About:
What did your city look like before it became what you see today?
Perth Virtual Flashback is a short XR challenge focused on creating a concept that connects the modern cityscape with its historical layers through virtual reality. The goal was to develop a clear, accessible direction for a quick “time-flashback” experience in the streets of Perth, visually intuitive and easy to integrate into the urban environment.
Category:
XR/VR concept
Client:
City of Perth
Duration:
3 weeks
Year:
2020
Location:
Perth, Western Australia
Design framework:
Design Thinking
Tools:
Figma
Virtual
History
Digital
City
The problem:
People love old photos of the city, but the tools they use today feel distant: online galleries, archives and social media. There is no simple way to explore Perth’s past directly in the streets, at the real places.
Goal:
Develop a clear, accessible direction for a quick “time-flashback” XR experience in the streets of Perth, visually intuitive and easy to integrate into the urban environment.
My role:
Designer on a three week XR challenge: interviews with locals and visitors, insight mapping, personas, competitor audit, user flows, storyboard, digital wireframes and the app interface.
Methods:
•
Interviews
•
Insight mapping
•
Personas
•
Competitor audit
•
User flows
•
Storyboard
•
Digital wireframes
•
UI design
Emphasize
“I want to explore what Perth looked like back then.” Before designing anything, I needed to know whether a time-flashback made sense to the people who walk these streets.
/01
Speak with people
To check if a “time-flashback” idea made sense, I talked to locals and visitors around Perth. People told me they love old photos of the city, but current tools feel distant: online galleries, archives, social media.
They wanted something simple they could use directly in the streets, at real places. These insights confirmed the interest in an easy way to explore Perth’s past on-site.
The gallery near me or the internet are the places I go most often. There is a similar page of old photos on social media for Perth, but it’s something quite different if you compare them in person.
Jane Dunhill, Local student
Define
My aim was to devise a unique app designed specifically for Perth to encourage a perception and view of the city in a historical and contemporary context.
/01
Key insights of potential user needs
Based on all the information from the interviews, I mapped the notes and divided them into three themes.
Emotional curiosity. People are genuinely curious about Perth’s past and want a connection to real places. “Old photos are cool, but I want to see them in the real place.”
Visual and AR based expectations. “I want to see changes over time visually.”
Simplicity and ease of use. Users expect an extremely simple, clean and accurate experience. “I’d only use it if it’s accurate and straightforward.”
/02
Creating personas
Personas built from the interviews with locals and visitors.
/03
Competitors audit
To compare the competition, I tried to find the same or similar projects that already exist. Virtual tours are more likely to be used as apps that don’t ask the user to travel around the city, which is the core of Perth Virtual Flashback. The apps I could compare also had major technical issues.
Ideate
From insights to structure: user flows, a narrative storyboard and the first digital sketches.
/01
Mapping user flows
To transform the concept into a functional experience, it was essential to define a clear structure. User flow mapping helped me visualise the journey and streamline interactions, from launching the app to putting on the glasses and immersing oneself in history.
/02
Thinking of the concept
To get a better idea of what the project could look like, I used design thinking and narrative storyboard techniques.
/03
Digital wireframes
For the wireframes I chose digital sketching. The visual thinking technique helped me categorise the individual parts of the process and select the most important ones.
Deliver
Our intuitive design makes finding your next virtual journey effortless.
/01
A clean, simple interface for your virtual time travel
Step back in time. Select a historical location and explore the city as it once was.
Customise your virtual journey. Pick a destination and dive into Perth’s rich history instantly.
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