Create an AI-Powered Emoji Quote Generator with Next.js & Gemini API

In this tutorial, we'll embark on an exciting project that seamlessly blends coding, creativity, and artificial intelligence. We'll be building an Emoji Quote Generator using Next.js and Google's Gemini API, perfect for social media enthusiasts. Discover how to leverage cutting-edge technologies to create a fun and engaging application.

Why an Emoji Quote Generator?

In today's social media-driven world, emojis have become a universal language, adding emotion and personality to our digital communication.

This project taps into that trend by allowing users to generate creative and shareable quotes based on their chosen emoji. Instead of endlessly searching on Google or Pinterest, users can get inspiration at their fingertips.

Imagine you're feeling happy and want to share something uplifting with your friends on social media. Instead of spending time searching for the right words, you can simply select a happy emoji and let the AI generate a quote that perfectly captures your mood. It is a quick and convenient application for social sharing.

Project Overview: Combining Tech for Creativity

This project combines several key technologies to create a dynamic and engaging user experience.

We'll be using Next.js for the frontend, handling user interaction and data display. The backend, built with Next.js API routes, will act as a bridge between the frontend and the Google Gemini API. Finally, Google's Gemini API will provide the AI Power to generate Relevant and inspiring quotes based on the selected emoji.

Here's a breakdown of the core technologies:

• Next.js: A React framework for building performant and scalable web applications. Its server-side rendering capabilities enhance SEO and provide a smooth user experience.
• Google Gemini API: A powerful AI model capable of generating creative and engaging content, including text, code, and more.
• Tailwind CSS: A utility-first CSS framework for styling your application with ease and consistency.

• Vercel: A platform for deploying and hosting web applications with seamless integration for Next.js projects. It offers free plans for hobby projects, making it ideal for this Tutorial.

  This project is perfect for developers Interested In AI, web apps, and Next.js. It provides a hands-on learning experience, allowing you to grasp the fundamentals of building full-stack applications with AI integration.

Understanding the App Architecture

The emoji quote generator will follow a three-tier architecture:

• Frontend (Next.js on Vercel): This is the user interface where users interact with the application. They select an emoji and trigger the quote generation process. It will consist of separate components for emojis selection and quotes to be displayed
• Backend (Next.js API Route): This acts as the intermediary between the frontend and the Gemini API. It receives the emoji selection from the frontend, sends a request to the Gemini API, and returns the generated quote.
• External Service (Google Gemini API): This is the AI model that generates the quote based on the provided emoji. It receives the request from the backend, processes it, and returns the generated content.

This architecture ensures a clean separation of concerns, making the application easier to maintain and Scale.

Github Repo

Access all of the content presented in this website and more from this Github

Set Up Your Development Environment

Before diving into the code, let's set up your development environment. You'll need the following:

• Node.js: Ensure you have Node.js version 18 or higher installed. You can verify your version by running node -v in your terminal.

  

• A Code Editor: Visual Studio Code (VS Code) is an excellent option with great support for JavaScript, React, and Next.js.

• A Google Account: You'll need a Google Account to access the Gemini API. With these tools in place, you're ready to begin building your Emoji Quote Generator! To get started with code in the following steps, please download it on github

Creating a New Next.js Project

To start, we will create a new Next.js project with the following steps:

1. Open your terminal and navigate to the directory where you want to create your project.
2. Run the following command to create a new Next.js project:

   npx create-next-app@latest emoji-quote-generator

Replace emoji-quote-generator with your preferred project name.

3. The command will ask you a series of question, make selection based on following questions

   • Would you like to use TypeScript? No
   • Would you like to use ESLint? Yes
   • Would you like to use Tailwind CSS? Yes
   • Would you like to use src/ directory? No
   • Would you like to use App Router? (recommended) Yes
   • Would you like to customize the default import alias? No

Installing Required Libraries

To install the libraries from Terminal, follow these steps:

1. Change directory into the project directory created earlier using the command cd emoji-quote-generator

2. Initialize a Git Repository to enable tracking changes in the project using git init command.

3. Install Tailwind CSS and its dependencies with the command: npm install -D tailwindcss postcss autoprefixer

4. Run the command npm install @google/generative-ai, this installs the google Generative AI library which allows to use the Gemini API

   

5. Install Lucide React with the command npm install lucide-react

6. If you want to make API request using axios, install axios using the command npm install axios. This is an optional step.

These libraries are required for Gemini AI Quote generator to work properly, please make sure all the installations are completed properly.

Deploy to Vercel

To deply the website on Vercel, follow these simple steps:

1. Install vercel CLI globally using the command npm install -g vercel

   

2. Deploy to vercel using the vercel --prod command

3. Deploy to Vercel by selecting 'Y' if prompted.

Google Gemini API

The central element of the Emoji Quote Generator is the incorporation of Google's Gemini API. In essence, we use the Gemini API to produce relevant and inspirational quotes based on the emoji that the user selects

Frontend

The frontend will consist of two different sections: emoji selection and quote displaying. The two section will be designed and developed using NextJS.

NextJS APIs

With NextJS, we can build API routes, which will be used to connect the front-end to the backend.