Sidereal Connector | Application Design
A cute & creepy interactive wallet that connects visitors to the digital world of the Meow Wolf amusement parks for an enhanced experience
Academic Project: UX x product design
Year: Spring of 2022
Collaborators: Natsumi Takagi, Julia Wetterdal, Dave Giammarco, Andres Munoz, Audra Walker
Overview
Problem
Meow Wolf Denver’sConvergence Station gift shop is lacking products that the guests can digitally interact with.
Insight
There should be an item that gives an add-on experience during the visit.
Solution
A travel wallet that interacts with the digital app in Convergence Station by placing the digital assets into the correct puzzle space.
Our Research:
Flowchart
Journey Map
Storyboard
Through the stakeholder interview, the design team learned that Meow Wolf’s popular items are their original weird and eye-catching items like an avocado wallet that looks identical to a real avocado, and their original mascot is a black cat with one eye like a letter X poised underneath a white wolf with three eyes.
“We want sustainable products”
“The constraints are loose and this brief is deliberately wide open”
“MaCher is new to working with digital product design but want to do more in that field”
Stakeholders Interviews
Ben Denzinger
Macher: Strategic Innovation & Design
Ben Denzinger
Meow Wolf: EVP Merchandise
Patrick Marsden
Macher: Growth & Strategy
First Sketch
Sketching played a major role in the first iteration of our product design. Our team drew the first iteration of our product. In order to develop the most popular item, the team brainstormed several iterations and collaborated with the team.
The second sketch
Rethinking Our Concept
After presenting our first sketch to our stakeholders, they suggested we make a reusable product that is not only good during the Convergence Station visit but also something that people can enjoy outside of Convergence Station. Based on the suggestion, we came up with the idea of a travel wallet. After some research, we found out that a travel wallet is not only functional but people also get personal attachments to them. It was the solution that we were looking for.
A Physical Prototype
After the second sketch, we got feedback that we should go beyond just a fashionable or stylish design since they don’t match Meow Wolf’s branding. Therefore, during the prototype phase, we decided to create the wallet creepy and cute. We used random leftovers from our craft boxes to make the outside of the wallet eccentric.
Into 3D Model
After presenting our first sketch to our stakeholders, they suggested we make a reusable product that is not only good during the Convergence Station visit but also something that people can enjoy outside of Convergence Station. Based on the suggestion, we came up with the idea of a travel wallet. After some research, we found out that a travel wallet is not only functional but people also get personal attachments to them. It was the solution that we were looking for.
The Solution
An app that lets users collect monsters inside Meow Wolf. The app is free but users can purchase an interactive wallet with accessories and add-ons that enhance their monster. An app that lets users collect monsters inside Meow Wolf Denver (convention?) The app is free but users can purchase a digital purse with accessories and add-ons that enhance their monster.
Meow Wolf is an arts and entertainment company that creates immersive and interactive experiences Surreal, a walk-through art experience with many interactive rooms, bizarre sculptures & a story arc.
Reflection
The physical travel wallet came out better than we expected. The vivid pink color, crazy decoration on the surface of the wallet, and the hand figure holding the flap all came out creepy but also somehow cute, which is what we were asked to design. On the other hand, we struggled with how to connect the physical product to the digital world. We received feedback from our stakeholders that the digital app should be open to anyone rather than available only to people who purchase the wallet. However, the stakeholder loved the idea of integrating the travel wallet and puzzles because both of them have been the top-selling products at their gift shop. For possible future steps, we should focus on how the app interacts with our travel wallet.