Case study
Poly
Authentic polaroids, direct from your camera.
A polaroid camera app for iPhone that captures the warmth of instant film — five authentic emulations, custom captions, photo and video modes, and iCloud sync across devices.
The challenge
Filters aren't enough — people want the real thing.
Vintage aesthetics are everywhere, but most camera apps slap a filter on a digital photo and call it a day. Polaroid has a specific feel: the frame, the color science, the slight imperfection, the moment the print develops.
Poly needed to feel like pulling a polaroid from your pocket — not like editing in a photo lab. That meant building emulations from the ground up and designing an interface that gets out of the way of the shot.
The solution
Five emulations. One tap to shoot.
Each film pack in Poly recreates a distinct look — color, grain, frame, and border treatment — so users can match the mood before they press the shutter. Photo, video, and time-lapse modes share the same aesthetic pipeline.
- 5 film emulations with authentic Polaroid frames
- Photo, video, and time-lapse capture modes
- Custom captions and typography on every print
- Watermark-free premium exports for creators
- iCloud sync to keep your gallery across devices
Screenshots
App Store screenshots.
Outcome
A niche app with a clear identity.
Poly is live at poly-vintage.com and on the App Store. It competes in a crowded photography category by owning one thing completely: the polaroid moment, start to finish.
The project pushed me to balance visual craft with performance — real-time film emulation on the camera feed is demanding, and users expect zero lag when they're capturing a fleeting moment.
