30 comments

  • Samuel ZellerSamuel Zeller, 6 years ago

    This is great, but as a heavy Unsplash contributor there's one thing bothering me: credits. The current Unsplash website encourages people that download images to properly credit the photographer. It looks like your app doesn't.

    7 points
    • , 6 years ago

      Thanks for writing in! I'm a contributor as well. There's a link inside the app that bring user directly to Unsplash's License page. Is there something specific in Unsplash website that encourage credit? I'm open to hear your idea on how to improve this in Coaster for the next round on updates.

      0 points
      • Samuel ZellerSamuel Zeller, 6 years ago

        Yes, when you download a picture this appears at the bottom of the screen: https://i.imgur.com/6KEFvjZ.png as a result I get a lot more people tweeting and sharing on FB about my work. By the way you should also share this Coaster app in the Unsplash Slack :)

        1 point
        • , 6 years ago

          Ah I see. That's definitely something we should do! Thanks for your input. Will add this into the todo list :)

          2 points
  • , 6 years ago

    Hey everyone! Just wanted to share a project I've been working on for the past several weeks. Coaster aims to make it easier to search for Unsplash photos on Mac. It was built with designers' workflow in mind. I can quickly search for something specific and use them directly in my mockups and high-fidelity designs - either as final design assets or even as mock data for design presentations.

    I personally enjoy the ability to just drag and drop photos into Sketch, because sometimes I don't really need the HD version. I hope you give Coaster a shot, and feel free to share your feedbacks!

    6 points
  • Cristian MoiseiCristian Moisei, 6 years ago

    This looks good, useful and cheap enough. But are you confident you can compete with the also good, also useful, free and not requiring an app to be installed and maintained original web version?

    For me, the browser version has a few advantages also: you can open multiple tabs, you can search other services and compare the images, you can check your history, and you do it right from the browser where you have your other tabs, not needing to constantly switch to an app.

    Don't get me wrong, this project is great work, I am trying to analyse things from the point of view of the user base you are going after.

    3 points
    • , 6 years ago

      Thank you for your feedback! I agree with you regarding the ability to open multiple tabs, and search other services. If that's your typical workflow when dealing with the process of looking for good stock photos, I'm afraid Coaster can't beat that, for now :D

      For me, personally, I only always go to Unsplash for free photos. And compare to their website, I can't quickly copy or drag photos from their website, to quickly use it in other app, like Sketch. You can do that in Coaster, without having to download the HD files all the time. It's like a process for u to see if that photo fits, before finally downloading it. There's few other small features on Coaster, like set the photo as your wallpaper. I'd suggest you to watch the video :)

      That being said, there's more features coming soon that might increase your productivity when dealing with this process, but that's for later.

      2 points
  • Cole RobertsCole Roberts, 6 years ago

    This looks great! Out of curiosity is this an Electron app?

    1 point
    • Norm Sheeran, 6 years ago

      Looks native to me, the fact it's Mac only could mean it's been developed using native Mac technologies.

      0 points
      • Cole RobertsCole Roberts, 6 years ago

        Indeed but I would still like an answer from the developer.

        Is there a plan to launch Coaster for Windows or Linux? There is no plan for that yet. Although it is technically not difficult to do it, we've decided to focus on the Mac version for the time being.

        Edit: I found this on the FAQ section of the website. This leads me to believe that it's likely an Electron app. I don't have anything against Electron and am merely asking out of curiosity.

        0 points
        • , 6 years ago

          You're right! I'm using Electron for this. The main reason there's no Window/Linux version is because this project is a one-man show, and I don't have any Windows/Linux machine laying around

          0 points
  • Aaron Wears Many HatsAaron Wears Many Hats, 6 years ago

    I can't see any benefit for using this I'm afraid (Even after reading your comment). However I do agree that it's a very slick looking app you've built.

    I wonder though, does creating an aggregating service like this conflict with their terms of service? Specifically "this license does not include the right to compile photos from Unsplash to replicate a similar or competing service." ... By charging for your app you might be stepping on toes, as you're effectively offering a competing service for the same content. I'm no lawyer though.

    1 point
    • , 6 years ago

      Thank you! Coaster is actually using Unsplash official API. No scraping, no aggregating. There's a review process by Unsplash to obtain production API limit, and Coaster has been approved (hence the launch).

      4 points
  • Zaki SallehZaki Salleh, 6 years ago

    Awesome stuff, man. Super nice and polished!

    1 point
  • Nurul Izwan Dahlan, 6 years ago

    Congratulations Gad! Just curious, why did you choose 'Coaster' as the app name?

    0 points
    • , 6 years ago

      Thanks! I wish I have a clever and interesting answer about the Coaster name. Unfortunately, I don't. I only decided on the name after several weeks in. I know I want something that starts with a "C". Other options are cruiser, castor, cover, cataly and catalog (almost decided to use this) :D

      1 point
      • Nurul Izwan Dahlan, 6 years ago

        I see. Catalog is a good name but I'm sure you already did branding/name search before release it to public. So sad with what happened to Interface font family. Anyway, good luck!

        0 points
  • Sean HillSean Hill, 6 years ago

    I've purchased. As others have mentioned, it's very slick. Feels nice to use. I have a feature request though. 'Quick look' - when I have a photo highlighted, it would be great to tap the spacebar and see a bigger view of the photo. Doesn't have to be full res, and I wouldn't want it to disrupt the flow of browsing, but to get a better view would be great.

    0 points
    • , 6 years ago

      Thanks for the purchase! I appreciate your kind words :) This is not mentioned anywhere in the website or the app, but there's already a quick look feature. Click on a photo, then tap on your spacebar. You'll get a bigger view! (if it's not working for you, then it's a bug T_T) I have ideas to make this better (similar to Finder's quick look), but that's not high in my priority list right now

      1 point
      • Sean HillSean Hill, 6 years ago

        I'll check when at my mac later, don't remember it happening, but them I might not have actually tried!

        0 points
  • Account deleted 6 years ago

    That looks really nice and looks like its a tiny bit easier to use than unsplash. Will buy it.

    0 points
  • Rhys MerrittRhys Merritt, 6 years ago

    I'm not entirely certain I'll find this as useful as just going direct to the Unsplash website - but for only $2.99 I'm absolutely willing to give it a shot!

    Regardless of whether it will make my life easier, you've created something that looks great, and you have priced it low enough to allow people like me to 'give it a go' without much thought. Well done

    0 points
    • , 6 years ago

      Thank you for the kind words! Would love to hear from you again soon to see if it changed your opinion (or not). Do reach out to me personally on twitter at @gaddafirusli if you have feedbacks and suggestions :)

      0 points