This is an AR music app that seamlessly bridges the digital and physical worlds, allowing users to leave and discover music messages at real-world locations. By integrating music into everyday environments, fosters authentic social connections, encouraging users to interact with their surroundings and each other in creative, meaningful ways.
ARoundMe
Type
• AR Design
• Mobile App UX/UI
• Interaction Design • Experience Design
• Personal Work
Duration
2023 Sep-Dec
(3 Months)
Team
Sophie Lee,
Joann Myung
What I Did
• Integrating 3D interactions
• Micro-Animation
• UI Design
• Usability Testing
Context
What makes a music message moment special?
In a digital world, the ways we share and experience music have transformed. Yet, there’s something uniquely special about hearing a song in a particular place, or leaving a song behind for someone else to discover. Whether it’s the joy of finding a hidden musical gem, sharing a piece of yourself with a friend, or simply connecting through a shared experience, music has the power to create moments that are both personal and memorable. But how can we elevate these moments, making them more interactive and deeply connected to the spaces we inhabit?
Research 1.
How Can We Enhance Musical Moments with AR?
We conducted a multi-methodology research effort to better understand how people engage with music, how they integrate it into their daily lives, and their current use of AR technology. Our aim was to explore how users define and share meaningful musical moments, and to leverage insights from academic research on AR, music, and social interaction to inform our project. We utilized the following methods:
1) ESM Data Analysis
Analyzing real-time user interactions with music and AR features in their daily lives to uncover how they naturally integrate these elements into their environments.
2) Observation
Observing users in their natural settings as they interact with music and AR apps, to identify opportunities for creating more engaging and meaningful experiences.
3) Literature Review
Exploring academic and industry research on AR, music, and social interaction to inform and guide the design and functionality of ARoundMe.
4) User Interview
Conducting in-depth interviews with potential users to understand their relationship with music, AR, and social connections, gathering insights to shape the experience.
Research 2.
How Do People Capture & Share Their Musical Moments?
To understand how people currently capture and share their musical moments, we analyzed public social media data from platforms like Instagram and TikTok. We employed a Python script to scrape approximately 10,000 public posts related to music experience. Subsequently, we performed a detailed manual categorical analysis on a randomly selected sample of 3,000 posts to identify trends, user behaviors, and engagement patterns.
• Emotional Sharing
• Contextual Tagging
• Social Interaction
• Engagement with Trends
Big Takeaways
01. Emotional Connection
02. Active Interactive Engagement
03. Contextual Relevance
04. Personalized Social Experience
When AR and music hit the right emotional notes, users engage more and are more likely to participate and share. Customizable AR features and high interaction make the experience stand out. Adapting AR to fit different contexts makes it more relevant and connects better with users. Personalizing AR and music boosts satisfaction and sharing, and features that make it easy to share and collaborate take the experience to the next level.
The Goal
How to leverage AR to foster deeper connections and enriching how people share and enjoy music together?
Ideation 1. User Scenario
We created a user scenario to explore how AR and music can boost engagement. In this scenario, a user interacts with an AR app where both the environment and music adjust based on their emotions. They can customize their experience by changing the virtual setting and adding personal touches. The AR adapts to different contexts, making it more relevant and connected to the user’s surroundings.
Ideation 2. User Flow
To understand how users interact with music messages in this service, we mapped out the user flows for both leaving and finding music messages. For User A, this involves creating and sending a music message at a specific location. For User B, it includes discovering and listening to a music message that has been shared. This mapping helps us grasp the overall user experience and interactions within the app.
Ideation 3. Sketch
Based on our User Scenario and User Flow, we had a bunch of sketching sessions to come up with ideas for the AR music experience. We looked at how to organize and place the 3D music objects and figured out how users could find them in their environment. We also brainstormed ways for users to create their own music experiences by attaching tracks and 3D emojis to different locations.
Design & Prototype
1) Wireframe
2) Interaction Map
Usability Testing
For the evaluation phase, we conducted task-based usability testing to gather feedback on our concept and prototype from users. We started with a paper prototype, testing it with a few participants, and then iterated on a digital prototype based on their input.
Final Design
For the evaluation phase, we conducted task-based usability testing to gather feedback on our concept and prototype from users. We started with a paper prototype, testing it with a few participants, and then iterated on a digital prototype based on their input.
Each feature has been carefully crafted to ensure a user-friendly, engaging experience that bridges digital and physical spaces, fostering deeper connections through shared music. Here’s how the final design empowers users:
Feature 1.
Locate Your Music: Anchoring Music Messages in AR
Users can explore their surroundings to find the ideal spot to anchor their music messages in AR environment. By merging the physical world with digital sound, they can choose specific locations where their music will reside, ready to be discovered by others. be discovered by others.
Feature 2.
Personalize Music Message: Customize 3D Emojis in AR
Users can enhance their music messages with 3D emojis in the AR environment. This allows them to visually express the mood of their music, adding a personal and engaging touch to each AR-anchored sound.
Feature 3.
Music Selection & Info Tags Choose and Tag Your Music in AR
Users can search and select the music they want to leave in AR. A music info tag will appear under the 3D emoji, displaying track details, and making it easy to identify and personalize the anchored music.
Feature 4.
Sharable Music Message
Users can leave a message with their music, review all added content, and share it with friends. This feature lets users create, manage, and share their unique AR music experiences effortlessly.
Implementation
With a solid design direction and final prototype in place, we moved forward into the implementation phase. We conducted thorough research on AR development to identify the best tools, software, and SDKs for our application. In the end, we chose Unity for creating 3D objects and motion design, and Swift combined with ARKit for developing the AR experience on iOS devices.
Unity's powerful 3D capabilities allowed us to bring our music objects to life, while ARKit enabled seamless integration of these objects into the real world, creating an immersive and interactive AR music experience.
Reflection
1. Limitation & Concerns
✔ Technical Feasibility
We used ARKit, Swift, and Unity to develop the AR music hub. However, due to limited resources, we focused on core features and did not implement additional functionalities like collaborative features, which would require more extensive infrastructure.
✔ Social Interaction
While ARoundMe enhances social connections, excessive smartphone use can sometimes lead to feelings of disconnection. We aim to balance digital interaction with real-world engagement.
2. Growth Point
✔ Comprehensive AR Integration
Gained hands-on experience with ARKit, Swift, and Unity to create a seamless AR music experience.
✔ End-to-End Devleopment
Involved in the full lifecycle of the project—from research and design to implementation and prototyping—despite a lack of extensive prior data.