Experience design agency HUSH ushers in the new year by transforming the magical wishing well concept into a global experience enhanced by creative technologies. The experience provides a physical centerpoint for visualizing people’s shared hopes and dreams, while they set their intentions for the year ahead through the use of augmented reality.
With “VOLO”, meaning ‘to wish’ in Latin, HUSH has created an experience that bridges both the physical and virtual space and nurtures a communal platform through the use of AR. “We want the concept of VOLO to join people from around the world who can’t literally be together in a very simple, and positive way,” HUSH Partner David Schwarz explains. “While this is easy to do through purely digital platforms – as plenty of websites and apps do this at scale already – AR provides the right technological solve that allows us to design beautiful physical centerpieces that collect and showcase a world of digital sentiments and wishes.”
To anchor the VOLO experience, HUSH has crafted two scales of alluring physical wells. The first full-sized version, to be housed in the firm’s brand new Brooklyn Navy Yards gallery space, is customized for large-scale, group wishing experiences. Designed as a bold, circular ring, it suggests opportunity for addition, and a magical potential to engage in a collective, 360 experience. The smaller scale VOLO wells are designed as more intimate miniature keepsakes that allow for individual interaction from anywhere in the world. All the wells serve as a call to action and community center for contribution and meditation. The VOLO wells anchor a sleek, streamlined AR app that forgoes complex UI for simple, playful, “hands free” interaction. With the app, the wishing wells visualize an infinite stream of digital wishes of hope from global participants.
Users first “locate” the center of the physical well within the AR app by tapping the center of the screen. Augmented, digital elements in the form of falling stars and a hazy mist form the backdrop to the red and blue spiral wishes. Users tap once to make their wish and control its form through the motion of their mobile device. The wish draws itself in real-time and immediately joins other AR wishes from around the world. Users can make a closer connection to others via the wish geotags – i.e. “Berlin”, “Brooklyn” – as well as their unique shape, size and color based on a user’s location and physical actions.
Wishes from around the globe are stored in a database and revealed to the AR app user during their experience. VOLO provides a unique visual experience during every interaction and has helped create a space for contemplation and positivity not just for the new year but beyond. “VOLO is applicable to anyone, anytime, anywhere to wish for something positive among a community of global wish-makers,” Schwarz adds. “At this particular moment, it’s important that we create a space to contemplate a positive future. Naturally, we sought to bring our idea to life in a beautiful, highly designed manner to match the creative bar we always set for ourselves.”
You can download the app from iTunes here.
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About HUSH:
HUSH is a concept-driven design firm. We integrate digital technology and physical environments to create powerful brand experiences for our client’s customers, employees and partners.