Case study 01 · Augmented reality app

Signal AR

How did we put art in augmented reality?

Client: Signal Festival
Role: Lead UX designer
Year: 2021
Team: My team, working with artists such as Jan Kaláb

What I did

Led the UX end to end: research and benchmarking, user flows, onboarding, user testing and quality assurance.

UX/UI design
Research
User testing
Quality assurance
Figma

Impact

visitors have experienced Signal AR so far, and the number keeps growing: 5,000+

Context and problem

This was Signal Festival's very first experiment with augmented reality. The idea was to let art come alive in the streets of Prague through the screen of your phone, even in broad daylight.

Everything had to work outdoors, on the move, for people opening the app for the first time.

Research and discovery

I started with research and competitor benchmarking. From there I moved through paper sketches and layout tests to find the smoothest possible flow, then mapped it out as user flows in Figma.

Key decisions

01
Unlock each artwork on site
Problem
Every artwork is tied to one specific place in Prague.
Decision
Each piece unlocks when you scan its Signal marker on site.
Why
The art appears exactly where it belongs, instead of relying on location alone.
02
Sound with a safety net
Problem
Every piece has its own sound, but visitors are walking through a busy city.
Decision
The app tells you when to put your headphones on and reminds you to stay aware of your surroundings.
Why
You hear the work the way it was meant to be heard without losing track of the street around you.
03
Feedback while scanning
Problem
Calibrating the 3D scene takes a moment, and a silent screen feels broken.
Decision
Subtle sounds play while you scan a marker.
Why
You know the app is working, so you keep scanning instead of giving up.

Onboarding

What will you see?
How does it work?
Share it with friends
Ready to start

Validation

The onboarding slideshow was validated through user testing. I also worked on quality assurance, checking the real-world edge cases: people walking between exhibitions with the app still open, and GPS lag in the middle of the city.