A mobile phone accessory with an accompanying digital app that displays videos and images in a three-dimensional space.
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Mobile mockups of the HoloPrism App
People spend up to 10 hours exploring the immersive worlds of Meow Wolf: Convergence Station. However, visitors tend to only scratch the surface of the exhibit’s narrative. How can we create a user experience that allows users to relive their memories of the visit and discover more engaging and puzzling content?
Meow Wolf’s niche amongst other immersive experiences is their puzzling storylines and extensive plots. Holographic experiences are becoming more popularized today with brands like Adidas, Stella McCartney, and Coachella using the medium to creatively engage their audience.
HoloPrism physical product with an accompanying digital app. The physical product is a mobile phone accessory that displays videos and images in a three-dimensional space. The digital app helps users to follow the complex storyline with hints and Easter eggs displayed through reflected images, videos, or animations from a mobile screen.
Create a physical product to be sold at the Convergence Station gift store in Denver, Colorado
Design a digital app to accompany the product
Further extend the content and storyline from the Meow Wolf exhibit
Meow Wolf's Convergence Station is an immersive art exhibit located in Denver, Colorado. Convergence Station's mysterious storyline is built around four alien worlds that were joined together in a rare cosmic event. To better immerse into the story of these four worlds, visitors are offered to solve the secret of what happened to the Forgotten Four.
Convergence Station Website
Meow Wolf's fans enjoy mysterious storylines that keep them in the exhibits for up to 10 hours. At the same time, not everyone enjoyed the mystery, and some needed more guidance to enjoy the experience.
Yelp Reviews of the Convergence Station
The global holographic display market size was valued at $1.13 billion in 2020 and is projected to reach $11.65 billion by 2030. This opens up an opportunity for an interactive gift shop product.
Adidas & Stella McCartney Yoga Experience
Tupac’s 2012 Coachella Performance
A user persona was created based on research insights.
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Four steps and mood mapping imagined persona use of concept.
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Illustrations imagined the emotional and situational context, where HoloPrism inspires creative thinking and motivates user-generated content.
Storyboard by Yena K.
Created to understand the complexity of the different micro-interactions and features we wanted to implement into our app. As a result, three main features were designed:
Map of the Worlds of Convergence, where users can explore four worlds from the exhibition, receive hints, and play memories on their HoloPrism Mobile Accessory.
Camera that allows users to take pictures and videos, apply the HoloPrism filter, and share them on social media platforms.
Help Button in the center of the Map/Home page for users to ask or type questions regarding the Convergence Station's storyline or app functionality.
After conducting heuristic evaluation with 5 participants, the following changes were made to the prototype.
Redesigned the map to allow exploration and better reflect the Convergence Station experience
Added the error page to inform users of potential issues when rendering a 3D hologram
Gave users an opportunity to skip the onboarding
Moved the hologram up toward the top of the screen to let users select additional videos and use the app while viewing a 3D hologram
Four rounds of iteration resulted in a functioning 3D prototype of HoloPrism that is easy to carry and attach to any smartphone model. Additionally, HoloPrism's design features Meow Wolf and Converge Station branding elements.
Initial Sketches
Physical Prototype by Miranda W.
Exploded View
3D Model by Chrissy S.
A mobile phone accessory with an accompanying digital app that displays videos and images in a three-dimensional space and helps users to follow the complex Convergence Station storyline. Three features are implemented to make the Convergence Station's experience enjoyable to all:
Map of the Worlds of Convergence, where users can explore four worlds from the exhibition, receive hints, and play memories on their HoloPrism Mobile Accessory.
Camera that allows users to take pictures and videos, apply the HoloPrism filter, and share them on social media platforms.
Help Button in the center of the Home page for users to ask or type questions regarding the Convergence Station's storyline or app functionality.
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HoloPrism 3D Model by Chrissy S.
As soon as the user opens the app, they are greeted by Superconductor General Oleander, one of the main characters in the story. The optional app tutorial explains the main features of the app.
A map of the Convergence provides an overview of the 4 alien worlds that the user can interact with. It is also the Home page of the app.
Each of the world's pages contains a short description and a collection of holographic experiences. These serve as an extension to the Convergence Station experience and provide hints to the exhibition's visitors.
To add an element of gamification to the experience, we designed a memory reliability scale.
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Once a memory is discovered, it can be projected onto the HoloPrism device. This interaction starts with a calibration process to ensure that the prism is in the correct position. Then, a new unlocked memory starts playing.
Example of a holographic projector functionality by Unbox Therapy
With the HoloPrism camera, users can take pictures and videos, apply the HoloPrism filter, and share them with friends on social media.
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We created a style guide for brand identity and consistency, including typography, colors, and UI elements.
Style guide that reflects Meow Wolf’s Convergence Station’s Brand
Multiple language options and integrations. Meow Wolf has a diverse fan base of people from all over the world. Developing multiple language options will improve the experience of people who don’t speak English and bring more customers in.
Social network. When we developed our camera filter feature, our main intention was for people to share pictures with their friends. A social network can make it easy for Meow Wolf fans to share their experiences and get answers to any questions they might have.
Convergence station photo filters. Ideally, we want to launch new filters regularly to keep users engaged. In addition to the previous point, this feature will help develop brand notoriety.
Air Tag to improve navigation. Many guests mentioned that it was easy to get lost in the exhibition. In order to make this experience as enjoyable as possible, Meow Wolf could offer Air Tags to those who need them.
