Lil’ Gifts
An AR glasses application that tags “lil’ guy” avatars to physical gifts as reminders of the significant people, objects, and moments in life.
UX Design
2 Interaction Designers
Overseen by Professor Axel Roesler
Autumn 2024 | 3 Weeks
Figma + Blender + Bezi +
AfterEffects + Procreate
PROMPT
A New Model for Memory
Reimagine the future of memory-sharing:
develop an interface that adapts to the user and enables an exploration of shared memories.
A Sneak Peek
A voice assistant you can see
Unlike other voice assistants, lil’ guys (virtual droplet-shaped avatars) have a virtual body visible through smart glasses, allowing users to put a face to the voice.
Lil’ guys remain non-intrusive to the user’s day-to-day, as they are gaze-activated—meaning they only appear after the user looks at a gift for a while.
Entry points bridging the virtual and the physical
Lil’ guys act as virtual notes to physical gifts you can leave for yourself or others, transforming every object into an opportunity for connection.
Embodied message sharing
Send messages by tossing a virtual paper airplane towards the gift! The recipients can receive the message through text, email, or their AR glasses.
USER RESEARCH
Investigating Memory
1. Negative episodic memories are easier to recall than positive ones.
When asked about key life events, interviewee’s chosen events were momentous, with both negative and positive effects, yet interviewee’s more easily recalled the negative memories of these events over the positive ones.
2. Gratitude is a positive way to revisit the past.
Focusing on the past may lead to rumination, which can result in detrimental thinking patterns. Gratitude exercises are a way to recognize the past in a positive, healthy manner.
ITERATIONS & EXPLORATIONS
Development
The Birth of “Lil’ Guys”
My teammate suggested we have “little guys”, or wisp-like creatures, guide users towards moments of appreciation.
What counts as a gift?
We also explored expanding the definition of a gift to include non-physical gifts, but it overcomplicated the design and didn’t align with our intended goal.
As such, we focused squarely on connecting with people through physical gifts. Plus, we added a sharing feature that involves paper airplanes, because paper airplanes are fun!
THE DESIGN
Lil’ Gifts
SLIDEDECK
PROTOTYPE VIDEO
NEXT STEPS
With more time...
1. How long do “lil’ guys” last? How long do they stay after their creation?
2. Who has access to “lil’ guys” and their data? What information is shared? What is left private?
3. What would interacting with the Lil’ Gifts interface look like? How would the edge cases play out?
TAKEAWAYS
What I Learned
Design is heavy.
Beyond craft, designers need to consider the weight of the decisions they make.
Working on Lil’ Gifts had us juggling responsibilities we hadn’t anticipated. Concerns regarding sustainability and data proved heftier than expected, and tackling them was no easy feat.
Still, the multi-dimensional thinking necessary for responsible design isn’t meant to be easy. I’m glad to have exercised this skill through this project and am committed to refining it in the future.
Don’t Do be ridiculous!
One thing design has taught me is to never discredit any idea, regardless of how improbable is may seem.
Naturally, it’s important to sift through ideas, but you may never reach the idea you’re most excited about if you’re always self-editing.
When the idea of lil’ guys was first proposed, I was worried the idea may have been too cartoon-ish. However, by ultimately embracing it, we developed a fresh mixed-reality design I’m proud of.
A personal metric I have is that if a child delights in what I’ve made, I’ve succeeded at making it fun.