ICONIC: A Travel Photo Guide

Inspiration

Travel photos are usually a scramble: too many pins, not enough context, and you end up at the spot at the wrong time with the wrong lens. ICONIC trims the noise down to "do this, here, now" so you leave a city with 10 great shots instead of 300 forgettable ones.

What it does

• Curated "photo packs" for a city or theme: exact pin, best time/light, sample frames, and quick do/don't tips.
• A simple map + checklist: tap a spot, see the shot recipe (framing ideas, pose prompts, alternate angles), and navigate with one click.
• Lightweight camera overlays (grid/leading-lines hints) so you can frame it fast.
• Unlockable packs via coin packs/in-app purchase.

How we built it

• React Native (Expo) for the app; TypeScript across the stack.
• Supabase for data (spots, packs, user unlocks) and auth; Row Level Security for user entitlements.
• RevenueCat for purchases/subscriptions and receipt validation.
• A map SDK for pins, clustering, and deep-linking out to Apple/Google Maps when needed.
• Image/CDN optimization and on-device caching so packs load quickly offline.
• A tiny internal curation tool to turn photographer notes into consistent "shot recipes."

Challenges we ran into

• Getting recommendations to feel specific, not generic: nailing "stand here, face this, shoot at golden hour" without being bossy.
• GPS reality vs. exact vantage points (a 10-20m miss matters for composition).
• App Store review around IAP wording and paywall flows.
• Balancing offline reliability with bundle size.
• Pricing that makes sense for travelers (one-off trips) and locals (ongoing use).

Accomplishments we're proud of

• Clean, fast flow from map → shot recipe → nav → camera overlay.
• End-to-end purchase + entitlement working reliably with clear restore logic.
• First set of tightly curated packs that actually improve people's photos (early testers sent before/after shots).
• A content model that's easy to scale without breaking the UX.

What we learned

• Travelers want fewer, better choices. A strong top-10 beats a messy top-50.
• Copy matters: one crisp paragraph beats a wall of "pro tips."
• Interop > reinvention: deep-linking to the maps people already use reduces friction.
• Offline matters more than we hoped; caching needs to be a first-class feature, not an afterthought.

What's next

• More cities and themed mini-packs (sunrise rooftops, moody alleys, rain-day interiors).
• Creator pipeline: let local photographers submit packs and share revenue.
• Smarter timing: golden hour + weather cues, crowd notes, and seasonal alternates.
• Better routing: cluster nearby shots into a 60-90 minute walk.
• Subtle AR guides for vantage alignment (when it helps, not as a gimmick).
• Pricing experiments (trip pass vs. city pass) and light social proof (save/favorite, quiet sharing).