4 weeks
AR
Mobile App
Mentor:
Shawn Sprockett
Ideation
UX Design
UI Design
Motion Design
Figma
AfterEffects
Photoshop
Rotato
Seeze is an AR-driven game I conceptualised as a self guided scavenger hunt to help people discover the world around them. The goal of the app is to facilitate deeper interactions and understanding between people and their environment. Through this project I wanted to push the boundaries of user-friendly interfaces and create something unique, engaging and effective.
In order to understand how existing players are using using technology to augment real-world experiences, I spent a lot of time (and space) on my phone, downloading, playing (and analysing) apps.
I looked at a variety of experiences - some travel related, while other had an interesting application of AR in their app. I went on to analyse the strengths and weaknesses of each app in order to help me while designing.
*If there's one thing you take from this case study - it's that you need to download and experience Pair Play for yourself.
Flashtag AR
By Dulomo LLC
01
Connecting People in New Ways
Everyone is familiar with the concept of laser tag, but who knew that you all you needed to play was your iPhone. The developers managed to think about the phone in a new way that provides for an extremely joyful experience.
01
Poor Marketing
I found this app only after doing deep research in the realm of AR apps. It is made by a small team of developers who may not have much budget for advertising. However, it is important for them to come up with some kind of strategy for more people to find out about it.
02
Haptic Feedback
Everytime you shoot, get shot, or die, there is some form of haptic feedback. This is particularly helpful because in the middle of an active game in low light, it becomes diffficult to keep track of text on the phone. Haptic and audio feedback provides for a more authentic and successful experience.
02
In Game Progress
While haptic and audio feedback does give you an indicator of how you are playing, there are other key points of data, such as ammo and health that are not highlighted clearly enough.
03
New Way of Seeing
This app uses the iPhone as a tool to help people complete their tasks. When in active game mode, the screen assists people by removing focus from uneccessary objects in the environment and highlights the other user’s points.
03
Success Feedback
Once a game is completed, the celebratory animation is underwhelming and doesn’t match the fidelity of the rest of the app. There could be more cohesion amongst the two.
ScavengAR
By Amped Labs
01
Emphasis on ‘Sharing’
Almost every key screen of the app has a share button. This allows for a frictionless experience for people when they want to share something with their friends.
01
Unclear Taxonomy
This app is unlike many of the others that people are used to. This means people may need some clear and simple indicators. However, the app is scattered with obscure and vague titles and labels that confuse the user rather than assist.
02
Leaderboard
By having a scoring mechanism, the app affords for some competition and builds a sense of community. This may act as a motivater for people to complete tasks faster.
02
Vague Cover Images
The cover image is one of the first touch points for the users to get people interested in an experience. In this app, the single image shared seems disconnected to the actual description of the experience.
03
Experience Details
Key details are shared about each experience with people. Length of experience, number of positive reviews, category tags and more. All these act help people make their choices.
03
Thrown into the Deep End
When apps introduce new concepts, either they need to make the experience extremely intuitive and clear, or they should have a quick and simple onboarding to help give people some context. This app does neither.
Flashtag AR
By Dulomo LLC
01
Connecting People in New Ways
Everyone is familiar with the concept of laser tag, but who knew that you all you needed to play was your iPhone. The developers managed to think about the phone in a new way that provides for an extremely joyful experience.
01
Poor Marketing
I found this app only after doing deep research in the realm of AR apps. It is made by a small team of developers who may not have much budget for advertising. However, it is important for them to come up with some kind of strategy for more people to find out about it.
02
Haptic Feedback
Everytime you shoot, get shot, or die, there is some form of haptic feedback. This is particularly helpful because in the middle of an active game in low light, it becomes diffficult to keep track of text on the phone. Haptic and audio feedback provides for a more authentic and successful experience.
02
In Game Progress
While haptic and audio feedback does give you an indicator of how you are playing, there are other key points of data, such as ammo and health that are not highlighted clearly enough.
03
New Way of Seeing
This app uses the iPhone as a tool to help people complete their tasks. When in active game mode, the screen assists people by removing focus from uneccessary objects in the environment and highlights the other user’s points.
03
Success Feedback
Once a game is completed, the celebratory animation is underwhelming and doesn’t match the fidelity of the rest of the app. There could be more cohesion amongst the two.
Map out Itineraries
Depending on the theme, highlight hidden gems to guide visitors to the best and most authentic experience possible.
Interactive Experience
Connect visitors to your destination’s history and culture through interactive education.
Empower Visitors
A self-guided experience that is ready 24/7. Visitors can enjoy at their own pace.
Drive Revenue
Use tasks to drive visitors to revenue generating opportunities like restaurants & local businesses.
Increased Visibility
Free marketing through photo challenges and social media post challenges
Increase Engagement
Make sure attendees are getting the most out of their experience at your event.
Increase Interaction
Create a fun way for attendees to interact with sponsors, the venue, and other attendees.
Direct Traffic
Drive attendees to specific locations during the course of your event.
Motivate Attendees
Gamification, through points, rewards, and leaderboards increasing participation.
Entertain Attendees
Complete challenges and get points - creating an experience attendees will love.
Increase Team Interaction
Encourage employees to collaborate with their co-workers to and build rapport.
Strengthen Culture & Values
Reinforce your company’s culture and keep everyone connected to your mission.
Connect Remote Teams
Help employees feel connected to your company using an app that can be accessed anywhere.
Foster Employee Development
Through programs designed around education, social, & cultural development objectives.
Evaluate Employee Behaviour
Understand employees with analytics on how they are interacting in the workplace.
Increase Engagement
Build student advocates and increase student retention and success.
Instill Campus Culture
Connect students to what makes your school unique- traditions, history, and local culture.
Highlight Campus Offerings
From best places to eat, to important events to attend and even campus safety.
Increase Social Interaction
Help students make friends and meet other students so that they don’t feel isolated.
Assess Programs
Understand and analyse student behavior, engagement levels & event participation with analytics.
Understanding Myself Better
It is extremely liberating to be able to create your own product without any constraints. This project was a defining moment for me in understanding my values as a designer more deeply - I am extremely passionate about trying to bridge the physical and digital.
Who Am I Leaving Out?
Having access to the internet and a smartphone is to be a in very privileged position. By incorporating certain features into my app, I am once again limiting the number of users who may be able to access it. In what ways can I adapt the experience to allow for people with different abilities to also have a great experience?
The Power of Storytelling
People love stories. It helps them feel invested and allows them to engage more deeply. It is not enough to put information on the app for people to read, rather, it is really valuable to carefully craft the narrative and take into consideration how each story relates to the next.
Focus on More Primary Research
This project was focused more on the concept and visual design of the app. While I conducted a fair amount of secondary research in the form of reading academic papers and conducting competitive analysis, it would be helpful to conduct some user interviews or tests to find out more about specific habits and pain points of users so that I may validate my assumptions.
Hello! I'd like to personally thank you for stopping by my little corner of the internet, I hope you enjoyed your stay. I thought it might look cool if I had some fine print here at the bottom of the page. Ok, bye. Isra Safawi © 2022
