Turning a simple idea into a digital platform for creative exploration, photography, and community.

That’s So Random is a self-founded digital platform built around a simple idea: sometimes creativity benefits from not knowing what comes next.

The project began as a conversation between Adam Romanowski, aka Hello Roman, and me. We wanted to explore whether randomness could be used to encourage photographers to leave their routines, explore their surroundings, and approach photography differently.

What started as a loose idea for a photography randomizer gradually evolved into something much broader.

I took the initial concept and developed it into a fully defined digital product, mapping its functionality, user flows, feature ecosystem, interaction logic, and long-term product direction.

Today, That’s So Random is being developed as a platform combining creative tools, gamification, photography challenges, community, and real-world experiences.

FROM AN IDEA TO A PRODUCT

The original idea was deliberately simple.

What if photographers could use a tool that randomly generated something for them to photograph?

The intention wasn't to create another source of inspiration or another photography feed. It was to introduce an element of controlled uncertainty into the creative process.

Instead of deciding what to photograph before leaving the house, the photographer could let the platform decide.

A subject.

A theme.

A constraint.

A combination of parameters.

Something unexpected.

The more I explored the idea, the more apparent it became that the randomizer itself was only one part of a potentially much larger experience.

I began mapping out how the system could work, what other functionality could build on top of it, and how the different experiences could connect.

The product started to take shape.

DEFINING THE PRODUCT

My primary contribution has been taking the project from conversation to product definition.

Rather than jumping directly into designing individual screens, I worked through the product at a systems level.

I defined:

• What the platform should fundamentally do
• Who it should serve
• What problems it should solve
• How users should move through the experience
• How individual features should interact
• Which mechanics could create recurring engagement
• How the platform could evolve over time
• What should be built first
• What could become future opportunities

This meant translating abstract concepts into specific product functionality.

I mapped user journeys, defined feature relationships, developed the logic behind the randomization system, explored different engagement mechanics, and gradually established the architecture of a broader platform.

The role was less about designing a collection of screens and more about answering a fundamental product question:

What does this product need to become for the original idea to create meaningful, repeatable value?

EXPANDING THE CORE MECHANIC

The randomizer became the foundation for exploring a larger product ecosystem.

One of the first opportunities was allowing users to go beyond predefined prompts.

Instead of simply receiving a random challenge, users could eventually define their own parameters and use the system to generate personalized photography challenges.

This introduced a greater degree of flexibility while maintaining the central product mechanic: using randomness as a creative constraint.

From there, I explored how the same underlying logic could power something more engaging.

That led to the concept of Photography Games.

PHOTOGRAPHY AS A GAME

I expanded the randomization system into a game-generation mechanic designed specifically around photography.

Instead of generating a single prompt, the system could combine different parameters into structured challenges.

The objective was not to turn photography into a competitive game for its own sake.

It was to make creative practice more engaging.

The product principle became:

If we want people to practice their craft more often, the practice itself should be enjoyable.

This shifted the product from being a simple utility into something that could potentially create a recurring behavior.

Generate a challenge → go out and shoot → complete the challenge → share the result → discover something new → play again.

That loop became an important part of the broader product direction.

FROM INDIVIDUAL PRACTICE TO COMMUNITY

The next question was what happens when the experience moves beyond an individual photographer.

Photography is inherently capable of bringing people together, particularly through shared creative challenges.

Adam's experience as a photography enthusiast and his understanding of community building became particularly valuable here.

We began exploring how the platform could help photographers connect locally and create shared experiences around photography.

This led to the concept of Photo Walks.

Photographers could discover or organize local walks built around specific themes, prompts, or challenges.

Rather than simply telling someone what to photograph, the platform could give them a reason to go somewhere, meet people, and create together.

This introduced an entirely new dimension to the product.

THE PLATFORM

The product gradually evolved into a set of interconnected experiences rather than a single feature.

Creative Randomization

The original foundation of the platform.

Photographers can use randomized parameters to introduce unexpected constraints into their creative process and generate new shooting ideas.

Photography Games

A more structured evolution of the randomization mechanic, turning combinations of photographic parameters into challenges and games.

Photo Walks

A community layer designed around real-world photography experiences, allowing photographers to discover, organize, and participate in local creative sessions.

Sharing

A way for photographers to share the work created through challenges and photo walks, creating a feedback loop between participation and discovery.

Community

The broader layer connecting photographers through shared interests, creative activities, local experiences, and photography itself.

Together, these capabilities create a product ecosystem built around a simple behavioral loop:

Get inspired → take on a challenge → go outside → create → connect → share → discover → do it again.

MY CONTRIBUTION

As Co-Founder and Product Lead, I am responsible for turning the original concept into a structured product and defining how that product should work.

My work spans the product lifecycle, including:

Product Strategy
Defining the product vision, opportunity, positioning, and long-term direction.

Product Definition
Turning high-level ideas into concrete features, functionality, systems, and product requirements.

User Experience
Mapping user journeys, information architecture, interaction models, and the overall experience across the platform.

Product Mechanics
Defining the logic behind randomization, challenges, games, community interactions, and other core product systems.

Prioritization
Determining what belongs in the product, what should be developed first, and what should remain future opportunities.

Roadmap & Development Direction
Structuring the product into manageable stages and translating product requirements into development work.

Iteration
Continuously refining the product as new ideas, constraints, and opportunities emerge.

My role has essentially been to create the product blueprint that connects the original idea to a functioning digital platform.

A COMPLEMENTARY PARTNERSHIP

The project works because our contributions are complementary.

Adam and I developed the original concept together, but we approach the project from different perspectives.

Adam contributes primarily through development, helping turn the product definition into a functioning platform. His experience and enthusiasm as a photographer, combined with his understanding of community building, also provide an important perspective when considering how photographers might actually use and engage with the platform.

My focus is primarily on the product side: defining the opportunity, structuring the product, mapping the experience, establishing functionality, prioritizing development, and continuously shaping what the platform should become.

This creates a useful balance between product definition, technical execution, photography, and community thinking.

BUILDING WITHOUT A CLIENT BRIEF

That’s So Random is a self-funded passion project.

There is no client brief telling us what to build, no predefined feature list, and no external roadmap.

That makes it a particularly valuable product exercise for me.

I have had to apply product thinking from the earliest stage of the project:

Identify the opportunity → define the problem → explore the product space → structure the experience → establish the core mechanics → prioritize the roadmap → build → learn → iterate.

The product is being developed incrementally, allowing us to validate individual ideas before committing to the broader platform vision.

It also means constantly challenging our own assumptions.

Not every interesting idea deserves to become a feature.

Not every feature needs to exist immediately.

And a good product is not defined by how many things it can do, but by how effectively its different parts work together to create value.

THE PRODUCT VISION

The long-term vision is for That’s So Random to become a creative companion for photographers.

A product that doesn't simply help photographers find inspiration, but actively encourages them to do something with it.

To pick up a camera.

Leave the house.

Try something unfamiliar.

Meet another photographer.

Take part in a challenge.

Create something.

Share it.

And come back for another experience.

At its core, the platform is about using product mechanics to encourage creative behavior in the real world.

Randomness provides the spark.

Games provide structure.

Photography provides the craft.

Community provides the connection.

And real-world experiences turn the digital product into something tangible.

CURRENT STATUS

That’s So Random is currently in active development.

An early version of the product is already live, while the broader platform and its feature ecosystem continue to evolve.

The current version is only the beginning.

A more detailed case study covering the product discovery, definition, UX process, feature prioritization, product mechanics, technical development, and evolution of the platform will follow as the product progresses.

That’s So Random is a self-founded passion project and remains a work in progress. The product is still being developed, and the current experience represents an early stage of a much broader vision.

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