An interactive and modular wallet pairs to a mobile interface, giving Convergence Station visitors a chance to unlock content by solving puzzles and cryptic cues.
YEAR
2022
LEGTH
8-Week Project
ROLE
UX, UI, Product Designer
PROBLEM
Meow Wolf's Convergence Station is an immersive art exhibit that transports people into a new world through art, exploration, and play. The problem is this engaging content is not reflected in the gift shop. Meow Wolf hired MaCher, a marketing and product design agency, to find a solution.
INSIGHTS
During our research we discovered that Meow Wolf has an extremely wide demographic of users, but one thing we did find in common is the fan's love for puzzles. Many of the die-hard Meow Wolf lovers are still trying to solve the story, even after multiple visits to Convergence Station. This is something that frustrates visitors, our team needed to find a way for users to collect clues and continue solving the story outside of the exhibit.
SOLUTION
The Sidereal Connector is an interactive wallet that can be purchased before, during, or after the Meow Wolf experience. With the wallet, users can interact with the exhibit by tapping it at Memports to collect memories. The memories are uploaded and stored inside of the app's memory vault, so the user can rewatch them after their experience to search for any clues or messages they may have missed. During the experience, users can search for AR creatures on the app. Many of the creatures are hidden behind puzzles sent by the app that the user must solve by moving the wallet pieces into the correct position.
PROTOTYPE
MEET THE STAKEHOLDERS
KEY INSIGHTS
INTERNAL RESEARCH
The first step was learning about the Meow Wolf community, and Reddit was the best place to do so with their 7.1k Meow Wolf members.
We found that the mysterious story of the Convergence Station is fan's greatest love and also greatest frustration. Our team directed our to focus to the QPASS, a $3 card users have the option to purchase to tap at Memports in the exhibit to collect memories which help solve the story.
KEY INSIGHTS
EXTERNAL RESEARCH
We researched how museums use technology to create a better experience for their visitors.
Augmented Reality is becoming a popular way museums are bringing their exhibits to life. The Smithsonian is taking advantage of social media and making AR experiences through Instagram filters. The French National History Museum launched an AR installation in 2021, where visitors wear AR googles and see the exhibit come to life.
KEY INSIGHTS
Our team took our research to a concept generation matrix, where we wrote down all of the insights we found. Using those insights, we brainstormed possible proucts.
KEY INSIGHTS
FIRST IDEA
A personalized Meow Wolf passport. The Passport connects to a phone app where users can watch memories they collected from the experience.
USER JOURNEY
FLOWCHART
UPDATED SKETCHES
Our team developed our passport sketches to send to the stakeholders for our initial concept proposal. To involve the user's love for puzzles we created a puzzle box that users must solve to obtain their passport.
FEEDBACK
We sent our initial concept to the stakeholders for feedback and we learned our concept was not reusable, and would be easily shoved in a drawer or thrown away. We needed to rethink our idea and make it reusable long term.
PIVOTING
Looking into ways travel companies create re-usable products for clients, we came to the idea of a travel wallet, with a notebook inside for users to write down clues during their Convergence Station visit.
WHY A WALLET?
CONNECTING PHYSICAL TO DIGITAL
By putting a circuit board inside the wallet, placing magnets on pieces that users can decorate their wallet with, and using a bluetooth transmitter, the wallet could be easily connected to a phone. This idea led us to exploring how moving around the pieces could create an interactive experience in the app. We wanted to re-establish the puzzle aspect we found so important in our research. Users could solve puzzles and unlock features and clues by decoding messages in the app on how to move their wallet pieces correctly.
WIREFRAMES
HEURISTIC EVALUATION INSIGHTS
PHYSICAL PROTOTYPE
EXPLODED VIEW
DIGITAL PROTOTYPE
3D RENDERING
OUR OUTCOME
The stakeholders loved the look of the wallet, and appreciated the reusability of it. Having the wallet be purchased before your visit opens up opportunities for users to learn more about the Meow Wolf background and what to expect during their experience. Luciano brought up a great point, the app needs to be more accessible to everyone, not just those who buy the wallet. Not everyone will want this wallet and those people who don't should still have access to the AR experience and memory vault.
WHAT'S NEXT?
