Raise your hand if you’ve wasted a half hour in the cards aisle at CVS looking for the perfect happy birthday card. This one is too cutesy; that one is too weepy; that one is too naughty. This one is for a four-year-old; that one’s for an elder. None are quite right for the people you love—because the people you love are real and unique.
You need an authentic card that speaks to their distinct personalities and reflects the truth of their experience. That testifies to the memories you’ve made together—and the good times you’ll share in the coming years. Here are five ways you can use the Biograph app to create a perfect birthday card:
1. A Story is a Gift
Too often a birthday card is an accessory. You open it, smile politely, then tear off the wrapping paper on your real gift. Biograph encourages you to think of stories as gifts in themselves—and cards as meaningful presents you gift those you love. We help you tell those stories, either individually or as part of a group.
2. Focus on the Small Stuff
It’s hard to sum up how you feel about someone you love in a brief birthday message. So, don’t. You’ll craft a better message if you focus on the details: inside jokes, small memories only you and the person you love share. Biograph helps you think small so you can dream big and write a birthday card that communicates how you really feel.
3. Pictures + Words = Magic
Biograph pairs visuals with spoken words. You upload a picture to the app, then tell a story about it—with our guides inspiring your reflections. Upload your favorite photo of the birthday girl and explain why you love it. Your birthday card will be personal, sweet, and meaningful—much better than a store-bought cliché.
4. Gather stories
Biograph makes it easy for people to tell stories together—even if they’re scattered across the world. You can package those stories and send them to someone who matters to you. Open the app and have the kids describe their favorite memory of Grandma—then send her an easy-to-read audiovisual artifact on her birthday. Traditional cards don’t often outlast their immediate occasion but Biograph birthday cards are instant heirlooms, foundations for an ongoing intergenerational conversation preserved on record.
5. Stop Writer’s Block
Biograph encourages you to reflect on your life in small doses. We create automatic transcripts of all your sessions. If you’re rushing to compose a birthday card at the last minute, you can easily search your archive for the birthday boy or girl’s name—and find all the stories you’ve told about them. You can present these stories as they are or build upon them with new context and fresh anecdotes. Even if it’s your first time opening the app, you can take or import a photo, record a 60-second message, invite family members to add their own 60-second record to the photo, and voila!—you have the greatest birthday card of all time. You can share a virtual audiovisual card or print the photo and accompanying text. No more hounding your siblings on the way to dinner to scribble another cliché in a sad Hallmark template. And no more writer’s block: the tools you need to create a memorable birthday message are already at your fingertips—and on the tip of your tongue.
Photo by Victoria Rodriguez on Unsplash
