The Lahore Project
Year: 2022-2023
Role: UI.UX, AR Development
Technologies: Unity, Figma, Maya, Photoshop, and Reality Capture
Exhibitions: University of Maryland Commencement 2023
Awards: Do Good Fellowship 2022
An AR tour guide is designed to immerse museum visitors into the exhibit in order to educate visitors beyond the static placards.
Visitors to the Lahore Museum struggle to engage deeply with the Mughal Exhibit due to limited interactivity, navigation challenges, and language barriers, reducing their connection to its cultural significance.
The Lahore Project aims not only to enhance visitor engagement through AR but also to raise awareness and generate funding for the museum’s maintenance, artifact preservation, cultural footprint, and efforts to promote greater cultural awareness across the Pakistani Population.
High-Fidelity Prototype
The Problem
How Might We?
Key Findings
User Insights
Impact
Low-Fidelity Prototype
Design Documentation
Product Design Requirements
Research
We will create an immersive AR experience that encourages visitors to explore the deeper historical context of Mughal artifacts, beyond just their aesthetic appeal.
We will design intuitive navigation in the AR tour that guides users through the large exhibits, ensuring they engage meaningfully with all significant artifacts.
We will make the AR experience more inclusive for visitors of diverse language and educational backgrounds.
Aesthetics
Visitors care more about capturing aesthetics of artifacts rather than appreciating its history.
Navigation
5 large exhibits, but lack of context with navigation causes people to skim/skip over significant artifacts.
Accessibility
Many of the placards are written in English. This prevents those unable to speak English/those with limited schooling to miss out on key information.
Presentation
The average passerby doesn’t have the opportunity to be taken throughout the museum by a tour guide. Therefore, missing out on highly informative/engaging material that adds deeper context to the history and cultural artifacts.
3D Models
After the camera has identified the object, it will prompt a UI screen with a virtual placard and a feature to explore the artifact in AR.
Photogrammetry
To optimize the accuracy of each model's visuals. We will potentially be integrating photogrammetry as our 3D models.
Interactive UI Design System
The interactive UI design system ensures a guided experience by synchronizing user flow. Starting to the right, users can scan artifacts with a camera, capture photos, and receive prompts to explore artifacts in greater depth.
Audio
The audio includes South Asian instrumental music for ambiance and artifact narratives. To avoid overstimulation, users can mute each audio, tailoring the experience to their preference.
Mosaic Tile
Blue is a signal of wealth/afluence
Candle Holder
Made out of ivory tusk
Royal Garbs
Jahangir's Royal CLothing
Target Users
Lahore Museum Visitors
Museum Enthusiasts
Pakistani’s (Tourism rates aren’t currently very high)
Research Methods
User Interviews
Surveys (In-Process)
Museum Documentation/Archive Library