Industry / Project type
XR experience
My Role
Interaction design, UI , videography
Tools
Lore, an immersive library experience for teens to help them discover new interests
Lore, an immersive library experience for teens to help them discover new interests
Background
How might we enhance the library experience for teenagers to help them discover new interests?
Teenagers are at a crucial stage in life where they are exploring new interests to find out who they are. Libraries can be a positive influence / great places to make these discoveries. In this project my teammates and I created a novel extended reality experience for the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
The Problem
Teenagers today are reading less and public libraries, an important free resource, is being underutilized
<20%
American teenagers read books everyday
>80%
American teenagers use social media everyday
98%
Technology adoption rate, higher than other demographics
<17%
American teenagers visit libraries on a regular basis
Sources: American psychological association, pew research center
The Outcome
We created Lore, a theme-based mixed reality, library exploration experience that introduces teenagers to a variety of topics to help them discover new interests.
We defined gestures for the mixed reality experience
We defined gestures for the mixed reality experience
Pinch to pick
Pinch to pick
Pinch the artifacts you discover on books
Pinch the artifacts you discover on books
Drag to collect
Drag to collect
Drag the artifacts to the drawer to add them to your collection
Drag the artifacts to the drawer to add them to your collection
Drag the artifacts to the drawer to add them to your collection
Tap to select
Tap to select
Tap on book covers to start your interactive experience
Tap on book covers to start your interactive experience
Swipe to browse
Swipe to browse
Choosing a theme while browsing through the options
Choosing a theme while browsing through the options
Choosing a theme while browsing through the options
We built UI components in the glassmorphism style
We built UI components in the glassmorphism style
The experience
The experience
Choosing a theme
Choosing a theme
WHAT | Users pick one curated themes from the options presented
WHY | Giving options to choose from respects user’s agency while also providing guidance. Updating themes each month allows teenagers to discover a wide range of topics
HOW | Current trends, news, and events, and specially relevance to teenagers considered to create themes.
WHAT | Users pick one curated themes from the options presented
WHY | Giving options to choose from respects user’s agency while also providing guidance. Updating themes each month allows teenagers to discover a wide range of topics
HOW | Current trends, news, and events, and specially relevance to teenagers considered to create themes.
WHAT | Users pick one curated themes from the options presented
WHY | Giving options to choose from respects user’s agency while also providing guidance. Updating themes each month allows teenagers to discover a wide range of topics
HOW | Current trends, news, and events, and specially relevance to teenagers considered to create themes.
Exploring suggested books
Exploring suggested books
WHAT | Books part of the chosen theme get highlighted
WHY | Empowering users with choice helps them feel control over the journey
HOW | Highlighted books emit a gentle glow. Information about each book, including facts and reviews, is presented to help users in making well-informed decisions.
WHAT | Books part of the chosen theme get highlighted
WHY | Empowering users with choice helps them feel control over the journey
HOW | Highlighted books emit a gentle glow. Information about each book, including facts and reviews, is presented to help users in making well-informed decisions.
WHAT | Books part of the chosen theme get highlighted
WHY | Empowering users with choice helps them feel control over the journey
HOW | Highlighted books emit a gentle glow. Information about each book, including facts and reviews, is presented to help users in making well-informed decisions.
Collecting artifacts
Collecting artifacts
WHAT | Users can collect digital artifacts from the theme based books, to receive a unique bookmark made from their collectibles.
WHY | Rewards fuel the user motivation to stay engaged and complete a journey.
HOW | The collection of artifacts triggers the brain's reward center, sustaining the user's engagement in the journey by offering a tangible souvenir to anticipate at the conclusion.
WHAT | Users can collect digital artifacts from the theme based books, to receive a unique bookmark made from their collectibles.
WHY | Rewards fuel the user motivation to stay engaged and complete a journey.
HOW | The collection of artifacts triggers the brain's reward center, sustaining the user's engagement in the journey by offering a tangible souvenir to anticipate at the conclusion.
Immersive pod
Immersive pod
WHAT | Multi-modal interactions with a book and immersion in an enclosed reading nook
WHY | To enhance the understandability of complex and abstract concepts and make book reading a more immersive experience
HOW | Immersive pod that replicates the ambiance of the book, enabling users to engage with the content through various modalities, including viewing dynamic images and exploring three-dimensional objects.
WHAT | Multi-modal interactions with a book and immersion in an enclosed reading nook
WHY | To enhance the understandability of complex and abstract concepts and make book reading a more immersive experience
HOW | Immersive pod that replicates the ambiance of the book, enabling users to engage with the content through various modalities, including viewing dynamic images and exploring three-dimensional objects.
AR Bookmark
AR Bookmark
WHAT | Users take away a physical bookmark that has all the artifacts they digitally collected printed.
WHY | Rewards fuel the user motivation to stay engaged and complete a journey. Physical artifact acts as a tangible memento carrying the experience home and encouraging the user to engage further.
HOW | This unique artifact can be scanned to relive the experience at home through the library app and get involved in the community by leaving review for a book.
WHAT | Users take away a physical bookmark that has all the artifacts they digitally collected printed.
WHY | Rewards fuel the user motivation to stay engaged and complete a journey. Physical artifact acts as a tangible memento carrying the experience home and encouraging the user to engage further.
HOW | This unique artifact can be scanned to relive the experience at home through the library app and get involved in the community by leaving review for a book.
Future Scope
Lore has tremendous opportunity to expand to a larger audience and keep evolving with newer themes
Lore can further be developed to make it even more attractive to the target audience. For example, gaining inspiration from the world of gaming users could put on a virtual “skin” based on the theme and the library could turn into a magical world. The community aspect could be built further through the library app and all the branches of the library within the city could stay connected.