Designed byKristjan Buckingham
What is the message in the media? Discover the hidden messages in the marker symbols with this Augmented Reality app. Inspired by quotes from classic and contemporary books, graphic novels, films, and TV series, my project showcases the potential of integrating AR with everyday objects to reveal something more. The app works with a series of AR markers to explore themes of reality, our perception of it, and the way media can alter that experience.
This set of printed cards act as Augmented Reality markers, which the app tracks to overlay the virtual elements. There are 16 sequential cards which reveal quotes from various media. The backs of the cards come together to form a larger image, which plays a clip from the 2001 film Waking Life. There is also a card crediting the sources, for a total of 17 cards and 18 unique AR markers.
The virtual elements interact with the printed markers to illustrate a broader message that questions one’s experience of reality and the role media plays in what we define as real.
The logo for The Message in the Media was designed as an optical illusion, which changes perspective depending how the viewer sees the image, and represents a virtual projection from an AR marker. This design was adapted for the app icon by removing the text and increasing the line weight.
The Augmented Reality component of this project was designed using the platform Unity, along with AR marker support from the SDK (Software Development Kit) Vuforia. The virtual components were built with original 3D objects, utilizing various effects such as light emission and animation.