Visionaries
Celebrating Women Innovators Through History and Everyday Objects
Visionaries is a mobile application concept that aims to showcase the inspiring stories of innovative women through augmented reality (AR) technology.
Project Background:
The design challenge was to design a mobile application that tells a captivating story of my choice. This 3-week individual project was undertaken during the graphical user interface class at CIID, where I explored the potential of Figma, Origami Studio, and Adobe Illustrator for prototyping.
Design Opportunity
When asked to name famous inventors, a few names usually pop into our minds — Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, Nikola Tesla, etc. However, most of us would be hard-pressed to name a single woman inventor. Many of the everyday products and technologies we use are invented by visionary women yet most of their stories are unheard of.
How might we showcase women’s achievements through our surroundings?
How did I get there?
To tackle this challenge, I followed a three-phase approach: concept development, prototyping, and testing. In the initial idea phase, I defined three core values for the app and explored how these could translate into meaningful features:
Discover Historical Inventions: Uncover the groundbreaking contributions of women throughout history, showcasing their forward-thinking and innovative ideas well ahead of their time.
Promote Diversity and Representation: Encourage users to delve into the stories of women from various backgrounds, with a special focus on highlighting achievements from traditionally underrepresented groups.
Foster Exploration of Surroundings: Motivate users to see their environment from the perspective of visionary women, sparking curiosity and a deeper appreciation for the untold stories behind everyday objects.
To realize the concept, I developed initial prototypes using Figma. These prototypes evolved through iterative testing, refining the user interface and interactions. The final prototype was crafted with Origami Studio, ensuring a seamless and engaging augmented reality (AR) experience. This AR experience allows users to immerse themselves in the captivating narratives of these pioneering women.
What does it work?
Key Features
This application lets users choose different regions to reveal the progressive history of women's inventions over time. By exploring these historical milestones, users learn about the enduring legacies of remarkable women. Additionally, Visionaries takes an innovative approach by connecting these stories to everyday objects nearby. This lets users uncover the lesser-known stories behind items they encounter in their daily routines.
Diverse Representation
At the heart of Visionaries is the goal to highlight the accomplishments of women from various backgrounds, moving away from a Eurocentric perspective. The app acts as a platform to honour the contributions of women from all around the world and shed light on how they've influenced the creation of everyday items that we still depend on today.
Augmented Reality (AR) Integration
A standout feature of the application is its integration of augmented reality through the device's camera. By leveraging this technology, Visionaries motivates users to interact with their environment and embark on a personal journey to uncover the stories of these visionary women. This AR element adds an interactive and immersive layer, empowering users to make captivating discoveries on their own.
