Patchwork: Augmented Reality Installation
Patchwork is an Augmented Reality experience which was presented at the George Brown College Year End Show, and later at the Azure Awards Gala. The theme was Refugees and Canada's 150th Anniversary.
The installation presents the story of the Mennonite groups in Canada and the Hmong Refugees they sponsored. These very different groups have in common a tradition of textile art, through which we wanted to present their story. When viewed through our AR app, each of the pieces come to life through animations and audio.
Fellow students Jeremy Walker, Don Bui and Linh Tran assisted with this project.
Company
Student Project
Year
2017
Role
Interaction Design, Programing, Animation, Research, Conceptualization.
Interaction Design
We selected 7 pieces of embroidery, each of which acts as an AR marker to initiate an audio-visual story about the art, religion and journeys of Mennonites and Hmong in Canada.
We really wanted to emphasize the materiality of the pieces and include physical interaction as well. So, each piece is printed on fabric, and the bottom 3 smaller pieces can be pushed up to touch the top 3. When they meet, a third, combined story is played. This interaction is symbolic of the coming together of these different groups to create new communities.
Process
We mocked up layouts and built simple prototypes to test concepts early. From the iteration seen here, we decided to strip away the text-heavy descriptons to focus on the textiles and AR. We also moved the final, large quilt that tells the combined story of Mennonite and Hmong communities in Canada to the beginning, replacing the need for introductory text.
The Animations
A flat style was selected to emulate the cloth that forms the backdrop and starting point for the animations. Where possible, pieces of the cloth appear to be 'cut out' to be used in the animation.
Music and narration round out the storytelling.
Redesign: Azure Awards
We were invited to present Patchwork as the GBC student exhibit at the Azure Awards Gala. Working with GBC exhibit designer Sisley Leung, we made adjustments to the presentation of Patchwork for this new appearence.
One issue with the previous design had been that users would more often view all the top pieces first, before proceeding to the bottom pieces. Viewing in this order is ok - but we felt the story was better expressed when the panels were viewed in their category groupings. Sisley's new layout made this grouping alot stronger.
The panels were also attached to fabric backing with string, so that a sliding mechanism no longer needed to be visible.
Photo Credit: Revelateur Studio
Photo Credit: Mauricio Calero