AR Experience · Mobile Design
KUBIK —AR Architecture
Discovery App
Discovery App
AR Experience
Mobile Design
User Research
Prototyping
01
Overview
What is
KUBIK?
KUBIK?
KUBIK is a mobile AR experience that helps users instantly discover the history of buildings around them — just by pointing their phone at a façade. It combines AR overlays, before-and-after visuals, short audio guides, and micro-stories to make urban history feel alive and accessible.
3
Weeks
Solo
Designer
AR
Mobile First
My Contribution
"History is everywhere — but invisible to most people walking past it."
As the sole designer on this concept project, I was responsible for the full UX process — from defining the problem and conducting research, to creating wireframes, high-fidelity prototypes, and the final design system.
02
Problem & Goal
The Problem
History is invisible
to those passing by
to those passing by
People walk past historically significant buildings every day — but the stories behind them stay hidden. Existing solutions are fragmented, text-heavy, and not built for someone on the move.
Difficult to skim on mobile
Scattered across multiple platforms
No emotional connection to place
Not designed for exploration in motion
The Goal
Make urban history instant
and immersive
and immersive
Design a mobile-first AR experience that lets anyone discover the story of a building within seconds — visually, intuitively, and without breaking their stride.
Instant historical context via AR
Visual-first, scannable information
Save locations and build personal tours
Emotionally engaging storytelling
03
Research & Insights
Understanding the
people & the problem
people & the problem
01
Qualitative Interviews
7 participants — locals & tourists. Goal: understand how people explore architectural history in cities and what frustrates them.
02
Competitor Analysis
5 city & museum apps reviewed. Looking for content gaps, navigation patterns, and what makes existing solutions fall short.
03
Field Observation
User behavior observed at popular tourist landmarks in Cologne — how people interact with their phones while exploring.
Key Insights
01
Users want visual, scannable content
Long text blocks are ignored outdoors — people want information in seconds, not paragraphs.
02
Registration is a dealbreaker
Users abandon apps that require sign-up before accessing basic historical content.
03
AR creates the strongest emotional impact
Before-and-after historical comparisons were rated the most engaging format by all participants.
04
Language access matters
Tourist users highlighted language barriers as a major pain point in existing city apps.
04
Design Decisions
From sketch
to solution
to solution
Step 01 — Wireframes
Structure before
visual design
visual design
Before any visual decisions, I mapped out the core flows — location awareness, audio playback, and the past/present toggle. Low-fidelity wireframes helped validate the navigation structure early.
Intuitive navigation hierarchy
Simple AR entry point
Minimal cognitive load outdoors
Step 02 — AR Interaction
Camera first,
content second
content second
The AR experience starts immediately — no menus, no onboarding walls. A scan frame guides users to point at a building and the story appears within seconds.
Large central capture button for one-hand use
Short imperative copy reduces confusion outdoors
Fullscreen view keeps focus on architecture
Step 03 — Information Architecture
Two paths,
one clear entry
one clear entry
The app splits into two distinct flows — casual discovery without registration, and a personalised experience for saved tours and memories. This decision removed the biggest friction point users face.
No forced sign-up to explore
Clear separation of guest vs. user features
Logical grouping reduces navigation depth
05
Design Showcase
The final
design
design
Screen 01 — Onboarding
Choose your path, instantly
No forced sign-up. Users choose how they want to discover the city — as a visitor or with a personal tour account. The map confirms their location before anything else loads.
Screen 02 — Core Features
Home, audio & my tour
The three screens users spend the most time in — discovering places, listening to historical audio guides, and planning their personal tour with a smart calendar filter.
Screen 03 — UI Details
Every element has a reason
Annotated screens showing the key UI decisions — from the central camera button for instant AR access, to the clean navigation bar and smart scheduling view.
06
Outcome & Impact
What the design
achieved
achieved
4.8/5
Usability Score
Average rating on ease of use and clarity
Based on concept feedback
92%
Task Completion
Users completed the AR flow without guidance
Simulated prototype testing
0
Forced Sign-ups
Full exploration available without registration
Core design decision
The final design successfully addressed all three core pain points identified in research — fragmented content, registration barriers, and lack of emotional connection to place. The AR before/after toggle was the most memorable and emotionally engaging feature of the app.
07
Key Learning
What I learned
along the way
along the way
01
Test early, not after
Early wireframe testing revealed navigation issues I hadn't anticipated. Waiting until high-fidelity would have cost far more time to fix.
02
Simplicity is a design decision
Every feature I removed made the app stronger. The hardest part wasn't adding — it was knowing what to leave out.
03
Context changes everything
Designing for outdoor use forced me to rethink contrast, text size, and one-handed interaction in ways a standard project never would.
04
Emotion drives engagement
The AR before/after toggle was the emotional core of the app. Users remembered it most because it made history feel personal.
fin.
End of Case Study — KUBIK
Thanks
for reading
for reading
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