Shiuli is an alt-text generation app that makes images accessible. The web is built on images, but many of them lack descriptions. For screen reader users, an image without alt-text is invisible content. Shiuli addresses this gap by making it simple to generate descriptive text for any image.
The app follows an action-centered design approach — rather than building a traditional app-first experience, Shiuli was built using AppIntents and AppEntities, creating a modular architecture that works across multiple platforms and interfaces.
Responsibilities: AI/UX Design, Accessibility Design, Visual Design, Brand Identity, Interaction Design, and Development.
Shiuli's workflow is straightforward: select an image, Shiuli generates an alt-text description, edit it if needed, then apply it. The app offers multiple access methods — Shortcuts, Visual Intelligence, and Action Extensions — allowing users to generate descriptions without ever opening the main app.
Shiuli exemplifies action-centered design — prioritizing the user's action over the interface. Instead of a traditional phone app, Shiuli was constructed using AppIntents and AppEntities, creating a modular architecture that supports multiple platforms and interfaces.
The app's primary action — generating alt-text — is an AppIntent. It takes an image as input and outputs an App Entity containing the image and its description. The same logic displays across Visual Intelligence, Shortcuts, and Share Extensions, with only the interface varying.
Shiuli's interface went through extensive testing and iteration. User feedback shaped the final product's appearance, functionality, and interaction patterns.
The Shiuli logo is designed to scale — from wordmark, to glyph, to a particle interaction. It delivers consistent brand identity across platforms.
The icon went through multiple iterations — from generic image representations to a geometric, symmetrical flower design. The final logo is geometrically balanced, clean, and minimalist.
Shiuli (pronounced She-ooh-lee) is the Hindi name for a night flowering Jasmine, also known as Coral Jasmine. For an image description tool, I wanted the name and icon to be evocative of the photos app, so that the connection between the two is clearly apparent.
Shiuli flowers grow both in Delhi and Berkeley — the two cities I've been fortunate enough to call home. If I am to name an app after a flower, it'd have to be Shiuli.
