Snapchat
In honor of Black History Month, we enjoyed partnering with Snapchat to create a lens that stylishly celebrates Black culture. This blend of fashion and history provides an immersive and educational experience.
Problem
Snap tasked us with creating an AR filter for Black History Month, focusing on Rare and Untold Stories or Revisiting History and the Promise of Tomorrow. We decided to highlight the Ethiopian origins of coffee, incorporating a wearable element and a symbol of the Ethiopian coffee ceremony.
Solution
We designed an AR filter featuring coffee sunglasses with coffee liquid inside coffee bean-shaped lenses and an Afro-futuristic frame. When users switch to their phone's rear camera, a Jebena pours hot coffee into a cup situated on a wood block cutout of Ethiopia. The cup's position corresponds to the region where Kaldi the goat herder discovered coffee in Kaffa. The lens is aptly named "Buna," meaning coffee in Ethiopia, and the pouring Jebena symbolizes the Ethiopian coffee-making ceremony.
Process
Our team began by brainstorming the concept for the coffee-themed sunglasses. We designed a coffee bean-shaped lens and structured a frame around it. Next, we added the text "Coffee Born in Ethiopia" and "BHM 2023" in gold on both sides of the frame and textured it in white with gold and blue elements to reference the Ethiopian flag's colors.
For the rear-facing camera component, we modeled a Jebena pouring coffee into a cup, complete with steam, and placed it on an Ethiopian wood block. Next, we created UI text for both the selfie and rear-facing camera sides. For example, the selfie camera displays "Brewing History: Coffee's Ethiopian Origins" in gold and white text. In contrast, the rear-facing camera features text above the Jebena that users can tap for more information.
After completing the lens, Snap invited our founder to join other Snap Lens Network creators in a Twitter Spaces chat to discuss the behind-the-scenes of our Black History Month lenses.
