Whimsi: Where travel journeys stick

When was the last time you shared something from your travels that actually mattered to you? Most travel and social apps still push us toward performative posts and highlight reels, even though meaningful connection while away is grounded in the small, specific experiences that make a place feel real.

Our project explores a social, photo-based travel app that prompts you to capture moments from your trip and turn it into a small piece of personal expression for the people back home. Using computer vision, the app detects objects and scenes in your photo to generate stickers that populate onto a map, creating an enjoyable way to document your journey, replay your trips later, and share them with friends and family whether they're on the platform or not.

After researching existing tools like Instagram, BeReal, and travel journaling apps, alongside theory around staying connected across distance, meaningful storytelling, and emotional safety in sharing, we saw a gap: few tools make daily updates from the road feel grounded, low-pressure, and genuinely connective rather than performative. We're exploring how AI, playful visual documentation, and map-based storytelling can work together to help travellers stay close to the people who matter while they're away, without the pressure of curating a perfect feed.