The lion is on the loose in Lucerne! With the help of the concept idea by Natalie Neff and me, which was developed in collaboration with the Visual Narrative research group at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, tourists and locals should be able to discover the different facets of the Lion Monument in Lucerne. An illustrated lion guides guests through the city with the help of an application that tells real stories and connects the digital and analog worlds with an AR application.
Abstract
The Lion Monument in Lucerne is one of the most popular and probably the most photographed cultural heritage sites in Switzerland, visited by 1.5 million tourists from all over the world every year. However, many people are not familiar with the background of the monument. Through our project, both tourists and locals should be able to discover the different facets of the supposedly familiar Lion Monument. As an illustrated figure, a lion guides visitors through the city of Lucerne with the help of an app and tells stories that come from real people. The accompanying AR application draws a thread between the analog and digital worlds.
The concept idea
The concept idea includes an AR application in combination with a simple audio guide, which is linked to a scavenger hunt through the city. Visitors can find pictures at certain places in the city, scan them and use the AR application at the same place. If they use the audio, the narrative voice guides them to the virtual image embedded in the environment. While listening to the narration, visitors will hear impressions, opinions, and thoughts about the Lion Monument from various people. The QR code is used to lead to the app. The illustration next to it is needed for the AR scan and is related to the illustration in the AR world. Once the virtual image is found, visitors can make their way to the next location until they have found all the locations. Once all the images have been collected, a final illustration or animation opens on the interface and tells some facts about the Lion Monument. According to experts, the concept is technically feasible.
The name of the application “Think about the Lion” refers to the spoken audio and is at the same time an invitation to users to engage with the Lion Monument. The naming is also intended to arouse curiosity, as for some the term does not immediately relate to the Lion Monument.
Since many tourists only spend a short time at the Lion Monument and in the city, they could make the best use of the AR application without a scavenger hunt. With the ability to take a screenshot in the AR app, visitors can take a picture of themselves with the digital lion and share the result.
More information
The work was created at the end of 2019 at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts in the Master Design program. The information presented here about this concept idea is deliberately fragmentary. If you are interested, I would be happy to send you the documentation for the project.