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UX Innovation Competition App

Year: 2025
Role: Team Lead, Lead Designer
Semifinals - 17th UXD Award
Skills: Project Management, UI Design, Innovation

Project Overview

For the 17th UXD Award competition, our team developed an innovative wayfinding application that combines traditional navigation features with social AR (Augmented Reality) aspects. The goal was to create a more engaging and interactive way for users to navigate unfamiliar environments while connection with other in real-time.

As Team Lead and Lead Designer, I coordinated our design efforts, helped plan the timeline, and created the core user interface. Our solution advanced to the semifinals, competing against teams internationally and from Shenzhen, China.

The Challenge

Tasked to find a way AI can be integrated into technology for a push for better societies, we found that traditional wayfinding apps often feel isolating and lack engagement beyond basic directions. We identified an opportunity to enhance the navigation experience by incorporating social elements and AR technology, making the journey more enjoyable for users

As team lead, challenges came in the form of working around the busy schedules of team members, especially during exam periods.
As lead designer, our key challenges included balancing feature complexity with usability, and integration of ideas without detracting from the main processes.

Design Development

Main design screens showcasing the AR aspects

These screens were a careful combination of our efforts in refining our idea. What started out as a vague concept was carefully reexamined and adjusted to filter out ideas beyond feasible timeline scope, and refocused to include core functionality and key features.

Our initial mockup was constructed under a tight timeline, and due to the then-limited abilities of our student-composed team, we chose to represent the AR aspects as a set of images, and highlight the UI and how it would interact in the would be situations.

Screens for a smartwatch companion app

Content and assets provided used within the prototype

Colour guide provided

Key Takeaways

Overall, the team reached the semifinals, developing a showcase video, poster and design rationale showcasing the concept.

Through this project, time allocation and project planning to ensure timely and smooth delivery of each required component was a huge learning point. Learning to design for AR screens was a unique challenge that was interesting to tackle.