A phone displaying the ARtifact app's AR capability, in front of the Aga Khan Museum.

ARtifact

ARtifact is an app that encourages users to get outside and discover new areas of interest or “artifacts” in their area.

Role

Research, Interaction Design, Visual Design, Prototyping, User Testing, Animation

Timeline

September–December 2021

problem

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, poor mental health has emerged as a critical issue affecting individuals worldwide.

Social isolation, financial instability, illness, and grief have all contributed to an overwhelming situation which has been difficult to cope with for some. There is a pressing need for new ways to address and mitigate these adverse effects.

design challenge

How might we encourage physical activity and social interaction in order to mitigate the mental health impacts the pandemic has had?

solution

ARtifact is an app that helps you discover new points of interest, or “ARtifacts,” around you and connect with others in your area.

Users can find new “ARtifacts,” both near and far, on the interactive map. Through an augmented reality experience, they are encouraged to interact with their environment in new ways, learn about different aspects of their surroundings, and connect with others through the forum. Past activity is also documented in their profile so they can look back on their adventures.

Four phone screens of ARtifact, an augmented reality exploration app.A phone screen demonstrating the interactive map feature of ARtifact.

phases of development

Phase 1, Research. Phase 2, Ideation. Phase 3, Prototyping. Phase 4, User Testing, as of yet incomplete.

research

Understanding the problem space and empathizing with our users

secondary research

When we began the design process for this app, we started with a much broader design challenge:

How might we mitigate the mental health impacts the pandemic has had?

Beginning with this general problem we wanted to solve, we conducted research in order to learn more about the problem space and narrow down our project’s scope. We gained with three main takeaways:

COVID-19 has been detrimental to mental well-being.1

Anxiety and depression symptoms became more prevalent during the pandemic, and some experts speculate that it may have a lasting effect.2

The aftermath of coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic is likely to be a wave of psychiatric illnesses, stemming from normal people being exposed to extraordinary situations.”3

— Ana Carla dos Santos Costa et al., in a review of the present and future of COVID & mental health.

Exercise is an evidence-backed means of promoting mental health.4

In particular, a 2016 study shows that regular walking, or “ambulation,” systematically improves an individual's mental state.

“Incidental ambulation systematically promotes positive affect ... and it can override the effects of other emotionally relevant events such as boredom and dread.5

— Jeffrey Miller and Zlatan Krizan, researchers studying walking and its effect on mood

Social interaction is crucial for mental well-being.

Loneliness and social isolation have been linked with adverse outcomes, such as depression, poor sleep quality, and impaired executive function.6

Social contact is a biological need like eating, drinking or sleeping. And our bodies react to the loss of that interaction ... it's physically painful. It's damaging.”7

— Susan Pinker, developmental psychologist studying loneliness

revised design challenge:

How might we encourage physical activity and social interaction in order to mitigate the mental health impacts the pandemic has had?

user interviews

We decided to conduct interviews with three prospective users to gain insight on their specific pain points and how we might address them.

With this new question in mind, we wanted to further investigate what was keeping individuals from utilizing these coping strategies.

One screenshot of a user interview happening over FaceTime, and another screenshot of a prepared interview script.

Pain points

Solutions

Lack of social motivation
Respondents reported a lack of desire to leave the home. Specifically, two of three respondents stated that social activity was previously a motivator for leading an active lifestyle.

An online community which urges users to engage in social interaction and physical activity by positioning them as working together towards common goals.

Lack of accountability
In a similar vein, the interviewees mentioned struggling with self-discipline in general, and felt that having a supportive community which kept each other accountable was crucial.

Outside of the previously mentioned community (which would aid in accountability), the ability to track past activity, allowing users to keep themselves accountable.

Monotony and boredom
They felt they had exhausted the activities they could do in the home, or even in their neighbourhoods. The repetition associated with their attempts at exercise made it feel like a mundane chore.

Features that facilitate incidental exercise alongside exploration, giving users the freedom to discover things in their surroundings which appeal to their interests.

Safety concerns
One respondent suffered from worsened health anxiety and was concerned about the risk of COVID. Both in private spaces with friends and in public spaces, this became a significant barrier to going outside or interacting with others in any capacity.

Since safety concerns would be difficult to assuage, the app will focus on allowing users to feel like they are participating in something larger and connect with others without having to physically see them.

competitor analysis

We conducted market research to understand the current products being offered and what made them valuable to their users.

An analysis of the Geocaching app, showing that people feel a sense of community when working together towards a common goal.
An analysis of Pokemon Go, with the key finding being that AR technology can be used to imbue everyday things with new value.
An examination of the AllTrails app, which gives users a sense of accomplishment with its record-keeping features.

user personas

We synthesized our research into 2 user personas, which were used to brainstorm possible scenarios that would eventually shape the app's features.

A user persona for Arun Mukherjee, a middle-aged family man who finds himself lonely in a new city.
A user persona for Kacie Castillo, a social butterfly limited by the pandemic.

ideation

Developing tangible solutions through consolidated research

sketching + exploration

With a rough idea of the app's main functionalities, we brainstormed different ways they could be translated onto a screen. We explored the possibility of a web app or tablet experience, but ultimately decided that a mobile application made the most sense.

Preliminary sketches of the ARtifact app, showing various screen sizes and configuration of UI elements.

information architecture

We consolidated the features that ARtifact would have, then developed an IA diagram to clearly communicate how these features would be structured.

A sign in or log in experience takes the user to the Home interactive map, which where their AR experience would begin. The other features accessible through the navigation bar are the world map, the passport, and the profile.

wireframes

Taking the finalized IA, we refined our sketches, with a focus on tying together disparate ideas established during the exploration phase.

Refined pen-on-paper wireframes of the app, with finalized layouts and visual hierarchy.

prototyping

Implementing ideas into a tangible experience with a clear design system

style tiles

We created two distinct style tiles to determine the eventual visual direction of ARtifact. These two approaches were exemplified with the following adjectives:

  1. futuristic, expansive, stark
  2. simple, bright, friendly

We ultimately decided to base our user interface on the second style tile, while borrowing elements of the first such as the AR grid.

ARtifact's first style exploration, featuring a dark background, an AR grid, glass skeuomorphism, and  a mechanical sans-serif font.
ARtifact's second style exploration, featuring a light background, coloured drop shadows, and a friendly typeface.

ui kit

We then created a UI kit, allowing us to finalize the design language and consistently employ components throughout our prototype.

A page defining the typographic styles and colours of ARtifact, with teal being the brand colour.
A summary of all icons and buttons used in the ARtifact app, which tend to be solid, simple, and teal.
On the left are the input styles in the app. On the right are graphic elements used in the interactive map and AR experience.
UI cards of ARtifact, sorted by the section of the app they appear in.

user flows

We digitized our wireframes, applied the visual design, and created a functioning prototype that emulates a user's real experience. These screens are shown below, organized into 6 distinct user flows.

The straightforward ARtifact onboarding process, requiring the creation of a profile.
The home screen, featuring an interactive map where users can find nearby ARtifacts.
The AR experience, populating the user's surroundings with AR elements that they can click on to learn more.
The forum aspect of the AR experience, featuring comments from other visitors.
The world map screen, showing an interactive globe with international points of interest.
A passport page with record of the user's past exploration, and a profile page with general info.

final prototype

Discover new points of interests around you and connect with others in your area.

onboarding

Create an account by completing the simple sign-up process

interactive map

Find ARtifacts right in your neighbourhood, or explore the wider world

ar experience

Interact with your surroundings in new and fascinating ways

forum

Talk to others about 
their experiences and find your community

passport + profile

Track your activity and look back on your past adventures

try the interactive prototype here: