Thanks to the personal challenge of learning design for the augmented reality (AR) space for The Virtual Market (TMA1402) module, a range of hard skills developed throughout the course of the project. These ranged from basic uses of the interfaces, using specific tools and skills in working within the 3D space. As this project pushed my creative skillset and my comfort zone in terms of design, and as this project draws to a close, I take a moment to reflect on the next stages for these skills and their potential use going forward not only for future modules but also in my professional graphic design career moving forward.
During this first term, two modules (TMA1401 and TMA1402) were run simultaneously and throughout the course of both modules, it became clear that they were affecting and interacting with each other. Each bit of research I undertook as part of TMA1402 then related back to the areas I would like to focus on for my Project Proposal (TMA1401). One example of this is user experience and user interface (UX/UI) design. The research that was specifically undertaken regarding this field of design that helped to shape my outcomes for this project, which can be read here and here, has helped to form the outcome I would like for the Final Major Project and which has been written about in the Project Proposal.
This interlinking of modules allows me to continue with the skills I have developed further with an adapted scope. For my project proposal, I am proposing to design and prototype an application that could be used on a verity of software (mobile, tablet, smartwatches and desktop) around the theme of the Anthropocene and extinction. This project, not only once again pushing the boundaries of my creative practice, but also builds on the research already conducted and the skills developed in both UX/UI design and AR design. The outcomes for the final major project could have built-in augmented reality elements that enhance the user's experience and allow the user to fully immerse themselves into the theme and the messages being shared in the application.
This sturdy footing could then continue to develop as the Final Major Project progresses. How could I partner up with external companies or organisations such as the WWF, IUCN or Extinction Rebellion to enable a large scale augmented reality experience that takes place natively within the application, similar to Pokémon GO, that allows their audiences to lose themselves and educate themselves on the state of the planet and extinction rates? Due to the context of the theme, how could the augmented reality software be used to notify people of developments? Could notifications automatically open up an augmented reality mini experience, potentially 10 seconds long or so, that enables a quick learning experience of a new species extinction or developments?
This basic understanding of two areas of design, UX/UI and AR, that have developed due to the challenge set by myself for this module has impacted not only my direction for the MA but also may have potentially altered my area of specialism within graphic design. A specialism that not only allows for commercialism but also for growth alongside the continuous improvement and developments of technology.
View the final outcomes for the project here
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