The WarhoLens
MR- XR Design | Multisensory Experiences
Immersive Experiences for The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh
This project redefines the traditional museum visit by introducing mixed reality experiences at The Andy Warhol Museum Through immersive encounters with Warhol's art, we invite museum goers to explore, learn, and actively engage with the legacy of this iconic artist.
Whether it be a seasoned art connoisseur or a newcomer to Warhol's world, the project aims at enriching experiences that go beyond the canvas, leaving one with a newfound appreciation for the genius of Andy Warhol.
Tools
Figma,
After effects,
Premier Pro,
Voiceflow(Testing)
Bluesky project for IXD Studio with Dina ElZanfaly
@CMUSchoolofDesign
About
Timeline
6 weeks
UX Design, MR Prototyping,
3D Modeling
My Role
Tools
Bezi , Figma, After effects
Premier Pro
Team
Avanita Sharma
Riley Ren, Pei-Yuh (Maggie) Hung,
Aishwarya Shetty, Malavika Doshi
Design Solution
THE WarhoLens
Take a look at how the WarhoLens immerses museum goers in mixed reality experiences that improves engagement with and enhances learning of Andy Warhol and his artworks.
Core Experience
How does the WarhoLens provide an engaging and holistic experience for museum visitors ?
01 Floor Overview
The user can situate themselves in the museum at each floor with an overview.
02 The Artist
Talk to the artist himself over years to better understand his life and influences..
03 The Inspiration
Immersive understanding of the context behind the Soup Can painting. Step into Andy Warhol’s childhood home.
Learning about the screen printing technique in an experiential manner.
04 The Technique
05 Self Reflection
Tying the experience together with a moment of reflection. Listening to others reflection
Ready to drive ?
Understand how Andy Warhol revolutionised screen-printing by experiencing it first hand in Mixed reality.
MR - Screen-printing station
Step into the photobooth to record a self reflectory message on what you took away from your museum visit. Walk over to the lobby to listen to other museum visitors express their Warhol in them.
Projection Mapping - Self Reflection on Art
Grab and Pinch
Grab the object, pinch and move down to reveal a painting
Pinch
Pinch with 2 fingers to select elements on the MR interface
Tap on MR interfaces to reveal the experience
TAP
MR- Interface Design
The elements/screens in the Mixed Reality interface were considering the bright environment in the museum. We tested our UI on the MetaQuest and checked for readability, depth perception and intuitivity.
Through wifi positioning the glasses detect the visitors location and initiate the exp. The screenprinting station is designed between the chest and the waist level. With a simple grab and pinch, visitors can use a squeegee to pain options of their choice.
Using Magic leap for spatial detection that activates once a visitor steps into the circle on the floor. Visitors can tap to activate and listen to their option.
Prototyping the MR Experience
Building the Immersive Experience
Designing, gesture interactions, UI and movement in real and extended reality. We made the prototypes on Bezi and prototyped using
MR - Gesture Review
Hand gestures need to be defined carefully, since they define the functioning of an MR experience. After experiencing and testing gestures in Meta Quest3 we designed three basic gestures in our MR experiences
How the Speculative Glasses would function -
Hololens
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Small field of view
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Heavy headset
Quest 2
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Small field of view
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Distorted view of the real world
Quest 3
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Bulky to use in the whole museum
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Distorted view of the real world
Exploring Headsets for the experience
Speculative futuristic
MR glasses that are ...
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Have Gesture Recognition
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Light-weight
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AR and VR display technologies
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Audio System
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Camera
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Wireless connectivity and
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Cloud integration
With existing headsets available to us, we tested built in XR interactions and reviewed which could provide the best experience in art museums, we arrived on speculative MR glasses that had the listed functionalities -
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Multi-Platform experience
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Dependency on Devices
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Limited Field of View
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Limited Interactivity
Augmented Reality
Projection Mapping
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Limited Interactivity
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Dynamic Content
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Isolated to the exhibit
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Physical space
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Motion sickness
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No spatial connection
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Higher Learning curve
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No Social Interaction
Virtual Reality
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Spatial Awareness
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Enhanced Interaction
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Holistic Experience
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Higher Learning Curve
Mixed Reality
Technology Exploration
Why Mixed reality for immersiveness?
In exploring the medium of Tech that we could adopt to create immersive multisensory experiences- we tested various options included but not limited to Extended Reality and came up with the following findings
Core Experience
How can visitors with limited knowledge on Warhol, gain an understanding of the Artiist, his inspiration and his techniques in an immersive experience ?
01 Floor Overview
The user can situate themselves in the museum at each floor with an overview.
Lack of information regarding the artist leading to minimal understanding of who he is as a person.
Talk to the artist himself over years to better understand his life and influences..
02 The Artist
7th floor
03 The Inspiration
Immersive understanding of the context behind the Soup Can painting. Step into Andy Warhol’s childhood home.
Limited context on his artistic creations and the motivations behind them.
6th floor
Learning about the screen printing technique in an experiential manner.
04 The Technique
Unfamiliarity in the techniques that influenced his work and success
5th floor
Tying the experience together with a moment of reflection. Listening to others reflection
05 Self Reflection
Opportunity for reflection
Lobby
Visitors with limited knowledge of Andy Warhol can grasp the artist and his artwork during their museum journey.
The Artist + His Inspiration + His Techniques
Design Solution
By creating immersive experiences for the visitors that will help them learn about
How can we help visitors with minimal knowledge of Andy Warhol gain an understanding of the artist and his artwork?
Problem Statement
INFORMATION
Current modes of information are not able to provide enough context for visitors to understand the art work.
Receiving information is a very passive experience.
There is a vast collection of paintings with information placed sequentially but there still is a disconnect.
INFORMATION
They currently rely on labels on the wall with information on the painting but these labels don’t usually have enough relevant information.
People are only engaged throughout the museum with a tour guide but guided tours are not available at all times.
ENGAGEMENT
Screen printing workshops increase engagement, but these are offered only thrice a week and visitors are often unaware of it.
Synthesis
What are some gaps in the experience ?
From the data we accumulated we synthesised our findings into 2 problem areas identified - Visitor Engagement and Display Information
Asking the right questions to
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Museum Visitors
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Curators
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Tour Guides
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Front Desk
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Souvenir Store
What do museum visitors have to say about their Warhol Experiences ?
Interviewing Warhol's nephew - Donald Warhola
Interviewing Derek Palladino -
Head, Digital experiences for the museum
Surveys
12
Interviews
10
Museum Reviews
20
Research
Understanding / experiencing the current museum experience
Our focus was directed towards understanding existing dynamics of visitor experiences within museum. We aimed to unravel the patrons currently engage with the exhibits, gain insights into staff perspectives on visitor interactions, and outline the museum's aspirations for elevating these experiences in the times ahead.
Reflections
Formulating the Research Question and Claim
In our project at CMU, the main struggle was making sure the experiences we came up with directly matched the research question and claim. While we had no trouble thinking of new ideas, it was tough to make sure those experiences exactly addressed the research question and claim we had in mind. It took some effort to align everything perfectly.
We iterated on our storyboards vigorously and scrapped and restarted designing a total of 3 times. While it was tough with a deadline in sight, it definitely taught me the value of multiple iterations.
Immersive Experiences
In this project, our primary focus was on XR experiences but it also meant limiting ourselves to not deep dive into other modes of immersiveness like tangible experiences. I also realised that incorporating experiential learning, and creating non screen based MR interactions can often be challenging. Information browsing through MR can be screen based, but imparting information through experiential learning can often be difficult to execute.
Future Steps
In taking the project further, the next steps would be to test the solutions inside the museum space with actual visitors, and to review the effectiveness of each experience.
Driven by Creativity
Grounded in Research
For Applicants and DMV Staff
personalize support
care and support for diverse situations and needs
For Applicants
demystify the process
simplify logistics and reduce applicant’s stress
For Applicants
keep user informed
support users in every step and explain all the requirements
How Might we leverage CUI to leverage CUI to help both applicants and DMV staff ?
Introducing Dottie
24/7 expert-level step-by-step support & guidance
Personalized planning, scheduling & progress tracking
A cross-device CUI companion that offers
Avanita