Watermark Camera#
Watermark Camera - Easy to Use#
The origin of Watermark Camera - Easy to Use was a question on the v2 forum asking if there was a camera app on iOS that could easily add time and location watermarks. Coincidentally, I was developing a watermark camera in Objective-C, with the functionality limited to adding location and time watermarks.
So I had the idea to develop a Swift version, but what features should be included in the app and how should the interface look? Where should I get these ideas from?
First, let's talk about the features:
What types of watermarks should be available? There are many watermark cameras on the market, so what features should I include to ensure uniqueness and avoid repetition?
- The user on the forum only needed simple time and location watermarks, so I added watermark A, which includes normal time and location watermarks. To expand on this, I added the option to display the date, time, and location, with customizable settings.
- Watermark B was inspired by the need to upload identification documents for verification on various websites. I wanted to add a line of text to the identification document photos, such as "For rental use only." This led to the second requirement: watermarking identification document photos with customizable content and color.
- What other watermarks should be included? I considered the issue of photos being stolen and used without permission. To address this, I thought of creating a stamp-like watermark, similar to the signature or seal on a painting or calligraphy by a famous person. Is it feasible to add a stamp-like watermark? This gave rise to the third requirement: creating a unique watermark as a distinctive mark on every photo taken with this app, to prevent unauthorized use. The default text provided is "Good luck in the Year of the Tiger" to align with the current year.
- Are these watermarks enough? At this point, I thought about how some people mark their videos with a specific gesture to make them unique. Should photos also have a unique mark? Everyone has their own preferences and habits, so I added the option to use a custom photo as a watermark, allowing users to choose their favorite watermark (e.g., using a photo of Monkey D. Luffy from "One Piece" or Naruto Uzumaki from "Naruto," or even a photo of their spouse). Every photo taken with this app will have this watermark.
Once the features were determined, how should the interface be designed? I first tried out similar apps in the App Store, then combined their experiences with my own features to develop the interface for my app. I took inspiration from the "Xiangse Guige" app's About page to create my own About page.
After completing the first version of the app, where do the requirements for the second version come from? How can I monetize the app instead of relying solely on donations? These are the problems to be solved in the next step.
The requirements for the second version come from user feedback and the features I want to implement.
- User feedback:
- Draggable watermarks
- Full-screen watermarks
- Multiple watermarks selection
- Features I want to implement:
- Internationalization
- About page
- Suggestion and feedback entry
- Sharing
- Rating
From these features, I selected some to be paid features. Initially, I planned to make multiple watermark selection, custom image watermark, and image editing features paid, but due to the number of users, I decided to release these features for free in the second version.
The requirements for the third version also come from user feedback and the features I want to implement. Although development has not started yet, the plan is to introduce paid features in the next release. Users who have already downloaded the app will not be affected, but new downloads will require payment for the multiple watermark selection, custom image watermark, image editing features, independent album, and importing from the system album.
- User feedback:
- Skip confirmation page after taking a photo and save directly
- Features I want to implement:
- Independent album
- Import from system album
- Sharing
- Save locally
The requirements for the fourth version come solely from the features I want to implement.
- Custom upload domain and upload
- Server sniffing and NAS synchronization