Meta AR Content Initiative
Year: 2023
Location: London, UK / Bangalore, India
Client: Meta, Museum of Art & Photography Bangalore
Production Company: UNIT9
My Role: Creative Director leading the Museum of Art & Photography Bangalore client
About
As part of their commitment to harnessing the educational potential of AR, Meta worked with UNIT9 to produce a series of interactive AR effects, collaborating with key partners including BBC Studios, The V&A, NASA and the Museum of Art & Photography Bangalore. Built in Meta Spark – Meta’s AR creator platform – the effects were to serve as part of a wider research initiative looking into the effectiveness of AR as a learning tool.
Execution
AR effects are predominantly associated with brand marketing campaigns rather than as a tool to aid learning. So we needed to think creatively in order to explore the use of AR within educational and cultural environments and come up with a series of innovative immersive learning solutions.
To kick off, we held interactive workshops with Meta and each Partner to explore the opportunities and use cases for AR within their organisation, as well as uncover what would appeal most to their specific audiences.
Following the workshops, we explored a number of AR concepts for each Partner, all with the goal of teaching their audiences about an object, artwork, or idea of interest. Five effects per partner were then commissioned for production over an 8-10 week period before being launched on Instagram and other Partner-owned channels, as well as the Meta Spark Hub.
For the Museum of Art & Photography Bangalore, we explored how art could be brought to life through AR. Users are able to help complete paintings by adding brushstrokes, assemble a tapestry via a jigsaw puzzle, and go behind-the-scenes at an Indian Shadow Puppet show to see how the artform takes shape.
Along with the AR experiences, we spoke to the team at MAP museum and capture their thoughts and thinking in regards to bringing AR into the art world:
The Results
With a thorough ideation, development and testing process and close collaboration with Meta, BBC Studios, The V&A, NASA and the Museum of Art & Photography Bangalore, we were able to create a series of educational AR effects that audiences could truly connect with. It was incredible to push the boundaries of AR to lengths we haven’t seen before, creating full-blown immersive educational experiences – all accessible from a phone screen.
