Introduction

In an age where convenience is king, the retail industry is at a crossroads. The challenge? To marry the instant gratification of online shopping with the tactile satisfaction of the in-store experience. Enter the Flow AR Glasses: an augmented reality interface designed to bridge this divide. This case study explores the journey from concept to prototype, all driven by a deep dive into the user experience.

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Research

A rigorous research approach was essential to capture the full spectrum of customer and employee experiences within the retail space. Through a series of interviews, I gathered narratives that revealed both the high points of shopping satisfaction and the low points of frustration.

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Customer Quotes:

"Just the other day, I got lost in the mall again. I wasted so much time. There should be an app or something that guides me through step by step." — Customer on Navigational Challenges

"I love that 'aha' moment when I find a product that feels like it was made for me. That's when shopping feels truly personal." — Customer on Personalized Experiences

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Retail Worker Quotes:

"There's a clear pattern: when the store's busy, customers get neglected, and they leave without buying anything. It's a lose-lose situation." — Retail Worker on Efficient Customer Service

"We have all these promotions, but customers often overlook them. We need a way to highlight these deals directly to them, at the right time." — Retail Worker on Timely Promotions

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Problem Space

Drawing from the interviews, I identified several key customer and business insights:

Customer Insights:

• Shoppers experience significant frustration when trying to navigate large, crowded malls.
• There's a need for readily available product information.
• Shoppers desire a personalized experience that makes them feel understood and valued.
• Customers want to be intentional with their purchases, avoiding impulse buying.

Business Insights:

• Efficient customer service is crucial for maximizing sales.
• Timely and targeted promotions can significantly increase the likelihood of purchases.

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Ideation & Design

Through the insights that filtered through my interviews, the Flow AR Glasses were born to bring the convenience and personalization of online shopping to the real world of retail malls.

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Sketching

Smart Glasses User Interface

Immerse users, don’t distract them. Try to interrupt your AR world as little as you can. Get users into the experience, and then get out of the way. — Google, ARcore

Google's ARcore provided me a wealth of knowledge to access on the foundational UX/UI principles of designing for augmented reality. I learned to make the experience as nonintrusive as possible, facilitating the users needs at their personal use case.

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To further specialize my understanding of how users normally interact with retail spaces I went back to the mall. This time not to ask questions, but rather to observe how people naturally interact with their surroundings.

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I was able to locate certain points of free space was still part of a brands real estate but could be used as a plane for a digital interaction that would connect the user with the store based on their personal style.

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Each interaction built to guide users through interactions they would find while online shopping but in a physical space.

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Mid-Fidelity & Testing

With the foundational ideas in place, I moved on to Figma for wire-framing and Adobe illustrator for graphical elements. These tools allowed me to translate my sketches into mid fidelity prototypes.

After some trial and error, I quickly found that web design principles, in lots of cases, does not directly translate to an AR experience. Especially in terms of information architecture as customers are less likely to read things up close but rather glance from their current or moving range.

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For those reasons, it made more sense to reduce the amount of white space and increase the text size, while keeping a users priorities in mind.

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Slowly, after many iterations the UI elements and use of space were starting to make sense. I could soon move on to high fidelity once I tested and retested these designs with peers.

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