My project explored the methods of personal record keeping (the formal name for that overflowing drawer full of documents that everyone has) with the goal of creating a simple but powerful tool to help easily store and retrieve the documents that you can never seem to find when you need them.
We’re all expected to hold onto an assortment of documents, from vehicle records to job contracts, birth certificates to passports. However, due to a lack of resources and utilities surrounding record management for individuals, it can quickly become a problem that grows increasingly hard to stay in control of.
Employing effective record keeping is an important aspect of good business practice. Yet, despite its benefits, it is often overlooked when it comes to personal practice. Record management services for businesses currently exist, however these are not accessible or tailored for individual use. Not to mention, the demands of record management for businesses can differ heavily from an individual's requirements, and it would call for an entirely different tool or service.
My own document collection is kept in a drawer, and I saw it slowly becoming unmanageable and in need of a tidy up. This lead me to begin looking into better ways I could manage my document storage and retrieval, but it quickly became apparent that there was very little in the way of tools or services for record keeping that suited my needs. This was the main motivator for my project choice as I feel there is room in the market for a tool that assists in personal digital record keeping in a much more elegant and user friendly way than stuffing a drawer full of physical copies.
JayFile is my solution to the mess that personal record keeping can become. I kept the structure of the app as simple as possible, creating more of a framework for users to adapt to their preferences. Before selecting the name ‘JayFile’, I chose to base my app’s brand and visual identity on the Blue-Jay, as they are one of only a few species of bird that display a behaviour known as ‘caching’. This means that they rely on their incredibly accurate memories to store and recover foods stashed in various spots around their habitat. This proved to be a great model for Jayfile’s storage behaviour. Based on the Blue-Jay in nature, I created a brand mascot, 'Blue', which became Jayfile's personal spokesbird and guide.
Adding documents to JayFile is a breeze. Users can batch upload with their phone's native file browser, or even use the camera to scan. Once you hit go, Blue gets to work sorting your mess while you put your feet up. At it's core, JayFile is a cloud based file browser, with an artificial intelligence that learns how to file the documents that you feed it. It’s a very smart bird, and the app's pretty cool too.
