Bookid

An interactive educational book that helps bridge the gap between parents and children through the book activities.
Team
Meron Solomon, Xin (Michelle) Gao, and Sherry (Wenyi) Zhang
My Role
UX Designer and Researcher
Tools
Figma, Procreate, and Miro
Duration
3 weeks (2020)
Challenge
Consider what can be displayed or added to the space between the camera and the world, then provide novel capabilities as an interface for interaction.
Solution
An interactive educational book that uses AR technology to encourage more active learning and family interactions.
Problem Statement
The increase in children's absorption to their electronic devices impacts family communication. Research shows that the lack of communication between children and parents can damage their relationships and further influence child development in a negative way.

Research

Secondary Research (Existing Solutions)
Initially, we knew we wanted to explore the connection between Augmented Reality (AR) and Art, so we each researched what others were already doing within that area of interest. Below is what I found as I was researching some interesting ways people are using AR/the internet with art:

Ideation

Brainstorming
We utilized Crazy 8's to come up with a wide variety of ideas. We each chose our favorite idea and explored that idea further, I focused on street art through AR.
How might we combine elements from each idea into one concept?

Design Requirements

Combining Ideas
With each of our ideas being impactful, I advocated for my team to merge each of our ideas into one concept. Below are our requirements based off the initial ideas:
Planning Storyboard
I facilitated the organizing of our storyboard ideas and script through Miro.
Sketches
After planning out the storyboard, I decided to quickly turn our ideas into sketches, so we could continue to iterate on our ideas.
Iterations
Originally, we started creating our storyboard with human characters and a human guide but later decided to use friendly creatures and bright colors. This change would not only be exciting for children but also allowed for viewers to identify with the characters based off their actions, rather than how they looked (gender, race, etc.).

Final Design

Key Features

Scan + Q&A

Scanning an image from the book displays a 3D model of the image on the phone screen. Then the user is  prompted with a question that relates to the topic they're learning about to get them thinking.

Play

The “play” button allows the user to view the video feature that is associated with the AR object. This example shows the basket being woven.

Virtual Guide

To learn more information about the object, the viewer can click on the "virtual guide" button. The virtual guide will pop up and provide more explanations and suggestions for learning about the object.

Map

The “map” button allows the user to find the locations of the hidden AR spots in their city.

Hidden AR

The hidden AR locations feature is an amusing way to continue the educational experience outside of the home. The user can ask the virtual guide for information on the hidden AR story they are viewing.

Video

Reflection

Understanding the Value of Feedback
Most of the responses we received from our peers were positive, which was nice, however it made me appreciate constructive criticism more because it would have helped us as we continued to iterate on our idea. I realized hearing other people's perspectives and critique can often lead to interesting directions.
If Given More Time
I would conduct user testing to ensure we are meeting the specific needs of children and parents. Since we were on a tight schedule, and this was more of an exploration project, we didn't have time for it. I would also like to continue the project by creating an actual interactive book and iterating on the app interface.