Chihuly Glass and Garden which is located at Space Needle park invites people to experience the glass artwork. Visitors enjoy spending time observing incredible glasswork by Dale Chihuly. The museum has uniquely installed its art pieces so visitors can cherish the indoor and outdoor experiences. This project inspires and educates people by providing updated technology experiences and comfortable interactions.
My research started from the Chihuly garden survey. I found some basic info online like what is the area of the museum, how much time required to complete the tour, what are popular artworks, etc But for detailed and circumstantial information, I interviewed their front desk employee.
It is not surprising that AR is being increasingly used in various industries. The graph represents worldwide AR glasses unit sales from 2019 to 2024(in million units) According to past sales, In 2021, they expected to sell around 100 k units/glasses. And around 500k until 2024. So AR glasses actively making their space in the market with bright, practical features.
The technology is actively and irrevocably shaping the future of how museum experiences will be presented and interacted with. And predictions show AR is only 10 years from mainstream adoption.
How might we enrich visitor’s experience when they interact with the museum environment?
Combining real and virtual worlds with real-time interaction allows people to rediscover the museum ‘walking around and learning’ experience immersive. I have designed the AR experience for Chihuly Glass and Garden that provides a distinctive experience by enlivens static objects created by curators through virtual contents.
While interviewing with the front desk employee, I discover all archetypes of age groups 18 to 50 are the most common visitors. Also, 60-70% of visitors are international.
The research helped to document this chart that focuses on all aspects that make the AR glass installation practical and feasible.
The prototype of the AR Experience onboarding system is depicted throughout the storyboard.
A reason behind using a hologram gradient. It uses the Human Visual Color system.
1. Mixing colors inside the gradient, provide more attention.
2. The gradient will avoid being blended with the user’s surroundings.
The device is designed to provide maximum comfort while touring. Its lightweight design and superb performance help to accomplish a variety of tasks. Its adjustable belts and extended nose pads are easily wearable even on regular glasses. The high-quality UV-protected glass optics to avoid sun rays or reflection in the outdoor experience. With a comfortable ergonomic design, it provides an intuitive interface.
We used Instagram insights to promote TERRA on a customer-rich platform for boosting brand visibility, high level of engagement, and effective visual marketing. Along with advertising posts, I designed TERRA AR filters by using design elements to set our brand apart from competitors. I used AR SPARK software for advanced customizations and controls of the face occluder and face mesh functions.
Home screen that involves all the core functions and provides ease of access. Button on the Top right works as a home and stays until you call the action.
Fully integrated wayfinding placement is noticeable in indoor and outdoor environment. This gradient imposed paths are designed by considering the weather effects.
This intriguing interactive feature ‘Things around me’ shows the names of artwork around patron. It proportionate the size by calculating the distance between the glass and tracking area.
Information board highlights the interesting facts about artwork and also provide screen reader ‘audio tour’ for panel-free experience. Provides additional information through media.
Doodle animation would play on the artwork for a few sec to make it more interactive and playful.
Video shows the intuitive interface operating by Visitor. ‘Things Around Me’ feature workflow takes them to browse media where they can find similar work of the proportionate artwork installed across the world.
After presenting and testing this project I received valuable feedback. A systematic storyboard simplifies the process of user experience and reduces the friction of seeking necessary things in the museum. I took the project through multiple experimentations and user testing to ensure I solved our users’ needs.
Usable
Enjoyable
Equitable
Useful
I wanted to focus on the visual interface and find out any issues that can be solved with experiments or new elements. If developing this project further, I want to provide an enjoyable and educational experience to kids by providing the same technology? And Improve the users’ experiences through additional adjustments.