PRODUCT DESIGN, MOBILE, AR
Spot Art
Creating an Immersive Street Art Discovery App Using Augmented Reality
My Role
Design Strategy, Research, UX/UI Design, Wireframing, Prototyping, Usability Testing
Timeline
August - November, 2020
Challenge
San Francisco is one of the top cities to experience murals in the United States. People enjoy viewing street art but sometimes they don’t understand what they see due to lack of information, and some murals might even be difficult to find. This might result in artists not receiving the exposure they deserve.
Solution
I believe that by creating an AR app that allows visitors to discover and interact with murals, the audience will achieve a higher satisfaction level, and artists are also provided with an opportunity to create content beyond the traditional format.
Bring street art to life with Spot Art
Spot Art puts an endlessly expressive story-telling tool into the hands of artists and into the lives of the audience.
Experience murals with sound, motion and 3D elements
Discover nearby artworks on a map effortlessly. Point your camera towards the artwork and see curated content in AR created by muralists.
Go on immersive street art audio tours
Listen to insightful stories about artworks and their communities while following pre-set walking routes. Put on headphones, tap start, and the audio will play at the right time and place.
Promote artwork better by adding AR content
Simply scan and tap to place digital elements to your work. Take your audience on a journey through art. Your artwork has the power to evolve.
Ethnographic Research
I did a field trip to gain insight into people’s habits and observe how people in public interact with street art. It was a sunny day; perfect weather for a site visit to Clarion Alley and Balmy Alley.
Observations
Spectators viewed the art for a small amount of time (1–2 minutes).
Spectators took pictures and were posing in front of the art but left immediately after.
No information about the art piece was located nearby.
Competitive Analysis
After the site visit I decided to conduct an analysis among apps and sites that promote street art and art exhibitions. I compared the differences and similarities between them, both visually and functionally. This analysis helped me understand and identify both the problems and areas to focus on.
Key Findings
All apps featured an interactive map and points of interest to be visited.
All apps had a database with information about artists and artworks.
There were no pre-set walking paths and audio tours for viewing street art.
There are still a limited number of VR/AR apps that enhance the street art viewing experience.
User Interviews
To understand the specific features which users need, I posted a screener survey and conducted interviews with some relevant users:
Insights
Users want information about public art, but don’t know where to look.
Most users do not research the art further online/onsite.
Users take pics and post to social media.
Users would interrupt their current routine to take a picture.
Most users think an audio guide would benefit the viewing experience.
Target Audience
Through research, I learned that people visit murals for different reasons. Some visit to take photos for the social aspect, some are interested in art, and others want to learn about the community stories. With these findings I identified three types of target users. Keeping the design challenge in mind, I created three personas to clarify the goals and pain points of my target users.
How Might We
How might we bring street art to people? How might we make the mural viewing experience more engaging? How might we make the information accessible and less time consuming to find?
To solve the problem, I have brainstormed and sketched out some potential solutions which addresse the pain points and satisfy the goals of the target users.
After doing more research and pitching ideas to people I interviewed before, I decided to focus on the following solutions for a mobile app:
User Personas
The Social visitor
“I want location and information about public art, but don’t know where to look.”
Brandon is a photographer who lives in San Francisco. He is socially active and looking for interesting content to post.
Goals
Get more information about artworks and artists
Take photos with cool visual effects and share the experiences with others
Pain Points
Struggles to find murals that inspire or interest him
Get information and location of the mural
The Culture lover
“With an audio tour I can enjoy my own pace. I like that someone is telling me stories about the artwork.”
Sarah is traveling to San Francisco. She is enthusiastic about art and always open for new experiences.
Goals
Explore the city in an unique way
Be engaged and learn something new about street art
Pain Points
Feels frustrated because of the lack of knowledge on the art she encounters
Experience mural audio tours
The Muralist
“I want to bring innovation into my work and expose it to as many people as possible.”
Tom is a professional muralist who lives in San Francisco. He loves to bring innovation into his works.
Goals
Create an experience that attracts more viewers and business
Needs a platform to showcase his works and build influences
Pain Points
His works are not reaching a wider audience
Upload AR video content for mural artwork
Usability Testing
I asked people to perform each task with a paper prototype, observed their interactions and took notes as they talked through their thoughts. They came up with the following issues:
Final Designs
After getting positive feedback from user tests, I was satisfied with the design direction and I spent some time working on polishing the visual design.
Combining public art with AR to create enriching personalized experiences.
1. The map view shows relevant content in the immediate vicinity and the feed view shows trending sites.
2. The mural details page displays the artist’s other artworks, for better promotion.
3. The photo feature allows recording and sharing of experiences.
4. 3D elements enhances the experience with animation and sound.
Immersive tour experiences to build deeper emotional connections between artworks and visitors.
1. Filter self-guided tours by location or artist.
2. Find basic info for quick, intuitive tour selection and deselection.
Giving users flexibility to create content in AR, and keeping the interaction fun and simple.
1. Ability to upload images, texts and 3D elements.
2. Select media content from the device’s library.
3. Visualize AR scenes and place objects in the real environment.
4. Easily add 2D and 3D models.
Providing sightseers with the opportunity to tour at their own pace, while also multi-tasking in their environment.
3. Explore tours at any time with GPS autoplay.
4. Slide up drawer to reveal or hide media when following the given path.
Logo Design
With the wireframes complete, I moved on to creating a logo and implementing a style guide for the application.
Future Development
To further develop the app, I will keep on exploring other features that contemplate the user goals and improve the user experience. For instance, the viewing and learning experience can become more immersive if further interactivity between the AR contents and the surrounding real environment is added. Finally, to promote street art and increase the app’s exposure, I desire to build a partnership with art organizations and nonprofits.