Born from a love of using iMessage stickers in every conversation, this collection brings together a selection of favorites gathered over time. More than simple reactions, these stickers have become a small extension of personality and self-expression. This website serves as a home for the stickers that make conversations feel more authentic, expressive, and fun.
DISCOVER
Growing up using KakaoTalk’s emoticons heavily influenced the direction of this project. Kakao is a Korean messaging platform used by a majority of South Koreans. Unlike traditional messaging stickers, KakaoTalk’s emoticons often feature decorative backgrounds, stylized text boxes, and cohesive character-driven designs that make interactions feel playful and visually engaging. Those early experiences shaped an appreciation for stickers as a form of self-expression rather than just a communication tool.
Inspiration and Competitive Analysis
The visual direction draws inspiration from both KakaoTalk and iMessage. KakaoTalk informed the site’s aesthetic choices, particularly the use of decorative visual elements and playful layouts. KakaoTalk informed several design decisions, particularly profile placement, messaging interactions, and the use of character-driven visuals.
At the same time, iMessage was a foundation for the overall layout and structure, as the collection itself consists of iMessage stickers and users are already accustomed to its interaction model. Combining these influences allowed the design to feel both nostalgic and familiar while creating an experience that highlights the personality and charm of each sticker.
DEVELOP
Not every wireframe treated the stickers as a collection right away. Early explorations experimented with a playlist-inspired format, imagining the stickers as curated favorites rather than archived items. The idea brought a playful sense of personality to the experience, but over time the focus shifted toward creating a simple collection that felt more true to the purpose of the project.
Get Gina Lim’s stories in your inbox
Join Medium for free to get updates from this writer.
Throughout all three iterations, consistent spacing helped establish a sense of structure and familiarity. The goal was never to overcomplicate the experience, but to create a simple home for the stickers to shine.
Inspiration from both iMessage and KakaoTalk began to take shape in the mid-fi wireframes. While the collection itself was based on iMessage stickers, the layout was inspired by how profiles can be viewed within a KakaoTalk chat with a sidebar. Instead of placing the profile in the top-center like iMessage, it was moved to the top-right corner, allowing a title to sit in the top-left. This created a layout that felt more personal while also giving the page a clearer structure.
The four-column layout from the last low-fi wireframe was used for the sticker layout itself. Clicking one of three buttons categorized by happy, sad, or mad emoticons would pull up a four-column gallery of stickers associated with that emotion. Selecting a sticker would open up a sidebar with a description.
DELIVER
The final website was designed around creating an experience that could continue evolving. As new stickers are discovered, they can be added to the collection along with small notes about their origins, meanings, or memorable uses. Their descriptors give each sticker its own context, turning the website into a living archive that reflects my personal interests, humor, and experiences. More than a showcase of stickers, it has become a space for preserving the small moments and memories attached to them.
CREDITS
Design: Gina Lim
Art Direction: Marissa Raybuck
Categories: Website Design, UX/UI
Time: Spring 2026
School: Tyler School of Art & Architecture, Temple University
