Post-It Note Mural Maker

Augmented Reality

OVERVIEW

The goal of this application was to give users a hands free way of creating a Post-it Note mural in a public space, quickly and easily.

In addition to that, this was one of the first, wearable, AR demos created at 3M, so we took this opportunity to evaluate the user experience design and create brand guidelines for future demonstrations.

This was designed so that it could be used on a HoloLens headset and was demonstrated at Tradeshows as a way to engage customers and showcase our vision of physical products into the metaverse.

ROLE & DURATION

Creative Director | 3M

Concept Development, Storyboarding, Design Strategy, Creative Direction, Testing, Product Launch & Management

June - Sep 2021

The Problem

Post-it Note murals can be deceptively large and very difficult to make without a reference. The classic way of putting one up is to have the image you are replicating nearby on a phone or a printed piece of paper so that you can recreate what you are seeing. This can lead to issues of the mural not being centered properly, or being larger than the space allows, or simply taking a long time as you go back and forth between the reference image and the wall.

We wanted to make this an easier process so that users would feel more confident in their ability to complete the mural.

The Research Phase

The first thing that I had my team do was start with a research phase so we could better understand the mural creation process. As part of this research the team spent time making murals and watching other make murals to see what the typical problems are with the process.

The findings of that research are compiled here so that we can more easily define the problems and see how AR can address them.

Key Considerations

Through the mural construction reseach process, we noticed several key pain points that could be tackled effectively by AR wearables.

Create an easy way to identify scale of design quickly and whether or not it will fit in the desired location.
A quick ability to align the design into the desired location.
Making placing the notes on a grid easy so that they do not need to carry multiple stacks of notes at once or rely on previously placed notes.
Make the process faster and more enjoyable.

Initial Design Flow Studies

Following our research, we held a series of quick brainstorming sessions which resulted in a few different AR app concepts. Using Figma, my team then created mockups that reflected these ideas and slowly worked on merging together what worked.

This began the evolution and refinement of the design we would eventually get to.

Along the way my role was to give my feedback and suggestions on the design and which mechanics I felt worked the best for our customers.

Brand
Optimization

Below is a glimpse my teams early attempts at modifying the base MRTK UX elements with the branding of Post-it. I was tasked with maintaining the brand while integrating it into a new medium. My team, through several iterations, was able to find a balance that worked with the HoloLens and the Post-it Note brand team.

The Results

This was a wonderful success story about how our physical products can be integrated into new digital tools. My team and I were able to get the AR design patented for it's novel qualities. It was also featured at the 3M 2023 CES booth. It was a very popular attraction and it is now being turned into a much larger showcase for a future tradeshow.

The value of a tool like this is to showcase to our customers our ability to work with new and emerging technologies while also helping to expand our digital footprint in the mixed reality space.

Final Design Overview Video

Comparing the methods

Here is a quick video that shows the difference in building a mural the typical away, vs using the wearable AR headset.