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disney

Navigation can be magic.

MY ROLE

UX/UI Design, AR Prototype

TOOLS

Sketch, Invision, Illustrator, C4D
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opportunity

Transform theme park navigation from practical to immersive.

Current theme park apps implement navigation assistance by taking the printed maps they give to visitors and shrinking the maps to fit on a phone, which has a lot of limitations and does not take advantage of the capabilities of modern technologies and devices.  Using technology can make navigation more accurate and easier for the user.  Also, the time between destinations, like rides and attractions, can be made as immersive and satisfying for the user as the actual rides by pairing navigation with augmented reality.

outcome

Character Guide

Character Guide is an Augmented Reality navigation feature added to the Disney World app that allow guests to select their favorite character to guide them throughout the park with turn by turn directions.

AUDIENCE

Who is this for?
Disney World Fanatics: Have been to Disney World before and are always looking for new ways to engage with the parks.
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Disney World First-Time Visitors: Do not know how to efficiently navigate the parks and often have to look at their map to orient themselves.  Are willing to wait in a 1 hour line just to get a picture with their favorite character.

Getting Started

Navigation
Location access allows turn by turn navigation.

Augmented Reality
Camera access enables the AR to work and allows the guest to take pictures and video of the experience.

Character Conversation
With access to the microphone the character can ask converse with the guest. If the guest tells them their name then the character can say it.
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Character Selection

Guests can pick through different characters based on what park they are visiting.
1. Location
Check destination or switch destinations.

2. Direction Indication
Along with following the character an arrow above them also indicates the direction.

3. Character Conversation
Allows you to go back to pick another character.
4. Picture
Take a picture while being guided through the park.

5. Video
Take video while being guided through the park.

Character Guide

The character guides the guest turn by turn to the destination.

Background

I have been going to Disney Amusement parks since I was a baby. My parents met while working at Disneyland. My father is an expert on theme parks as he has been to over 100 and has a massive brochure collection.

Research

My dad’s expertise led me to Disney fanatic run websites that have discussion boards where people free express their opinions. This was a great place to hear directly from people without a filter.

Sketches

I got the model of the Disney characters from an open source 3d model website. I then rigged the model using Mixamo and used several different animations to get the desired movements. I then brought it into C4D to render the final animation.

Animation Process

I got the model of the Disney characters from an open source 3d model website. I then rigged the model using Mixamo and used several different animations to get the desired movements. I then brought it into C4D to render the final animation.

Reflections

I completed this project a semester before Google released their first version of AR navigation.  It is validating to see that my prototype concept was consistent with the future of AR navigation in the industry.  I believe that Disney could implement an AR feature like this within their app, but with familiar characters that are loved around the world.

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jackie koon   |   ux designer    |   Résumé

next: The lonely company⇢