Han Khuong | Design Portfolio

Preserving cherished pet memories through virtual immersive experiences

2024

Project Type

Academic project at the University of Washington

Duration

3 weeks

Tools

Figma, Unity, Slack, Miro

Deliverables

Research plan documents, rapid prototype walkthrough

Project Type

Academic project at University of Washington

Duration

10 weeks

Team

Figma, Adobe Illustrator, Miro, Slack

Role

Interactive smart piggy bank prototype, application prototype

Team

Yunqi Cheng: Prototyper

Alyssa Guo: Prototyper

Role

Designer

/ Project Overview

Remembrance is a virtual reality experience designed to celebrate the joy and companionship shared with passed pets.

By focusing on memory preservation rather than grief, Remembrance creates an uplifting space for users to hold onto the happiness pets bring to their lives.

/ initial problem discovery

When a pet passes, owners often struggle to preserve these memories in meaningful and personalized ways. Traditional methods, like photos or keepsakes, fail to capture their pets' dynamic personalities and joyful moments.

This issue is particularly significant in families with children, where pets play an integral role in everyday routines. There is also a growing interest in eco-friendly memory preservation, as traditional memorial practices often involve physical materials that can be unsustainable.

How Might We design a more meaningful, personal, and sustainable way to preserve pet memories?

Key Challenges

How do we create an interactive, meaningful way to preserve cherished pet memories?

How do we provide customization options that reflect each pet’s unique personality?

How do we design a sustainable, accessible alternative to traditional memorials?

/ initial planning

Our team began by brainstorming how to combine virtual reality’s immersive capabilities with rituals of memory preservation.

We envisioned a virtual garden, inspired by tranquility and the natural joy of pets, where users could reflect on and celebrate their relationships. We created a VR strategy board to ideate our plans for our rapid prototype.

/ Storyboards

We created storyboards to map out the user journey and visualize key interactions within the VR experience.

These sketches served as a foundational blueprint, depicting scenarios such as entering the virtual garden, interacting with a pet’s memory node, interacting with the pet, writing a letter, and sending it via a paper plane.

/ Low Fidelity Physical Prototype & Usability Tests

We built a physical prototype to explore tangible interactions, such as writing letters to pets and sending them via paper planes, to test the emotional resonance of rituals.

Usability Test Key Findings and Iterations

Users feel the current journey is "too guided" as they have to follow the path, and grab objects along the path.

Allow users to choose whether to interact with objects instead of mandating interactions.

Users prefer a more tangible message-writing experience and want the ability to customize their own messages.

Design a station with pens and papers where users can click to reveal categorized messages.

Users like the paper plane as a way to send messages but want control over when and where to throw it.

Create a paper plane station to indicate the action, leaving the timing and location of the throw to the user.

/ Mid Fidelity Digital Prototype & Usability Tests

Moving to digital prototyping, we focused on creating a forested VR environment with customizations, dynamic navigation options, and interactive memory features.

Key Findings from Usability Tests

Users struggled to understand which controller buttons to use for interactions such as grabbing, selecting objects, or turning the camera.

Users found constantly holding the basket and placing objects inside cumbersome.

Our Iterations

Added a visual onboarding tutorial to demonstrate interactions.

Enhanced grab mechanics to allow easier item placement without aiming for a specific socket.

/ Prototype Walkthrough Video

/ Project Takeaways & Future Research Plans

By blending customization, interactivity, and emotional sensitivity, Remembrance offers users a unique way to keep their pets’ memories alive in a sustainable, meaningful way.

As this was a fast-paced prototyping project, we focused mainly on creating and refining our prototype through usability tests, instead of research. If we were to work on this project within a longer timeframe, we would like to conduct in-depth research into the human-pet bond, grief, and digital memorialization.

Future Research Proposal

User Interviews

Explore user expectations and emotional needs for preserving pet memories.

Contextual Inquiry

Observe rituals surrounding pet memorialization to design culturally relevant features.

Accessibility Testing

Ensure inclusivity for users with disabilities or limited VR experience.

Longitudinal Studies

Examine how users interact with the platform over time to refine its emotional impact.