Prisma
Augmented Business Cards
Overview
Prisma was created for designers and CAD users, implementing modern AR technology into business cards to allow for more effective portfolio and project sharing. The goal was to allow for a more informative and memorable way of sharing the 3D aspects of a project, and the details that may get lost in a 2D space.
Tools
Spark AR
Autodesk Fusion / Blender
Keyshot
Adobe Illustrator / Adobe Photoshop
Laser Cutting
Environment
Hybrid Realities
Date
2023
Developing business cards with an integrated AR display, capable of projecting CAD models and other 3D projects into physical space. The models appear at scale and can be inspected from all directions, creating a more interactive and engaging means of presentation. The simplicity of the form allows the focus to remain on the work being shared rather than the medium delivering it. Implementing AR into a familiar physical product gives designers a natural and immediate way to communicate spatial projects in the moments that matter most.
The initial iterative process relied on finding a way to represent both the aesthetics of the product that would be displayed, and the personal brand of the artist. Through a series of sketches on adobe illustrator, I created unique vectors for each of my previous projects, creating a minimal and clean aesthetic that still effectively represents each product.
When creating the physical cards for the project, an issue became apparent with the "target tracking" functions of current AR programs. The solution was implementing these images that are specifically generated to be more easily captured by AR. In order to maintain a certain visual coherence with the cards, interactions were introduced to reveal these images for scanning, which varied based on the project it was showing. Three previous projects were chosen for their unique function and aesthetics.
In order to create the projections, each project was remodeled in Fusion 360, rendered in Keyshot, and compressed in Blender to make it compatible for import into Meta Spark Studio. Each card was designed with the original products form factor and function, while maintaining a consistent aesthetic between the three.
Months after the initial completion of the project, I got the opportunity to exhibit a formal analysis on Prisma, weighing the potential cost and benefit of the project. The study showed that although some designs may seem innovative, they may hinder or otherwise Impair a user's experience. The matter how the outcome impacts a designer's product, further thinking and analysis are imperative to good design.
