In celebration of this year’s Lunar New Year, Snap has teamed up with non-profit Send Chinatown Love to bring one amazing local story to life through AR.
Meet Lucy Yu, the first Asian-American woman to own an independent bookshop in NYC. Lucy, an avid reader from an early age, started Yu & Me books in 2021 to help showcase stories from underrepresented authors. She believes that shared storytelling can drive meaningful change, and it’s her hope that Yu & Me, which focuses on books by immigrant authors, will serve as a space to celebrate underrepresented writers.
Starting today, we’re introducing a new immersive AR experience that brings Lucy’s vision to life. Snapchatters in New York City can find Yu & Me Books through a new Landmarker on the Snap Map. From there, they can tap the Landmarker, scan the storefront through the Snapchat camera, and watch the sidewalk come alive with characters reading together, all inspired by Lucy’s personal journey.
The animations, which were collaboratively designed by Snapchat creatives and an NYC-based Snap Lens partner, were inspired by traditional Chinese watercolors and engineered to replicate the gentle sway of a paper pop-up book.
In partnership with Send Chinatown Love, we are also adding Snap Map Markers to key Chinatown businesses across Chinatowns in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens. Plus, Snapchatters everywhere can also ring in the Year of the Tiger with a new Lens that uses Snapchat’s signature Sky Segmentation technology to paint the sky with a watercolor tiger jumping through the clouds.
Like Lucy, we here at Snapchat believe in the power of storytelling, and we are so excited to bring Lucy’s incredible vision to life through the power of AR.
Happy Lunar New Year!