Memento

Creating an immersive environment for better learning experiences at the National Aviary.

DURATION

ROLE

Interaction and Gesture Design

Unity Prototyping

Concept Development

Design Research

Journey Mapping

Oct - Dec 2023

(6 weeks)

TOOLS

Figma

Unity

Spark AR

Premiere Pro

After Effects

TEAM

Jo Jiang

Kathy Yu

Rini Suhasini

OVERVIEW

Many cultural institutions are facing the challenge of transitioning from rigid establishments to experiential and flexible spaces.

While the National Aviary already offers an immersive, multi-sensory experience, today’s generation of young learners have shorter attention spans and increased reliance on digital technology in their daily activities.

The National Aviary

The National Aviary is America’s only independent indoor nonprofit zoo dedicated to birds.

Home to more than 500 birds representing over 150 species from around the world, the National Aviary’s large walk-through habitats create an experience unlike any other, an intimate, up-close interaction between visitors and free-flying birds.

OBJECTIVE

How can we design an educational and enriching experience for young adults at the National Aviary to enhance their learning?

OUTCOME

Memento is a multi-sensory immersive learning experience at the National Aviary. It enables young adults to engage with and learn about birds using mixed reality technology, gamification, and an additional layer of interactivity with the surrounding birds and habitats.

The Memento Experience | Key Interactions

Bird Selection

Visitors can use the “perch” gesture to attract an AR model of a bird of their choosing. This interaction allows them to view extensive information about the bird via AR info tags.

AR Model Manipulation

Visitors can also use the “pinch” gesture to rotate and scale the model, revealing details of the bird’s body.

Bird Collection

Post observation, visitors can save the bird (and its sound) to their virtual collection library to revisit anytime, anywhere.

RESEARCH

The stakeholder map below illustrates how Memento's AR components integrate into the Aviary’s existing environment. We chose Gen Z as our target audience because, as a tech-savvy and digitally native generation, Gen Z individuals are more likely to engage with museum experiences that incorporate modern technology.

Understanding The Audience | Stakeholders and Target Users

We conducted on-site user interviews, including 3 Aviary staff members and 9 visitors, to understand visitor needs and any pain points with the current Aviary experience.

Understanding Pain Points | User Interviews

Visitors sometimes struggle to locate desired information about birds and habitats in real time.

WHAT WE LEARNED

Understanding The Space | The Aviary Floor Map

VISITOR JOURNEY MAP

Through our user interviews, we uncovered a desire to learn more about birds both during and after visits.

The below journey map envisions ways Memento can bridge gaps between visitor knowledge and the Aviary’s wealth of information.

Enhancing The Visitor Experience with Memento

OUR 4 FOCUS POINTS

DESIGN

Creating a Multi-Sensory Experience

This involved engaging multiple senses of the user concurrently to enhance perception and create a more immersive and enriching encounter with the birds within the aviary.

Memento engages 3 senses:

Contributes to the user’s overall engagement and comprehension through a visual environment.

VISUAL INTERACTION

Enhances learning by encouraging active participation with AR components and clues .

PHYSICAL INTERACTION

Auditory elements bolster memory, comprehension, and emotional engagement.

AUDITORY INTERACTION

Balanced Use of Technology with Memento

SYSTEM DIAGRAM

Our system diagram illustrates how technological components and AR components would function within the existing Aviary environment.

We created an overview of 6 crucial steps of our Memento game concept, which enables visitors to acquire knowledge as they advance through the experience, culminating with the search for a fun fact token and the opportunity to earn a Memento card as a reward.

Creating a Gamified Experience

As newcomers to the design of mixed reality experiences, we dedicated significant time and effort to learning the technologies that power immersive experiences. We designed and prototyped 7 primary gestures to enable users to interact seamlessly throughout the Memento experience. The gestures were inspired by existing gestures in the Oculus as well as bird references, such as the perch.

Defining Gestures

PHYSICAL INTERACTION

Initial Sketches

I first sketched our gesture ideas in Procreate.

Prototyping and Testing

We constructed a model Aviary environment to test and demo the Memento experience. I built our gestures in Unity and tested them on a Meta Quest 3.

Once our gestures were finalized, I prototyped them in Unity via Meta Quest 3.

Our 7 Gestures

Storyboarding

VISUALIZING INTERACTIONS WITH MEMENTO

The ultimate objective of incorporating a multisensory, gamified approach to the existing Aviary experience was to make learning about birds and their habitats both enjoyable and educational for Gen-Z visitors.

Creating a Learning Experience

Our team ideation sessions were largely focused on striking the right balance between creating a fun learning experience while also making it challenging enough that visitors would be motivated to continue to the next step.

Layers of Learning | The Memento Game

STEP 1 | Lightweight interaction with selected bird and introductory facts.

STEP 2 | Increased engagement with bird details through physical interaction.

STEP 3 | Add the bird to your collection and begin the next part of the experience: the token search.

STEP 4 | Collect relevant tokens associated with your chosen bird, learning more about it in the process.

STEP 5 | Follow clues for the fun fact token, collect the token, and add your bird to your permanent library.

STEP 6 | Continue exploring and collect more birds and tokens. The experience culminates with collection of the prized Memento Card.

Visitors are oriented to the Memento experience through onboarding instructions and overlaid clue cards that provide relevant factual information in real-time.

Learning Support

Onboarding

Info/Clue Cards

The last component of the Memento experience is sharing. The goal is to create a sense of community and encourage individuals to exchange ideas, ask questions, and collectively contribute to shared learning.

Creating a Sharing Experience

Visitors are encouraged to “adopt a bird” on Instagram and share with friends virtually using the #SAVEOURBIRDS filter.

Instagram Filters

Visitors can also scan their physical Memento cards and view an AR version of their bird, bringing their collection to life.

Memento Cards

Visitors can access their collection libraries online and can opt to share with Aviary friends.

Bird Collections

Defining Visual Brand & Identity

The Logo

The logo design draws inspiration from birds, presented in an abstract form that creatively combines triangles and circles, mirroring the most prevalent shapes found in avian features.

Crafted to be versatile, the logo functions both as a standalone logo and as an icon.