21st April 2025 - 18th May 2025 (Week 1 - Week 4)
Sin Jun Ming 0364638
Experiential Design / Bachelor of Design in Creative Media / Taylor's University
Task 1 - Trending Experience
LECTURES
Week 1 - Introduction
In the first week, Mr. Razif walked us through the Module Information Booklet and provided an overview of the semester’s tasks. We began exploring different concepts related to Augmented Reality (AR). To deepen our understanding of AR’s potential, we were shown examples of past student projects. These examples provided valuable insight into how AR can be applied in design and offered inspiration for our own future work.
Fig 1.1 Example videos from seniors' work
Week 2 - Designing Experiences
This week’s lecture centered on expanding our understanding of experiential design. We discovered that it involves crafting meaningful and engaging experiences for users through thoughtful design. We were also introduced to user mapping and journey maps—valuable tools for visualizing the user’s experience from initial interaction to final outcome. These techniques will support us in creating more user-centered and immersive designs.
Fig 1.2 Week 2 Lecture
After the lecture, we participated in a group activity where each team created a journey map for a specific location. Our group selected Sunway Lagoon, a place we were all familiar with. We mapped out the entire user experience—from arrival at the entrance to exploring the various attractions. At each stage, we identified gain points, pain points, and proposed potential improvements to enhance the experience. This exercise deepened our understanding of how to analyze real-world user journeys and apply experiential design to improve them.
Fig 1.3 Week 2 class activity
Week 3 - Marker-Based AR Experience
In this week’s lecture, we examined the differences between Augmented Reality (AR), Mixed Reality (MR), and Virtual Reality (VR). Gaining clarity on these distinctions helped us understand how each technology can be used to create unique immersive experiences. Following the lecture, we took part in a group activity where we imagined an AR scenario set in a specific environment—such as a gym, kitchen, or shopping mall. Our group chose the gym as our setting.
Fig 1.4 Week 3 class activity
In addition, we began setting up our first AR experience using Vuforia in Unity. This involved installing the Vuforia Engine package, configuring the license key, and creating an Image Target database. The goal was to build a marker-based AR experience, where a specific image triggers the display of digital content. For our project, we used an Image Target to generate a 3D cube whenever the image was detected by the camera. This exercise helped us grasp how image recognition functions in AR and highlighted the importance of Image Targets in connecting real-world visuals with virtual elements.
Fig 1.5 Week 3 tutorial
Week 4 - Introduction to AR Interactions
This week, we advanced our AR project by learning how to integrate UI button controls. In the tutorial, we created two basic buttons, one to display the 3D cube and another to hide it, demonstrating how user interaction can influence AR elements in real time.
We then added a bouncing animation to the cube, making the experience more dynamic. The buttons were updated to serve as Play and Stop controls for the animation. This lesson introduced us to fundamental interactivity and animation control in Unity, providing essential skills for creating more engaging and responsive AR experiences moving forward.
Fig 1.6 Week 4 tutorial
Instructions
Task 1 - Trending Experience
Requirements:
- Explore current and popular trends in the market to gain a better understanding of emerging technologies and how to create content for them.
- Conduct research and hands-on experiments to discover the features and limitations of different platforms. This helps in deciding which technology to use for the final project.
- Propose three potential ideas for the final project based on the experiments and research.
1. Ideation
When brainstorming ideas for my AR application project, I wanted to focus on concepts that are both relatable and practical, which are apps that solve everyday problems while using AR to enhance the experience, not complicate it.
When coming up with ideas for my AR app project, I focused on everyday situations where people often need visual guidance, like decorating a room, cooking, and working out. I looked at common frustrations, like not knowing if furniture will fit, struggling to follow recipes while cooking, or doing home workouts without proper form or motivation. These simple, relatable problems sparked the foundation for my concepts.
That’s how I landed on three ideas:
- AR Room Styler, which lets users preview furniture in their space;
- AR Recipe Assistant, which guides users step-by-step in the kitchen;
- AR Gym Assistant, which acts like a virtual trainer showing exercise routines.
2. Proposal
With the ideation, I finalized the three ideas in the document below. Additionally, I will be working in pair with Hanson in Task 2 to decide on the final idea.
Fig 2.1 Task 1 - Proposal
Feedback
Week 4
In this week, I asked Mr. Razif about my proposal ideas on AR app. He advised me that the three ideas I proposed are more difficult to be developed in a 14-week span because they are advanced applications.
Reflection
Working on Task 1 gave me a clearer understanding of how to approach problem-solving through AR. It pushed me to think beyond just using technology for novelty, and instead focus on identifying real user needs and everyday pain points. The ideation process helped me reflect on situations where visual assistance could genuinely improve a task, which led to more practical and user-friendly app concepts.
Through writing the proposal, I also learned the importance of clearly defining the problem and justifying the solution with context. It challenged me to consider my target audience, feasibility, and how AR can add value without overwhelming the user. Overall, Task 1 laid a strong foundation for the rest of the project, helping me sharpen both my creative thinking and planning skills.
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