See the colour before you paint
My solo project · nailpicker.com
Challenge
A swatch shows the colour, but not how it will look on your nail length, shape and skin tone. Try-on apps hand you a palette someone else invented — you pick a colour you cannot buy, or buy one that turns out nothing like the square on the screen.
Nail Picker is my solo project — from the idea to the App Store. It started with a familiar doubt before every manicure: will this shade actually work on my hand?
Solution
An iPhone app that works the other way round. You photograph your hand and a real swatch — a swatch stick, a drop on paper, a reference you saved — and the app finds every nail and paints that colour on, keeping its shimmer. Try it on all nails or just one, as a French tip or a half moon, adjust how sheer it is and save the result.
I did everything myself: positioning, brand, interface, App Store page, website and launch content.
ROLE & RESPONSIBILITIES:
Solo project: founder, product & brand designer
Product design · Brand identity · Web design · Launch content
Website: nailpicker.com
App Store: Nail Picker for iPhone
Cream #F2EBE0
Ink #1C1915
Rust #C4552A
Terracotta #C98A78
Blush #E3C1AC
Sage #B8CFA8
Instrument Serif
Aa
French, mixes,
tiny details.
Calm, editorial, warm. No gradients on content and no neon — the polish is the only loud colour on the screen.
From a prototype to the App Store
The first version was a plain web prototype to prove that nails could be found and recoloured on any hand photo. Once it worked, I designed the app around three steps — snap the polish, see it on your hand, play with styles — and gave it a quiet, editorial look so the colour of the polish stays the hero.
One hand, any shade
Results from the app on real hands: polka dots, French tips, mixes and tortoiseshell on one photo, deep navy and mint on another. Saved try-ons carry a small Nail Picker watermark, so a shared photo leads back to the app.
Website and launch
The website explains the idea in three steps and is honest about photos and privacy. For the launch I made first-person carousels for TikTok and Instagram: a real manicure story that ends with the app, rather than an ad.
Nail Picker 2.0
Version 2.0 added nail shapes and lengths, designs — French, half moon, dots, lines and mixes — and a more precise colour pick from a reference or a swatch. I announced it with a series of five stories and launch banners in one warm rust visual: "Your nails. Your shades. Your style."
