The purpose of this project was to conceptualise an experience which would enable professional creative writers to have an easy and effective drafting process. To achieve this, we conceptualised a mixed reality (MR) device/program named Createscape which has two primary functions: to translate handwriting to digital text, and to place the user within a simulated environment. We designed this project to aid Mobility, but rather in the sense of anti-mobility: by removing the user from a distracting zone they are able to write anywhere, anytime and can be essentially transported to a different world without moving.
Createscape was made for a six week long brief for which we had to design a mixed reality 'experience' to facilitate mobility. From ideation to 'completion' the project spanned only five weeks. We spent the first three weeks of the five designing/ideating for the UI and figuring out how it would function and the remaining two weeks were spent establishing an aesthetic, designing elements, storyboarding/filming/editing the video, making a descriptive dossier and designing slides for a final presentation. Over this time, we documented our process on a Wordpress blog, linked here: https://threemenwithadream.wordpress.com/
Video demonstration of the Createscape concept
We spent a considerable amount of time working on our user interface so that the user experience was comfortable and completely feasible to use for extended lengths of time, without being distracting. We wanted to keep the interactive elements within reach of the user's writing hand (whether left-handed or right) so that movements didn't become tiresome. We also wanted to avoid having virtual elements in a heads up display (HUD) as they would become distracting to the writer.
Main menu - Swipe down with the Createscape pen to activate the menu. All menu options are available at the mere pivot of the user's hand.
Contacts/collaborate menu - sub-menu from the main menu. Createscape allows the user to collaborate via video call, voice call, or through a commenting system.
Predictive/suggestive text - follows the user's writing pre-empting their words and suggesting potential words to use. Very similar to predictive text on a smartphone, this feature is available to make the writing process more efficient.
Script preview - allows the user to preview their written text as it would be seen in the synced document (digitised and shown as a typeface). This allows them to see the progress they have made in the context of the formatting they have chosen in the setup process.
Inspiration panels - if the user needs inspiration about what they are writing, they can underline a word they want to look up and the Createscape search engine will complete a custom search based on the word. The user can choose whether they want to see images, videos, articles and pages, or Dictionary/thesaurus related content.
Video call collaboration - user is able to video call to collaborate with people who are part of their project. We decided against placing this in a HUD as we wanted the user to be able to look away from the call and at their writing incase the visuals were in some way distracting at a certain moment. The user is able to shift where the caller video comes up in their interactive space.
Tasks tile - Despite not featuring in the video, we thought it smart to add in a tasks feature for the goal-oriented writer.
The name Createscape came from merging the words 'create' and 'escape'. We want the user to be in their creative element, and we offer this by enabling them to escape from distractions. For our logo we wanted to combine key elements of our concept: environment simulation (hence the mountain shape), redesigning the art of handwriting (the pencil) and a tie to book writing (hence the bookmark).
Thank you for viewing our project, we hope you like it!
We welcome any feedback you may have as we wish to develop Createscape further in the near future.
