It was a shot in the dark.
Traveling during Christmas break, OVS junior Savannah Moler noticed the variety of Snapchat geofilters that were available in different cities and wondered why Ojai didn’t have one of its own.
After a quick Internet investigation, she discovered that anyone could make a geofilter for Snapchat, a photo-messaging app that allows users to send photos, videos, and texts for a few seconds before they vanish.
The rules are simple: choose your geographic area, create and submit a one-of-a-kind sticker to be overlaid on your Snapchat, and wait while the Snapchat team looks over your work.
Using her self-taught Photoshop skills Savannah put together a geofilter that portrays a smiling sun against an electric blue cloud, with the name Ojai stamped at the center.
She submitted it after returning from holiday break and in about a month the Snapchat team had given her creation a green light and pronounced it ready for use.
“It was really fun planning out what the design should be. I wanted something that could represent the great things about Ojai,” said Savannah, whose image has now graced hundreds, perhaps even thousands of Ojai Snapchats.
“I was so amazed because I didn’t think it would actually happen,” Savannah added. “It took me awhile to accept that my design was being used by all of my friends in Ojai.”
Geofilters are an amusing way to share where you are with other Snapchat users. Unique designs change from place-to-place depending on your location.
At first there were only about 800 filters worldwide, solely created by Snapchat headquarters. Now that Snapchat has opened up its doors for artists, there are hundreds of thousands of geofilters.
For example, Disneyland has several geofilters. One of them portrays the classic Disneyland logo with a Mickey Mouse hat hanging off of it. Under the royal blue lettering it says, “Show Your Disney Side” in stark white.
Santa Monica’s filter features its renowned boardwalk, while Venice Beach has the cities name wedged between two palm trees.
A user tweeted in the first artist-created geofilter. Snapchat creator, Evan Spiegel saw the tweet and said, “Draw one up and we’ll put it up.”
The user quickly sketched what is now the official Paris geofilter—the cities name in pink and orange with an Eiffel tower instead of the “A” and a heart dotting the “I.”
Ojai Valley School’s Savannah Moler is now up in the ranks of Snapchat artists who have put their city on the Snapchat map.
“I wanted the sticker for Ojai to be somewhat cute, because the people who come to visit Ojai think of it as a cute little town,” said Savannah.
Her geofilter has been all the rage with Ojai’s Snapchat users.
“I am impressed and proud that our own Savannah Moler took the initiative to design a geofilter for all of the Ojai Valley to enjoy,” said Ojai Valley School senior Claire Wickenhaeuser, and avid Snapchat user.
Ojai resident Elizabeth Boggs, who graduated last year from Villanova Preparatory School and now attends Ventura College, was scrolling through Snapchat stories last month when she stumbled across the new Ojai logo. She’s thrilled about the new geofilter for Ojai.
“I think it’s cool because it puts Ojai on the map and gives it relevance,” she said.
Savannah’s not done yet.
When she learned a geofilter could be made for a school, her creative wheels started to grind. Perhaps in the next few months Ojai Valley School should be expecting its very own filter.
“I definitely want to make one for the school,” she said. “It doesn’t hurt to submit it and try.”