Conducted usability testing to spot friction points in AR tracking, 3D asset performance and onboarding flow.
Echoes of the Underground
Exploring Baker Street’s history through an immersive AR experience that brings the past to life.
Role
UI/UX Designer
Leader, Idea Generation, UI Design, UX Research, Wireframing, Prototyping, Unity Developer, Coding, SDK Integration
Client
Coursework Group Project
Tools
Figma, FigJam, Unity, Vuforia Engine, Adobe Photoshop & Cinema 4D
Status 🟢
Completed
Year
May 2024
Description
Echoes of the Underground is an augmented reality experience designed for London’s historic Baker Street station, It lets visitors and daily commuters discover the hidden stories of Baker Street by pointing their phone cameras at real relics, bringing the Underground’s heritage to life through interactive 3D models and a gamified adventure.
INTERACTIVE PROTOTYPE
CHALLENGES
Through research, user interviews, and prototype testing, I uncovered the following challenges for the Echoes of the Underground AR experience:
- Hidden relics are easily overlooked by busy passengers
- Commuters and tourists have limited time for static signs
- AR tracking can struggle with changing light and movement
- Large 3D models can disrupt performance
- Static overlays alone are not engaging enough without interaction or gamification
SOLUTIONS
I addressed these challenges by:
- Making relics easier to spot with clear AR markers and in-app guidance
- Designing quick, simple interactions that fit into short wait times
- Training extra target images for better image recognition in different scenarios.
- Avoiding large 3D models for a smoother performance and a better experience.
- Adding gamified badges and an interactive map to keep users exploring
UX GOALS
- Use AR to reveal history in an engaging way.
- Keep interaction intuitive (Start, Aim Camera, Learn more).
- Make the experience accessible for all ages, from tourists to commuters.
- Blend education and entertainment to enrich daily travel.
DOWNLOADS
Minimum Requirements:
- Android 8.0 (Oreo) or higher
- ARCore – supported device (most modern Android phones)
- At least 2GB of RAM
- Rear camera required for AR tracking
How to Install:
- Make sure your phone meets the requirements above.
- Click the Download button to get the APK file.
- When the download is finished, tap the file in your notifications or find it in your file manager.
- If asked, allow installation from Unknown Sources in your device’s settings.
- Follow the on-screen steps to complete the installation.
Need help? Check this quick guide: How to install APKs on Android
Click on the button below to download the APK for this app and try it for yourself at the Baker Street London Underground Station.
Note: This app is safe and verified by the developer. Always download APKs from trusted sources only.
USER PERSONA
USER INTERVIEW
Participants: 4 London Underground passengers including commuters, tourists and local history enthusiasts
Method: 30-minute in-person and remote interviews recorded and transcribed
Goal: Identify how passengers engage with historic spaces and find opportunities for an AR experience
I conducted 4 user interviews with London Underground users to understand how they notice or overlook hidden relics and what would make an AR layer engaging and practical during their daily journeys.
USABILITY TESTING
COMPETITOR ANALYSIS
Evaluated museum AR apps and city tour guides to identify best practices for location-based storytelling, tracking reliability and engaging historical content.
USER JOURNEY
Mapped user journey from opening the app to viewing 3D content, reading more about the object, saving the relics and exploring the next station on the map.
AFFINITY MAPPING
Grouped insights from interviews, surveys, reviews and tests to highlight themes:
- Tracking Feedback
- Quick Discovery
- Flow
- Engagement
These insights shaped the design priorities, highlighted key user needs and informed how to make the AR experience more engaging and intuitive.
HOW MIGHT WE ⁉
How might we make Baker Street’s hidden history visible again?
IDEATION & UX STRATEGY
I focused on:
- Explored depth-based AR vs Target Images based AR (chose Target-based due to the time constraints).
- Teammate designed the 3D relics in Cinema4D to feel hand-crafted and aged.
- I built a test prototype with Figma and the working MVP with Unity and Vuforia.
- Iterated image tracking and UI based on user tests.
SIMPLIFIED USER FLOW
- Open App
- Intro by Sherlock Holmes (sets the story context)
- On-Screen Instructions (guides the user to aim the camera)
- Aim Camera (locate hidden relics)
- Relic Detected (AR 3D object overlaid over the old relic)
- Read More (access historical details)
- Unlock Object (collect badge or fact)
- View Map (see where to find the next relic)
DESIGN SYSTEM OVERVIEW
RESEARCH & FINDINGS
Interested in reading the whole report?
(This was an initial report created before a clear creative direction was set.
The entire research was later revised and redeveloped by me.)
Click Here
