Prototype

The Expat

What if…

we could experience art interactively in order to make its message more memorable?

Problem

Artists transport their message through the medium of their choice. We looked at the example of photos of expats, showing people who were displaced from their homes. Of course a photographer can be very expressive in his art but there are limits.

Solution

We chose VR to extend the photographic work of the expats. The ideas was to have the observer literally rip out the subject from his photo and place him into a strange new environment. One hand is used to grab the person, the other hand is used to swipe the background. This physical interaction might help the visitor to connect with the photo because he is touching it and actively modifying it.

Challenges

From usability point of view we had to find a way to make the task physically challenging but still easy to be performed. This was harder than expected because every user reacts vastly different to this challenge. Simply pulling the asset with one hand and have the background change automatically was too boring for experienced users while the two hand activity was extremely challenging for first-time users.