TowARds is a mobile AR experience that brings the history of the National Road to life, letting players explore its evolution and impact on American communities using Niantic’s AR technology.
Project Deliverable
UI Design
AR UX Design
Tool
Figma
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Illustration
Blender
Unity 3D
Timeline
Jan 2025 - May 2025
Team
UI/UX Designer: Ye
3D Artist: Yufei, Minghao
Programmer: Nellie, Yuchen
Challenge
Many users find history dull due to unengaging text and lack of immersion. The challenge is to make the AR experience more accessible, realistic, and engaging to boost user connection and participation with the National Road’s history.
Opportunity
Smartphones are widely owned by everyday users, and AR technology can enhance immersion. By using simple interactions, we can offer users a complete, engaging story experience that helps them learn and connect with the history of the National Road.
OVERVIEW
The Experience
We developed an augmented reality (AR) mobile game for phones that is played in an outdoor, open area. Players get to experience a slice of life on the historic National Road and learn about the work and challenges that went into traveling along the road in the 1840s.
OVERVIEW
My Role
I worked as the UI/UX designer on the team, creating all 2D and 3D UI elements using Figma and Blender. I participated in the entire development process—from brainstorming and field studies to playtesting and final presentation. Our team conducted user testing with naïve users to evaluate their understanding of the story and interaction flow. I also conducted competitive research to identify the strengths and limitations of mobile AR experiences, helping inform our design decisions.
In addition, I was also responsible for the team's website design and branding-related materials.
RESEARCH
Background Research
01. National Road Museum
- Understanding the History of the National Road
- Learning About Early Transportation
02. Searights Tollhouse
We gained a human-centered understanding of how tollhouse keepers lived and worked, along with interesting historical facts that added depth to the story of the National Road.
03. Competitor Research
We conducted competitor research to explore how AR experiences perform on mobile devices, providing inspiration for our own design.
SYNTHESIS
Brainstorm
Building on our meeting with Jesse Schell, we applied his advice by brainstorming potential learning outcomes, engaging experiences, and AR features to help identify the elements we’re most excited to develop further.
SYNTHESIS
Synthesizing Feedback
We organized the instructors' feedback from each group into an affinity diagram to pull out the most common sentiments.
SYNTHESIS
Insights
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Engaging teens unfamiliar with the National Road requires designing experiences that are inherently fun and relatable.
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AR’s unique capabilities offer opportunities beyond other platforms, but success depends on balancing technological features with genuine audience enjoyment.
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The experience’s impact may increase if tied to specific locations or integrated with broader educational activities, rather than being fully location-agnostic.
DESIGN
Design Goals
01. Create a believable AR experience of the National Road in the 1840s
To support historical authenticity in our AR experience of the 1840s National Road, I designed the UI based on period artifacts observed during research, ensuring the interface visually aligns with the era.
02. Make AR interactions more intuitive and accessible for naive users
In order to enhance the intuitiveness and accessibility of AR interactions for inexperienced users, I adopted a flat UI approach for visual clarity and integrated both static and animated cues informed by user feedback to support effective guidance throughout the experience.
03. Deliver educational value through historical content
By integrating interactive storytelling with historical education, I designed the UI to enhance user engagement by presenting supplementary information tailored to their interests, thereby reinforcing the educational impact of the experience.
REFLECTION
Playtesting
01. Regular Playtesting
We frequently joined playtests during development to validate our demos and collect user feedback for experience improvements.
Playtesting revealed that while players were engaged by certain interactions, they struggled with long dialogue, unclear visual feedback, and an unpolished swiping mechanic. Many also expressed a need for a clearer overall goal, noting that the current tree-chopping sequence felt repetitive and lacked progression.
02. Playtest Day
To ensure our experience could appeal to users of different age groups, we participated in the ETC’s Open House playtest. During this session, we tested with users of diverse ages and backgrounds, gathered valuable feedback, and continuously refined our design based on their input.
DELIVERABLE
Final Design