Experiential Design - Task 2

Task 2 - Project Proposal

In this task, we were required to come out with a much solid proposal based on the chosen idea from task 1. Since i am doing group project for this assignment, me and angel has discussed and combined our idea of our constellation app. Below is the concept idea that we have discussed earlier:

Concept Idea

1. When the user starts the app, they can toggle between viewing the sky with or without the virtual night sky overlay.
2. Stars will appear and shine in the background.
3. Tapping on a star will cause it to link with nearby stars, gradually forming a constellation.
4. Once a constellation is completed, it is unlocked and saved to the user’s achievement collection.
5. At the same time, an animation plays, explaining the myth or story behind the constellation, integrated seamlessly with the night sky.
6. In the Achievement section, users can view all constellations they’ve unlocked. Locked constellations will appear as silhouettes or faded outlines to indicate they haven’t been discovered yet.
7. Tapping on an unlocked constellation, it will display detailed information about the constellation (e.g. name, origin, myth). There is also a button to replay the animation.

We’re both happy with our combined idea, which features camera-based AR, self-discovery, animation-based learning, and a constellation collection system, with a focus on the zodiac constellations. However, creating animations that appear seamlessly in the sky is not an easy task. We plan to use Blender to animate key elements, such as the line connections between stars and the visual storytelling of each constellation’s myth. Therefore, we consulted Mr. Razif for advice on this.

• Animation can be simple, no need to be so complex
• Simple animation can be done on Unity

So we were thinking that maybe we don’t need to overcomplicate the animation. Since the constellations appear in the sky and remain in a fixed position, users won’t be able to view them from different angles. Because of this, we’re considering using 2D graphics for the constellations. For the animation part, we’re planning to explore Procreate Dreams, an app that allows us to create 2D animations more easily.

Anyhow, we started to work on the detailed proposal. Below is the task delegation:

Task Delegation

Me: Project Introduction (App overview, problem statement, goal), Research (Target Audience, competitors' analysis, research on zodiac constellation), Proposed AR solution (User flow, flow chart, how our app address pain point, app mockup), Creative Direction (Colour palette, Typography, Iconography, art style) 

Angel: Menu, App name, Research (User Persona, Current Journey Map), Proposed AR Solution (Key Features, Future User Journey Map), Composition of video presentation

Figma

As a fan of stargazing apps, I understand the common aesthetic trends that most of them follow. To make our app stand out, I thought of using colorful line art for the constellations and incorporating line-based animations as well. In addition, when designing the UI, I put myself in the user's shoes, focusing on how to make the interface simple and easy to understand.

Figma Prototype: Link

Figure 1.1 Figma

During our research on the zodiac constellations, Angel and I discovered an unexpected issue. Initially, we thought the zodiac constellations were scattered across the sky. However, we found out they are actually arranged in a circular ring around the Earth. This means that only half of the constellations are visible in the sky at a time, while the other half are positioned below the horizon and not visible.

This raised a concern: if we focus only on the zodiac constellations, the visible stars would appear in a single line across the sky. To address this, we plan to include other scattered stars in the background. These stars will be non-interactive (null stars), but they will help fill the sky and create a more immersive space for users to explore. Furthermore, we also thought of having voice narrator during the story telling. We had an online consultation with Mr. Razif.

 

Feedback 

• He allowed us to make the constellation scattered around if don't want to make into a circular ring
• The surrounding stars can be null for decoration purposes
• It would be nice to have voice narration for story telling
• Suggested AI generated voice: eleven labs ai
• Can add sound effect when the stars linking and etc
• Do research on the technical execution

After consulting with Mr. Razif, we gained a better understanding of the project and received his approval. This gave us more confidence in our proposal. Additionally, our research on the technical execution helped us better understand how to implement the features of our app. Below is the finalized proposal and video presentation for this task.

Figure 1.2 Proposal

Figure 1.3 Video Presentation