
Mixed-Reality Exploration Experience for Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
Overview
01
Keywords
Mixed Reality, AR/VR, Unity, Midjourney, Meta Quest 3
Design Timeline
Nov 2023 - Dec 2023
Highlights
Prototyping with Meta Quest 3
Team Members
Revati Naniwadekar, Shama Patwardhan, and Vanya Rawat
My Role
Research & Synthesis, Conceptualization, MR UI Design, App UI Design, Midjourney Illustrations, Video Production, AfterEffects Editing, & Concept Video Editing.
Project Summary
01
Objective
How might we enhance the library experience for teenagers to help them discover new interests?
Final Outcome
Lore, A mixed-reality library exploration experience
A theme-based exploration experience that introduces teenagers to a variety of topics to help them discover new interests.

Background
03
About the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh (CLP)
With the main branch in Oakland, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh has 19 libraries across the city which host 2.9 million+ visitors each year.
Being ‘Free to the people’ CLP is viewed as a catalyst to improving the quality of life in the region.

CLP is a Home to More than Just Books...

Why CLP?
The library is home to abundant resources, presenting an opportunity to explore new innovative ways that enable using them to their fullest.
Research Methods




Research Insights
04
Who Visits the Library & What For?
Out of the various demographics, we chose to focus on teens. Teenage is the phase where one explores new interests to determine career paths and plus, develop a reading habit. The wealth of resources in the library is perfect to cater to this.

Teenagers & their Library Habits
Source: American Psychology Association & Pew Research Center
< 20%
of teens read books everyday
>80%
on social media everyday
98%
technology adoption rate
63%
of teens think libraries promote learning and a love of reading
<17%
of teens visit libraries regularly
What do Teen Patrons Think about CLP?

Space for self-guided learning
Seen as a community space for self-guided learning. The tangibility of books & space aids in it.

Discovery of books can be difficult
Stacks can be overwhelming & librarian recommendations aren’t always best suited

Excitement around technology
Majorly visit to use the technology in the library and are excited about having more.
Design Approach
1. Doesn’t detract from current experience
2. Evolves & keeps updating
3. Captures & maintains attention

Ideation
05
Storyboarding

Testing Gestures on MR headsets

Hololens
Hololens was a good choice, however, due to premature creator tools in Unity, we chose not to go forward with it.

MetaQuest 3
We chose MetaQuest 3 for the demo. We familiarized ourselves with its interface and tested various gestures to define the gestures most intuitive for our interactions.
Final Designs
06
System Diagram

Gestures

Tap to Select
Tap on book covers to start your interactive experience

Swipe to Browse
Choosing a theme while browsing through the options

Pinch to Pick
Pinch the artifacts you discover on books

Drag to Collect
Drag the artifacts to the drawer to add them to collection
Mixed-Reality UI Design
Glassmorphism, a magical realism style of Illustrations for ambiance and to balance with the colorful library background.

Journey Map
WHAT: Agency to craft their own exploration adventure within the library.
WHY: Exploration needs to be self-directed to keep the user engaged.
HOW: Users can explore any section of the library in their preferred order. In each section, they will find options to either return to the starting point or navigate to another section.

Final Designs
1. Choosing a theme
WHAT: Choosing from themes curated monthly.
WHY: To provide a diverse range of options, catering to each user's preferences, allowing them to select personal interests.
HOW: Current trends, news, and events-based content are updated every month to ensure the selection remains current, fresh, and captivating.
Final Designs
2. Choosing a Book
WHAT: Highlight books of the chosen theme and assist book selection through book reviews.
WHY: Empowering users to choose their own books which helps them feel in control over the journey.
HOW: Highlighted books emit a gentle glow. Information about each book, including facts and reviews, is presented to help users in making well-informed decisions.
Final Designs
3. Collecting Artifacts
WHAT: Collecting Artifacts to add to a bookmark souvenir.
WHY: Rewards fuel the user’s motivation to stay engaged and finish the journey.
HOW: The collection of artifacts triggers the brain's reward center, sustaining the user's engagement in the journey by offering a tangible souvenir to anticipate at the conclusion.
Final Designs
4. Immersive Pod
WHAT: Multi-modal interactions with a book.
WHY: To enhance the comprehension of complex and abstract concepts to make them approachable and hence, interesting.
HOW: An immersive pod that replicates the ambiance of the book, enabling users to engage with the content through various modalities, including viewing dynamic images and exploring three-dimensional objects.
Impact
07
Take-Aways
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Considerations when designing for UI in MR.
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Tying in a digital experience without taking away from the physicality.
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Breaking away from creating a guided experience.
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Project planning could improve next time: it was difficult to estimate time because we were working on something very new.
