PROBLEM
Meow Wolf is an immersive art experience with mission to inspire art through creativity, exploration, and play so that our imagination will transform our world. While Meow Wolf is allow to provide a fun and exciting experience for their visitors, it was also found to be frustrating and overwhelming for many users who are first time visiting or isn't aware of their complex storylines and riddles. These users have voices these frustrations on social media platforms such as Reddit, Twitter and Trip Advisors.
INSIGHT
Two of our group members had a great opportunity to visit the Meow Wolf convergence station and found out that:
• Meow wolf is popular amongst niche audience who frequency visit to solve their riddles and puzzles.
• It could take hours for visitors to go through Meow Wolf experience and even then, might not finish.
Additionally, research have shown that many companies are bringing virtual reality experience into physical products. This is through showing a glimpse into the future of e-commerce, allowing for interactive shopping for the consumer into a photorealistic, immersive environment while educating themselves on the inspiration and science behind the product.
SOLUTION
The solution was Holo Prism, a 3D holographic prism accompanied by a mobile application with map feature, hints to help along the puzzles during the exhibition and most importantly, your own personal hologram application that can be taken home for memory.
FIELD RESEARCH
PhotoS BY Chrsissy stevenes, Miranda white
THE MAIN TAKE AWAYS
1. Meow Wolf is for Everyone
• People loved Meow Wolf convergence station. During our field research, our team noticed that different type of people such as artists and art Lovers, outdoors enthusiasts, travelers, and families liked to visit.
2. Objects, Puzzles Environment
• Meow Wolf convergence station was full of unique things such as Bloop Card or Q-Pass, objects with double meanings, and some of our design team's favorite: newspaper posts, communication equipment and alien fortune teller. In addition to immersive environment and in-depth puzzles.
3. 10+ Hours of walking
• Due to the immense amount of things to look at upon entering the convergence station, there were also many complaints about how certain puzzles were too difficult to solve or it just takes too long to navigate, often taking 10+ hours to look through the entire convergence station.
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CUSTOMER JOURNEY MAP
customer journey map by team effort
Upon re-organizing the data from field research, our design team was able to create a more through customer journey map that can represent the flow of Steven's visit at Meow Wolf convergence station and figure out his pain points.
View the full journey map.ideation
Compiling the data from the research, we created two main parts to the project. Physical product, the Holo Prism, a mobile phone accessory that displays videos and images in a three dimensional space; and digital product. Then, the holographic prism experience is designed alongside a mobile application. “Holo app” allows Meow Wolf fans to better understand the mysterious storyline behind the Convergence Station. As fans move through the different worlds within the exhibition, they begin unlocking “holographic memories” from characters who give them additional context to their quantum travels.
PHYSICAL PRODUCT SKETCH
sketch by yena kim and chrissy stevens
DIGITAL WIRE FRAME
WIRE FRAME draft by team effort
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MEOW WOLF STYLE GUIDE
Our style guide was inspired by the Meow Wolf Quantum Department of Transportation website.
STYLE GUIDE by team effort
budget table
The Holo Prism was a collaborative project between Meow Wolf, our main stakeholders and MaCher, a B company that focuses on sustainable products. Through research, design team has concluded on using a polylactic acid plastic for the main portion of the prism, a recyclable plastic made from milk or sugar; and polypropylene for the packaging of the product, which was a environmentally conscious option to reduce waste.
BUdget chart by yena kim
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RESULTS
FINAL UI and 3d model by team effort
Try it yourself!PHYSICAL PRODUCT | THE HOLO PRISM
Finalized version of The Holo Prism.
DIGITAL PRODUCT | THE HOLO EXPERIENCE
Finalized version of The Holo Experience, a mobile app assistance for Meow Wolf convergence station.
reflection
The Holo Prism was a project that I personally have struggled a lot in terms of team work and bringing our ideas into something more tangible and sustainable. Merging a physical product into a digital space was a challenge, as we wanted to make sure that the product we are showcasing wasn't just going to be another luggage that gets pushed away into closet upon returning home. I think Holo Prism allows visitors to re-live those amazing immersive experience at Meow Wolf at the comfort your home and share it with people around you.
Another most important part of this project that I enjoyed the most was the sustainability. As a designer, we often think about what is sustainability in design? How could we create a design that's both innovative, yet sustainable? This project really challenged me to research and find out how can we use specific materials to create those sustainable products.
For the future of this project, there could be more physical user testing, allowing people to walk around Meow Wolf with the product; and possibly providing additional features like incorporating Boop pass or Q-Dot into our digital application to further enhance the usability of the application.
