nface is a fun user interface for people to create avatars a set of layered together parts like hair styles, outfits, expressions, accessories, as well as colours. It works like a simplified minimalist version of the Rinmaru dressup games, or the Nintendo Mii Maker 3DS app. Designers can create avatar templates using any software which can export SVG with layer names included. Raina uses the awesome Affinity Designer mac app for this, but tools like Inkscape should work well too.
Avatar designs are exported as a simple string format which can be transmitted much more compactly than an image file, and reconstituted remotely, avoiding the potential that users could transmit rude images. Designers can create multiple skins for apps, where each skin can restyle the avatars to create an unusual visual harmony between user avatars and the overall interface design. If templates are made with identical naming conventions, they are generic to each other and can be seamlessly switched out. Any specified parts not present in a template are silently skipped during rendering.
Considering social dynamic engineering, your users will have similar avatars which express a distinctive mood and personal style, but also share a deep similarity, which can help promote the sense that we are all people cut from the same cloth. We are more similar than we are different. There are no users who have a blank avatar, or have one of poor quality. There is no longer a distinction between people with very professional photos and people without that skill or financial privilege. Normalizing the use of anonymized avatars helps protect the privacy of vulnerable users by removing the social pressure to provide identifying photos.
Included with the project is a simple avatar set called "Future Punk" designed by Raina Batwing and released under the same CC0 Public Domain license as the rest of this software. Remix it, build on it, or just use it as is. No credit is needed, but no warranty is offered.
This project was partially inspired by the excellent anime "Durarara!!" which features a chat app where everyone's avatars match a consistent design language and serves as inspiration for this tool. The built in Future Punk avatar template is strongly influenced by the designs in Durarara.
--<3 Raina