Partner Spotlight: MailChimp

Posted on March 1, 2012 by Erin

Aviary provides a simple editor for web and mobile that developers can embed in their apps with just a few lines of code! Read on to see what MailChimp did with our tools, or check out our featured partners to see how they’re putting our editor to use.

MailChimp makes it easy to design, share, and track email newsletters that connect businesses and services with their users. Their range of templates, fonts, and features translate to a highly customizable campaign, and we’re happy to announce that Aviary has been added to their extensive list of tools.

Now that you can edit your photos in MailChimp, there’s no element of email that you can’t tweak or perfect — what better way to reach your audience than sending them a newsletter that is exactly as you like it?

Check out MailChimp’s email newsletter service now!

Best of all, you can access Aviary’s editing tools within MailChimp in three clicks. Observe!

Step 1. From the template page, drag and drop an image into MailChimp’s upload functionality.

Step 2. A preview of the image that you upload will appear in the right hand side of the floating box. Beneath the image, you’ll see an Edit button. Click it to open Aviary’s editor.

Step 3. Perfect your image with Aviary’s range of editing tools. Tweak colors with our brightness, saturation, and contrast feature, apply filters to change the feel of a photo, or opt for one-click fixes with our enhance tools. Hit apply when you’re finished, save your changes, and your image is ready to go!

More good news: We’ve added resize — back by popular demand — to our already-extensive list!

We’re particularly fond of MailChimp’s integration: it’s sleek, intuitive, and feels wonderfully natural in their existing workflow. To learn more, check out their website or visit Aviary to see how our editing tools can help you!

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Protected: SAFE Introducing Version 2 of the Aviary Editor PRESS

Posted on February 29, 2012 by Nam

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Say Goodbye to Bad Facebook Cover Photos

Posted on February 23, 2012 by Nam

If you haven’t already noticed, Facebook’s latest profile update includes a feature called Timeline, which among other things allows you to upload an eye-catching cover photo to your profile.

In the latest update to our Facebook app, we’ve added a custom crop tool that allows you to perfectly cut out your cover photo! No more need to resize and drag to make it fit.

To start:

  1. Go to apps.facebook.com/aviaryeditor *Note: If you’ve used our app before, make sure to clear your web browser’s cache to see the update
  2. Choose any of your photos from Facebook, or upload one from your desktop
  3. Choose the Crop tool
  4. Choose “Cover Photo” inside the Crop tool
  5. Drag to select area
  6. Apply, Save, BOOM.

Now head back to your profile, hover over your Cover Photo and select “Change Cover”. Then select “Choose from Photos”, and it should be in both your “Recent Uploads” and the Aviary album we create for your edited photos.

If you have any questions, please feel free to email us at support@aviary.com.

 

Posted in Facebook app, Fun!, New features, Web widget | 38 Comments

Why hello, Windows Phone!

Posted on February 13, 2012 by Erin

Last week some big news broke on Geekwire and The Verge: we’re bringing the Aviary SDK to Windows Phone!

Our goal at Aviary is to democratize creativity so that it’s available for everyone. After creating SDKs for iPhone and Android, the next natural step was to follow with the Windows Phone platform. We’re especially smitten with the new Nokia Lumia phones, which are aesthetically gorgeous and have great hardware (…did anyone say Carl Zeiss lenses?).

Given these latest devices and overall developer interest, we feel that the Windows Phone platform will be an increasingly appealing — and popular — choice for all you app developers looking to expand beyond the App Store and Android Marketplace, and Aviary for Windows Phone means you’ll be able to easily add photo editing to any apps you build for that platform, too!

A full release of the SDK should be ready by Q2 of this year. Can’t wait that long? You can get a sneak peek of the Aviary SDK for Windows Phone at Photo Hack Day 2, which is being held at General Assembly. The hackathon offers developers an opportunity to preview our SDK for Windows Phone, as well as the chance to build on the platform for cash and crazy prizes!

Says Bryan Biniak, Nokia’s VP of Global Partner and App Development:

“With the new Aviary SDK for Windows Phone 7, developers can create ground  breaking applications that take advantage of the unique features of Nokia Lumia devices, like the Lumia’s Carl Zeiss lens, as well as to port their existing imaging apps to millions of Nokia Windows Phones around the world.  We’re proud to support Aviary as the headline sponsor of the Aviary Photo Hack Day event and look forward to promoting the winning apps created by talented Windows Phone developers attending the Photo Hack Day event in New York City.”

Hope to see you February 25!

Posted in Windows Phone 7 | 3 Comments

Meet the Office Dogs

Posted on February 6, 2012 by Erin

One of the best parts of working at Aviary is the fact that we boast a dog-friendly office. (Jealous?) That’s right, our CEO has given us the green light to bring our four-legged friends to hang out with us at Aviary HQ. It just so happens that every single member of the biz dev team is the proud owner of an awesome dog, and we’ve been featured in Betabeat’s “The Real Startup Dogs of Silicon Alley” for it.

In the spirit of celebrating man’s best friend (also known as our four office dogs), we’re dedicating today’s blog post to Pubby, Harry, Scout, and Kiki. Better yet, we’re using their handsome selves as canvases for Aviary’s editing tools! (What better excuse to play with our filters and stickers than puppies?!)

Looks like we’re not the only people interested in having editing functionality to make our dogs look awesome: our friends at Dogsly have integrated Aviary’s tools, and The Next Web called the iOS app “an absolute must have” for dog owners.

Without further ado, meet our office dogs!

Pubby
Owner: Nam
Breed: Shih-Tzu
Age: 5 1/2
Claim to fame: YouTube stardom. Pubby’s like a furry Macaulay Culkin, but age has been kinder to him.
Favorite Aviary memory: Being treated like a king during his many visits to the office (all Aviary employees are his serfs, and pay taxes in the form of adoration, praise, and being on-call for belly rubs.) Want to know more? Check out Pubby.info to see what he’s up to these days.


Harry
Owner: Paul
Breed: Cavalier King Charles Spaniel
Age: 1 1/2
Claim to fame: Paul’s other dog is named William. Just like the royal princes (get it?) — but even cuter. (To the skeptics, yes, it is quite possible.)
Favorite Aviary memory: Lying in Nam’s lap and sleeping, all day long. Being photographed next to Aviary’s Startup Bball trophy. Being fawned over by everyone for doing irresistible things like blinking and looking cute.

Scout
Owner: Erin
Breed: Miniature Schnauzer
Age: 10 months
Claim to fame: Being the bounciest, happiest Schnauzer puppy that anyone has seen. Also, being the dog who took the longest to understand that the office glass walls were glass.
Favorite Aviary memory: It’s a toss-up between eating the whiteboard eraser or scavenging for food in the Aviary “lawn” (read: big green carpet) — but hey, it’s free vacuuming for the office!


Kiki
Owner: Alex
Breed: Cockapoo
Age: 10
Claim to fame: For being the most fashionable dog in the office; Kiki sported a fantastic silver jacket at the NYC Startup and Dog Enthusiasts Meetup. Clearly, this chic lady is light years ahead of her compatriots when it comes to accoutrements.
Favorite Aviary memory: Being the first office dog to claim the Aviary “lawn” (read: green carpet) as her own… and yes, you know what we mean.

Since we can’t agree on who’s cutest, what do you guys think? Be forewarned: your answers will likely spark some lively crap-talking among the Aviary biz dev team!

Posted in Fun! | 3 Comments

New Feature Alert: One-click Enhance!

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Erin

It may be a new year, and we may all have a laundry list of things we’d like to do differently (resolutions: to keep or not to keep, that is the question!), but simplicity and ease of use is something that Aviary is steadfastly sticking to.

One of the features we’re most excited about is our collection of Enhance tools, which are one-click fixes to the most common problems ailing photographers. Our algorithms detect a range of elements that cause your images to be visually awry. We have four tools in total, and while they can’t retroactively create perfect conditions, the improvements are pretty darn significant.

AUTO: Our auto feature is a simple but incredibly effective edit that works with all photos — think of it as a “one-tool-fixes-all” approach to editing. Depending upon the quality of the photo, the results can range from subtle to drastic, but there’s a clear difference between the “before” and “after”.


NIGHT: Darkness is no match for our night enhance tool. We know some of your favorite memories come from evening get-togethers, concerts, and the like; while the dark threatens to hide features and detail, we also know how annoying it is when flash overexposes them into obscurity. Take a gander at how we can help!


BACKLIT: One of the most common (and most commonly neglected) rules in photography is to seek proper lighting. Backlighting is when the lighting of your photograph is behind your subject, rather than in front. While it’s great for silhouettes (and when done properly, can result in awesome effects), it’s not exactly ideal — backlighting casts an inconvenient shadow that falls over facial features. That’s where our backlight feature makes itself useful. Observe:


BALANCE: Our balance tool works wonders for color correction. For those of you who shoot indoors and are forced to deal with awful indoor lighting (too fluorescent? too yellow?), this will quickly become your favorite. I’ve corrected many a dinner table photo with it, and it’s probably my most-used of the bunch.


We hope you find Aviary’s suite of enhance tools equally useful. Don’t forget, these features are only available in Version 2.0 of our new, improved editor!

We would love to see how you improve your photos — send us an email with your “before” and “after” images to contact [at] aviary [dot] com, and we’ll pick a few to feature on our blog.

Posted in Android, iOS, New features, Web widget | 3 Comments

How Team Aviary uses our editor

Posted on January 24, 2012 by Erin

Dear readers and friends,

First off: a much overdue Happy New Year to all of you!

In the spirit of starting anew, we’re unrolling some changes at Aviary (and based upon our new editor, they’re pretty darn nice); our approach to content and community is no different.

Over the course of the new few weeks, we’ll start introducing you to the members of the team and giving you glimpses of the process behind the product. Plenty of users are familiar with Aviary’s editor (in fact, you guys edited over ten million photos this past month), but we have a sneaky suspicion that you may not know much about the awesome people who built it. This year, we’d like to get to know you — and we’d like you to get to know us.

It goes without saying that having a team enamored with the product they build is generally a good sign. A significant portion of the work that we do requires us to know our tool inside and out; naturally, we spend a lot of time using it.

I’ve asked Maya and Nam, two awesome members of our equally awesome team and the infamous duo behind Aviary’s own Namaya Party Plannin‘, to explain the process behind their recent edits (unsurprisingly, their iPhones are essentially a fifth appendage). Both of them have pets that we feature regularly on Aviary; Maya’s cat, Ethan, has graced the pages of FastCompany, and Nam’s dog, Pubby, was a YouTube sensation.

Maya’s photos

“I really think Ethan looks like a handsome little cat model. I used our blemish tool to blur out the area around him and hide the shoe box on top of him. I also slapped his name on there – he’s named after a character in one of my all-time favorite movies, Slackers – and added the Ventura effect so you can see his cute little ears.

Nam’s (obviously) a photogenic guy, so I didn’t need to do much. I added one of my favorite Aviary effects, Aqua, to give him a nice vintage feel and make the door look a little scarier. That door leads to the terrifying rusty chain that holds up our elevator, and since the ‘Danger’ sign on the door got blown out by the sun I added it back in so Nam remembers to be careful next time he’s up there.”

 

Nam’s photos

“Pubby, an angel-like creature, is one of my most treasured investments. With a perfect coat, impeccable paws, and a delightful jaw, it’s almost impossible to enhance any photo of him.

BELIEVE IT OR NOT, I DID. Using auto-enhance, I was able to level out the colors (my bedroom has poor lighting!) and brighten up his little face (OMG CUTE RIGHT?). Step 2. Effects! I chose our Strato effect because I love the subtle retro feel it gives, not to mention it pearls up Pubby’s googly eyes! Also, the timestamp on the corner means I’ll never forget this moment!

OH I DID THE SAME THING TO MAYA TOO, but with the Singe effect! Is she from the 70′s now?? I don’t know! I think so!”

 

We always welcome suggestions for topics you’d like to read about, so feel free to share your ideas. You can also ask us anything! (Some questions that have floated our way: What nail polish is Maya wearing? What does your office look like? Can we see more pictures of Pubby?)

Here’s a common one: Where can I edit my own photos?

Answer: Aviary’s brand spankin’ new Facebook app!

‘Til next time, stay awesome.

Posted in Fun! | 1 Comment

Introducing Aviary for Facebook

Posted on January 23, 2012 by Nam

Today, we’re launching Aviary for Facebook - an app which lets you use our popular simple photo editor without having to leave the page. You can edit your existing Facebook photos with just a few clicks, or you can upload a new photo from your desktop and save it to Facebook in seconds.

Our editor includes 10 gorgeous photo effects, 20 infinitely reusable stickers, and 10 single-click image editing tools that will let you fix your photos quickly and effectively. Oh, and did we mention that it’s free?

Try Aviary for Facebook now!

 

A note for Picnik users

If you’ve ever edited a photo online with Google’s Picnik service, you may have received a message this weekend with the news that Picnik is closing this April. We’re sad to see them go because they were doing some great things, and we know that a lot of people have relied on Picnik for a long time for their online editing. We also couldn’t help noticing the mood across twitter:

 

We’re here to tell you that we hear you, we understand your pain, and we promise that you won’t have to give up the convenience of editing your photos online. In fact, we hope that our integration with Facebook will make Aviary an even more convenient solution for you!

We know that your very first question is going to be how this experience will compare to Picnik. The short answer is that we already offer most of the features you know and love. The slightly longer answer is that we’re releasing updates all the time – with performance improvements, fancy new tools, and tons of effects and stickers – and that we’d love to hear from you what else we can do to help.

Feel free to comment here, email us at support@aviary.com, or submit your ideas through our feedback page.

  • What did you like best about Picnik that you’d love to see us implement?
  • What did you always wish you could have but that Picnik never built?

If you’re one of Picnik’s more advanced users – that is, you relied on Picnik for more detailed or complex editing – you may also want to check out our advanced image editor (Phoenix). It’s totally free, it’s completely browser-based so there’s nothing to download or install, and it includes a ton of advanced functionality if you’re looking to do more than just quick edits on your photos.

Ready to get started? Try Aviary for Facebook now!

Picnik Partners and Developers

If you’re a developer who’s been using Picnik for photo editing on your site, we’ve got you covered too! You can embed our editor on your site with just a few lines of code, and your users can get all their editing done without going anywhere! You can find everything you need at aviary.com.

Posted in Facebook app, Web widget | 28 Comments

Introducing Version 2 of the Aviary Editor

Posted on January 17, 2012 by Nam

It’s only been 4 months since we first introduced the Aviary Mobile SDK, and a lot (of awesome stuff) has happened since then. We’ve partnered with some of the top apps in the market, and are now editing over 10 million photos a month on mobile alone!

We were as eager as you to release an update to the editor (for both web and mobile), which not only showcases a beautiful new design but also improves every single one of the tools! You heard right. Introducing: Version 2 of the embeddable Aviary photo editor.

 

What’s new:

Functionality has been improved across all tools. The speed of each tool has been noticeably increased, and the UI has been improved based on the feedback we’ve received from our partners and users.

One-touch auto enhance tools: Need to touch up a photo, but out of time? No problem. With our range of magical enhancing tools for everything from nighttime to backlit photos, you can fix any photo in a matter of seconds.

 

New, improved effects. Our dedicated imagineer perfected a set of 10 beautiful effects which will add some extra flavor to any image. As a bonus, our new effects are fast as lightning and come with some gorgeous new borders.

 

Brand-new, unique dials (mobile) for adjusting brightness, contrast, saturation, and more. Drawing and text sliders (both web and mobile) have been updated as well. So much more fun than a standard slider! Plus, we’ve thrown in some thrilling tactile feedback to the dials in our Android SDK that we’re sure will make you smile.

 

New Stickers! A whimsical set of various accessories that will dress up any picture. Just to make sure they’re of the highest quality, we did some extensive testing on photos of Ryan Gosling – and he looked great.

 

A completely new, stylish design. Since we’re out to power third party apps, we needed a design that would blend seamlessly with any website or app – but still pop as a beautiful editor. Our base colors are subtle silver and black, with a customizable accent color to tie the editor in with your own application.

 

Minimal Branding. We know you want to slap the Aviary logo on every part of your app… but in the interest of not confusing your users, we’ve removed the branding from the top and moved a much smaller version of our logo at the bottom of the editor. If your users are curious about the editor, they can swipe to the last page for a quick explanation and then get back to the important stuff: editing their photo.

In addition, we’ve made a ton of other improvements based on feedback from our partners and users, including a complete overhaul of the crop tool (grid lines and the presets you asked for), zoom functionality for fine-tuning, and much more.

High-Resolution Output 

Version 2 of our platform supports high-resolution photo editing across all platforms. This feature is currently being rolled out to select partners on mobile, but if you’d like early access, shoot us an email at partners@aviary.com.

High -Resolution for web is currently available and ready. To see documentation, please visit www.aviary.com/web-documentation

Compatibility

  • Android: Starting from Android 2.2  (version 8 and above)
  • iOS: iOS 4+ (3GS and newer) and iPad 1 & 2
  • Web: all major browsers (Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Internet Explorer 7+) and all devices (computers, tablets, smartphones) that support JavaScript and either HTML5 or Flash.

 

Where can I play with the new editor?!

Mobile:

Our partners will be rolling out Version 2 over the coming weeks as they update their apps. Big Blue Clip has already added version 2 of the iOS SDk to their app Pic Stitch, and is currently in the process of being approved to the app store. It should be available in the next minute/hour/day (depending on how fast the approval process is)

Download PicStitch now for iOS (and update when it’s available).

 Web

Visit Aviary.com and click “Try the web demo.”

Monetization 

We’ll be looking to monetize by offering premium content on top of photos, and allowing our partners to turn on/off that option within the Mobile SDK. For instance, if a partner decides they want to enable in-app purchasing via our SDK, they can start selling content without managing, supplying, or supporting anything. We take care of all the work, and do a standard rev share with the participating partner.

The idea here is to help our partners generate an additional revenue stream without lifting a finger. We see it as a win-win for both parties.

We’ve been piloting custom SDK’s with built in monetization on iOS and Android for the past 2 months. Working with select partners, we’ve seen promising data, and are excited to announce that a public build will be available for anyone to implement in 2-3 weeks.

What is/will be purchasable through the SDK?

  • Premium effects packs
  • Original sticker packs (Holiday, Seasonal, Themed)
  • Branded sticker packs (We’ll be working with specific brands to distribute their content through our SDK)

Please send all inquiries to partners@aviary.com

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests, please visit aviary.com/contact-us, or visit aviary.com/api for documentation on how to get started.

Posted in Android, iOS, New features, Web widget | 15 Comments

Protected: Introducing Version 2 of the Aviary Editor PRESS

Posted on January 11, 2012 by Nam

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