MEMEX
I made a tool to collect visual inspiration
I created MEMEX as a tool to gather design inspiration. For years, I had used tools like Pinterest or standalone macOS apps to gather inspiration, but they were either too complex, too basic, too expensive; the list goes on.
I wanted something where I could drop images into a folder and see them in a browser. When I discovered PHP had a simple method to support this, MEMEX was born. Under the hood, a snippet of PHP looks for any image in a folder and renders it on the page. Simple!
Design Index · View the project · GitHub repo
I run a local version of the site that’s always up-to-date (and speedy). I also maintain a public version so I can browse for inspiration when I’m away from home.
Since creating MEMEX in 2018, I’ve regularly refined it. I’ve restructured the nav several times, randomized the image rendering, added an inbox, and more. I’ve added a few LLM-assisted features, like displaying image counts for each page, and created index pages that render images from all the subdirectories for my largest categories, visual design and web design.
If you’re curious about the design and tooling, there’s a colophon. And I keep a changelog to track how the site is evolving. The source code is available on GitHub and there’s even a boilerplate version if you want to roll your own version.
Tools used
- Figma for design explorations. (pro plan)
- PHP for the core functionality. (free)
- VS Code for coding. (free)
- GitHub for hosting the code. (free)
- Digital Ocean for serving the site. ($12/month)