What are the best practices for creating an augmented reality user interface prototype?

1 Define your AR scenario

Before you start prototyping, you need to define your AR scenario, or the context and purpose of your AR application. What problem are you trying to solve? Who are your users and what are their goals and needs? How will they interact with the AR content and the real environment? What are the technical constraints and opportunities of your AR platform? Answering these questions will help you scope your prototype and set your research objectives.

2 Choose your prototyping tools

Depending on your AR scenario, you might need different tools to create your AR prototype. Sketching with pen and paper or a digital sketching app is a quick and low-fidelity way to explore and communicate design concepts. Graphic design software, such as Photoshop or Illustrator, can be used to create more detailed and realistic images of the AR interface. Wireframing software, such as Balsamiq or Figma, is a high-fidelity way to demonstrate and test navigation and functionality. Finally, using a prototyping software like Adobe XD or Unity can create a fully functional AR prototype that runs on your target device, allowing you to simulate and test the AR experience in the real world.

3 Follow AR design principles

When designing your AR prototype, you should take into account some general AR design principles. These include respecting the real world by not obstructing it with AR content, providing feedback through visual, auditory, and haptic cues, and supporting interaction with gestures, voice, or physical controllers. For example, you can use transparency, depth, and occlusion to create a sense of realism and immersion. You can also use animations, sounds, and vibrations to show when an AR object is selected, moved, or activated. Furthermore, pinch, drag, or tap gestures can be used to resize, move, or select AR objects. By following these design principles your AR prototype will be more intuitive and natural for users.

4 Test your AR prototype

Once you have created your AR prototype, it is essential to test it with real users in real environments to evaluate usability, feasibility, and desirability. There are various methods you can use to do this, such as observation, interviews, and surveys. Through observation, you can observe user interactions with the environment and record behaviors, reactions, and emotions. Interviews allow you to ask open-ended questions about the user experience and probe for opinions and suggestions. Surveys help quantify user performance, satisfaction, and acceptance of the prototype. Crafting an AR interface prototype is a difficult but rewarding process that can help create innovative and engaging experiences for users. By following these best practices, you can create an AR prototype that is realistic, usable, and engaging.

5 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?