AR Tour Mobile App

Promotional image for SpaceTime Adventure Tours showing a man in Central Park and two phone screens with the tour app interface.

Fair Worlds is an AR/VR studio specializes in crafting immersive experiences. After the success of their AR walking tour at Seattle Center, they set out to create a sequel—this time focused on a beloved landmark in New York City. My role was to help envision and prototype this next-generation AR tour, tailored to the unique context and audience of NYC.

  • date

    2023

  • client

    Fair Worlds

  • role

    UX Designer & Prototyper

  • team

    co-founder, UI designer, engineer, 3D artist, accessibility consultant, scriptwriters

  • tools

    Figma, Unity, Blender, BitBucket

Timeline

With an 10-week timeline to design and prototype the MVP, I strategically mapped out my workflows to stay on track.

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To ensure clarity and efficiency from the start, I kicked off the project with research.

Background Research

Research Questions

I began by breaking the larger challenge into smaller, actionable pieces to keep the work manageable and focused.

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Background Research

Desk Research

Understanding the market landscape was essential for building a relevant product, so I conducted competitive analysis through structured desk research, which led to a clear articulation of our unique value proposition.

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Background Research

Field Research

Based on the design constrains, I narrowed ideas down to the following route, and annotated it on an interactive online map (Felt Map):

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After shipping the product, I conduscted user research while doing usability testing.

Post-launch Research

User Research

To validate assumptions and uncover real user needs, I ran usability testing and user interviews. Insights from these sessions directly informed an updated set of user personas and clarified our future focus areas.

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Design Process

User Flow

I redefined the user flow to enhance navigation and improve overall ease of use.

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Design Challenge

Design Immersive Way Finding

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Design Challenge

Design 3D Map Camera Control

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Design Challenge

Design AR Placement Interaction

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Design Challenge

Accessibility Considerations

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Deliverables

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Deliverables

UI Touch-up

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Deliverables

App Store Release

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Learnings

Non-Linear Design Is OK

At the beginning of this project, I felt stuck because the stakeholders didn't have a clear description of the users, even tho they had the idea in mind. Being pushed by the tight timeline, I had to start ideation and development without fully understanding the users. However, while testing the tour experience with multiple users, the desired user personas became more and more clear. My takeaway from this is that the design process can be flexible and non-linear, and talking to users is the best way to solve a problem.