Project Overview
UI design, UX design, Prototyping, Experimental Design
Figma, Touchdesigner
8 Weeks
Aaron Lee (Motion Designer), Max Tillick (Graphic Designer),
Xania van Loggerenberg (Interactive Designer), Zoe Dawson (Interactive Designer)
The Problem
Many rangatahi in Māori communities continue to feel the effects of post-COVID isolation, experiencing loneliness and difficulty socialising. At the same time, they remain disconnected from the opportunities that emerging technologies like 5G can offer, with few experiences designed to reflect their culture or spark meaningful engagement.
The Solution
We designed an interactive, projection-mapped escape room inspired by the Māori myths of the Patupaiarehe to foster collaboration and cultural pride. Through immersive storytelling and hands-on technology, the experience encourages social reconnection while introducing rangatahi to the creative possibilities of 5G.
Research and Insights
Key Findings
- Rangatahi face isolation, loneliness, and social awkwardness from COVID-19
- 5G technology enables ultra-fast, low-latency connectivity that powers immersive experiences, real-time collaboration
Primary user persona: Maia, 16, Rangatahi looking at career options
Software Experimentation
To understand what we could create, I spent time experimenting with new software. Once I became familiar with how nodes interact and which data inputs were important, I was able to test how hand movement detection could trigger a visual response such as fading out the fire by adjusting its opacity when a hand entered a certain quadrant of the illustration.
Interaction Outcome
The final outcome is to show a working prototype on how interactions could look. Using what I learned on TouchDesigner I was able to create a prototype of one of our first scenes. For this scene the user would hover over the fire with a selected water bucket. They would then hover their hand over the fire to activate the water putting out the fire, this would trigger the next stage. The below shows how the fire turns off by a hovering movement.
Web Design - Mobile
We needed a booking system to manage team registrations for the escape room experience. I began by designing mobile wireframes and created a lo-fi prototype to test the usability of the booking flow. Once the initial design was validated, I handed it off to a team member to develop the web version and code the final website.
Lo-Fi prototype developments
Initial concept sketches focusing on core user flows
Refined designs with final visual hierarchy and interactions
Reflections & Learnings
What I learned
- Learned how to integrate TouchDesigner with MediaPipe to track hand movements and trigger visual effects.
- Gained experience designing for mobile-first booking flows, from lo-fi wireframes to final UI.
- Improved collaborative skills by handing off validated designs for web development within a team setting.
What Could Improve
- The interaction outcome could be developed further to look and feel closer to the final product, rather than a prototype.
- Incorporate user feedback earlier in the design cycle to validate usability across a wider group of rangatahi.