Design the invitation first
Augmented reality, or AR, puts digital objects into a view of the real world. People might move their phone to explore a scene or tap a character to see what happens. Unlike a film, you cannot assume everyone will look at things in the same order.
Start with the action you want someone to take. Is it placing a digital world, exploring a scene or triggering a character? A clear first step matters more than showing every possible feature at once. The experience should give the person a reason to continue and enough feedback to know what happened.
Consider the physical setting
AR combines digital content with a view of the real world. That means the design has to account for variation in the surrounding space, lighting and the way a phone is held. A carefully staged marketing image is not the only situation the finished work will encounter.
Think about scale and readability. A character may look impressive at one size and unclear at another. Important actions need to be visible from the likely viewpoints. The experience should be tested in representative conditions, on the devices people will use.
Animation can explain interaction
Movement can show that an object has been selected, an action has succeeded or a character is inviting attention. Those moments are part of the interface as well as the visual experience. They should respond clearly without making the person wait through unnecessary decoration.
Move’s LEGO City project lets players arrange roads and buildings and see their creation spring into action. The Nintendo and LEGO Super Mario project brings an interactive course into the player’s space. In both, the animation responds to what the player does.
Plan the experience as a whole
Story, design, animation and technical implementation need to fit together. A beautiful scene may not be appropriate if it is difficult to navigate or demands more than the target device can support. Agree performance and delivery requirements early, then test the essential interaction before polishing every detail.
Also decide how the experience begins and ends. A person should understand how to enter, what is available to do and how to leave or try again. Clear instructions are part of the creative work, not an admission that the idea has failed.
Storyboard the interaction, including when it fails
Draw the sequence from opening the experience to completing its first action. Include instructions, the response to a tap and what happens if the content cannot be placed or tracking is interrupted. Show people how to get back to what they were doing.
Test the working experience on the intended devices. A person should be able to tell what to do, whether it worked and how to try again. An attractive animated object alone does not answer those interface questions.
