on to my kids as well. I can just imagine how amazing it will be to hand over to them a digital record of their lives that contains not only photos but the stories, thoughts and emotions behind them. Hopefully it will be something that they will cherish as well for the rest of their lives.

Time for an upgrade

Whilst I’ve enjoyed using Memory Jar myself over the past few months I know it’s definitely time for the app to get a major overhaul (and not just a simple makeover). It’s been moderately successful in the App Store and general feedback has been pretty good too but I know it can be so much more.

The original version of Memory Jar was developed, in part, for the Evernote Devcup competition and a lot of the focus of the app was on the Evernote integration. Evernote, with their tagline of “Remember everything”, is a brilliant tool and capturing special moments from your family’s life is just one way it can be used.

A problem for Memory Jar though was that the app relied on people having an Evernote account (or quickly setting one up) before they could even access it. This was a reasonable approach for the Evernote contest submission but not the best for making the app accessible to a broader audience.

On top of this, because of the short timeline to get the original app prepared for the Evernote contest the visual design of the app had to be really stripped back and simplified. The first version was not a bad looking app but certainly wasn’t going to win any design awards.

Some exciting things coming

We’re now a couple of months after the Evernote contest (which we didn’t win unfortunately) and it’s most certainly time for some exciting changes to Memory Jar. Right now a major upgrade is underway and should only be a few weeks away from hitting the App Store (assuming the Apple gods give it their blessing of course).

The new and improved Memory Jar is being built with these big goals in mind (coming from my personal experience and other user feedback):

1. Create a more beautiful record of your memories. I want to make the record of each memory more visually appealing and designed to stand the test of time. This time around a designer has created some really stunning screens that will make you want to use the app even more.
2. Allow anyone to use it, not just Evernote users. Whilst I think Evernote is perfect for memory keeping I want to ensure anyone can start using Memory Jar for collecting their family memories. In the new version it will be optional to connect to Evernote (but definitely the preferred setup).
3. Making it applicable to entire families, not just kids. Although I use it almost exclusively for my three kids, lots of other people have said they want to use Memory Jar for all of their family members, including their pets.
4. Support sharing memories on Facebook & Twitter. Not all of my memories are suitable for publishing on social networks (and nor do my friends want them in their feeds) but there’s often cases when certain moments just deserve to be shared. So Facebook and Twitter integration is coming with the new version of Memory Jar.

Stay updated for launch

The launch (or is it a relaunch) is hopefully a matter of weeks away and I’ve got more to share before then.

I’m really excited about what’s coming for Memory Jar and I just know you’ll love it too. I’ll be posting little updates and sneak peaks on the blog here soon but to be notified about the launch be sure to signup here. And I’d love to hear from you if you’d like to actually test out the new app before it’s available in the App Store.

For those existing users on the initial version you may notice that the app doesn’t appear in the App Store at the moment. I’ve decided to pull Memory Jar from the App Store in preparation for the big relaunch. It just feels like the changes coming are worthy of a proper launch (which didn’t happen earlier due to the contest submission) because this will be so much more than just a minor update.

Thanks for following the Memory Jar journey and be sure to stay tuned for more exciting news.

-Stuart

Photo courtesy of  …love Maegan via Flickr