CASE STUDY · ART AND EVENTS AR

In Situ Paradise: an art biennale in your pocket

For the organisers of the art biennale In Situ Paradise, we built the official event app. Visitors find every artist on an interactive map, then point their phone to see artworks come to life in augmented reality. Almost every visitor used it to find their way through the event.

CLIENT
The biennale organisers
INDUSTRY
Art, culture and events
WHAT WE BUILT
Event app with map and AR artworks
WHERE IT RUNS
iPhone and Android, across the event
Illustration generated in code
AT A GLANCE
  • Used by almost all visitorsTo find their way around the event
  • Artists in controlThey update their own content, live
  • AR artworksShown in 3D, placed in the real world
  • iPhone and AndroidTwo platforms
THE PROBLEM

An event spread across a whole town

A biennale spreads artworks and artists across many locations. First time visitors easily miss works, or spend their visit looking for them.

Printed maps go out of date quickly, and many artworks have more to say than a small label can hold.

The organisers wanted one app that guides visitors, tells each artist’s story, and makes the art itself more alive.

HOW WE SOLVED IT

One app for the whole biennale

We built an event app combining an interactive map, artist stories and augmented reality artworks. Visuals are confidential, so this page uses illustrations.

  1. 01

    Find every artist on the map

    An interactive map shows every participating artist and venue, so visitors can plan their route and never miss a work.

    THE CHALLENGECombining maps, AR and live content in one app without it feeling complicated.
    HOW WE SOLVED ITWe designed one simple flow: map first, then artist, then the artwork in AR.
  2. 02

    See the art come alive

    Visitors point their phone at a surface or an image, and artworks appear in 3D in the real world around them.

    THE CHALLENGEAR has to work on every kind of phone, in every kind of light.
    HOW WE SOLVED ITWe tested on a wide range of iPhone and Android devices so AR starts quickly and stays stable.
  3. 03

    Artists keep their own pages fresh

    Artists add and update their videos, descriptions and works themselves, during the event.

    THE CHALLENGEContent that changes daily without breaking the app or needing an update.
    HOW WE SOLVED ITWe built cloud content delivery with a secure backend, so changes go live instantly.
  4. 04

    Ready for the crowds

    The app stays fast and stable even when large numbers of visitors use it at the same time.

    THE CHALLENGEEvent days bring sudden peaks of traffic.
    HOW WE SOLVED ITWe optimised both the AR and the backend to handle many visitors at once.
THE OUTCOME

The way visitors experienced the biennale

Almost every visitor used the app to navigate the event, find artists and see their work in augmented reality.

  • Visitors find every artist without getting lost
  • Artists share more than a label ever could
  • Organisers update event information live
Want to see the visuals?
This project is under NDA, so we cannot show it publicly. Book a call and we will walk you through it privately.
Book a call to see it →
FOR YOUR TECHNICAL TEAM

What it is built with

Not technical? You can skip this part.
PLATFORMSiPhone and Android
ENGINEUnity with AR Foundation
ARPlane detection and image recognition
MAPSInteractive event map
BACKENDNode.js and MongoDB, cloud content delivery
BUILT FORMany visitors at the same time
← Previous projectTesting an EEG headset with moving worldsNext project →Bringing a treetop walk’s history to life

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