Sara Sanchez

El Paso Times

If you're in the Downtown El Paso area, you now have two new Snapchat geofilters when you snap selfies, videos and other fleeting bits of stories.

Viva + Impulse Creative Co., a local design and advertising agency, submitted two designs to the social media giant that were approved last week. The first filter, only available in San Jacinto Plaza, has a small image of the beloved Los Lagartos sculpture.

The second filter is available in the Downtown area and features a colorful rendering of the Downtown El Paso skyline.

"We looked at the El Paso filters already on Snapchat, and they’re just general to the whole city. So we thought it would be awesome that it would be specific to a certain area," said Lisa Chavira, a visual designer at Viva + Impulse, who designed the two new filters.

If you're confused about Snapchat, ask for help from a teen. Although almost everything from the messaging app disappears within seconds, it still boasts millions of daily users.

"We use it a lot, consistently, and right now it’s been around for a while. It’s growing very quickly now as a storytelling platform," Chavira said.

Chavira said the design process for the filters didn't take too long — only a couple of days to design and refine. But she said what took longer was waiting to get the designs approved by Snapchat. She said Viva + Impulse submitted both designs more than once before they were finally submitted. The San Jacinto Plaza filter was approved last week, and the Downtown skyline one was approved Thursday night. Snapchat has a set of submission guidelines that must be met before a geofilter can be made available. But the results are worth it.

Now, among the standard El Paso filters, these are the two newest and most colorful additions.

Chavira said the design inspiration for the filters came from the liveliness and culture of Downtown El Paso, as well as the unique architecture found throughout Downtown.

"These buildings have this amazing architecture," said Chavira, who was born and raised in El Paso. "People appreciate the architecture so much, and we wanted to recognize the growth and progress in the city."

Though there are currently no other geofilters for specific El Paso neighborhoods, Chavira said they're coming up with more ideas.

"It’s cool, I think, to recognize those certain areas. It’s good to recognize that," she said.

Sara Sanchez can be reached at 546-6147; ssanchez@elpasotimes.com; @siempresarita on Twitter.