SPOT
My Role
Project
Timeline
Tools Used
Overview
Background
Having attended several music festivals, I often struggled to locate friends and navigate event spaces. From the Astroworld Festival in November 2021 to Seoul Halloween 2022, crowd crush emerged as a major safety concern at large public events. This highlights significant room for improvement in the overall festival experience.
Initial Thought
One day, I learned about Google Maps AR navigation and had a eureka moment, realizing the potential of using AR to address challenges at music festivals. Observing that many attendees wear sunglasses for the vibe, I initially envisioned AR glasses as a solution to display users' locations seamlessly.
Research
Music Festival
a. Factors contributing to current experience
b. Existing solutions people are using
c. Potential for AR to positively contribute
AR
a. Learn about AR’s viability on my initial thought
b. Use cases
c. Potential for music festivals
Synthesize
Find Hidden Patterns of Behaviors
I organized my research data into themes using an affinity map. To uncover deeper insights and connections between the themes, I applied the Iceberg Model for further analysis.
Insights
1
+
2
=
Pain Points
Challenge
Problem Statement
Landscape Analysis
Findings
01
Existing solutions lack the context of music festivals.
Context --> Efficient Communication --> Avoid Getting Lost
02
AR Glasses are not accessible to most people and are hard to use.
Hololens 2 is too bulky to use. Spectacles and Ray-Ban AR glasses cost over $300.
03
But AR supports offline relocation and navigation using geolocation.
By downloading maps and relevant data in advance, users can access location services without an internet connection.
Feature Brainstorms
Card Sorting
1. Participants are asked to first write 10 items that they expect to be in Spot
2. Organize cards into logical groups, once done, name each group
3. Debrief
Prototyping & Testing
Intuitive Prototype to Test AR Concept
User Testing Insights
01
Meeting request = time + location? Not necessarily
Users usually act spontaneously at music festival, and would not check time very often.
02
Friend's location in AR does not need to be primary
Users only check on their friends’ locations when they need to.
03
AR map as a supplementary tool in the navigation flow
Users prefer to have the navigation flow simple.
Design Concept
Visual Identity
This project is inspired by the EDC music festival. I retained its original branding to preserve a consistent visual identity while adapting the design to be more mobile-friendly.
Final Design
View friend’s location and navigate using AR at music festivals for an easier experience
View Friend’s Location in AR Camera
AR Navigation
Efficient communication under bad signals
Status at a Glimpse
Set current status such as restroom leaves to substitute for messaging back and forth under bad signal connections
Event Safety
Allow users to report any incidents could reduce safety accidents by informing the operation team on time.
Immersive Festival Experience
Explore festival amenities
View lineup schedule
Limited regional festival NFTs
AR Navigation Demo
I made an AR Navigation Demo using Stardust SDK to test its feasibility.
Reflection
Takeaway
Several times, user feedback challenged my assumptions. However, concept testing allowed me to uncover these insights and better understand users' perspectives on AR, which ultimately refined the prototyping and iteration process.
If I had more time, I would think about how would user interact with the AR glasses end? How can the business model raise profit?