Woohee Byun
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Wild Peek


Enhancing urban wildlife awareness through location-based AR exploration that reveals animals once native to Central Park.





TEAM
Solo Project
ROLE
UX/UI Design, AR Development
DURATION

8 weeksRECOGNITION

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PROBLEM
Park visitors lack engaging ways to learn about Central Park’s lost wildlife, leading to missed opportunities for environmental education and curiosity.
OUTCOME
The prototype featured a mobile AR scavenger hunt with 3D animal encounters, designed to spark curiosity and support place-based learning.



FINAL DESIGN

Scavenger Map


Start your adventure with a map that guides you to hidden animal spots around Central Park. Each location is part of a playful scavenger hunt—walk, explore, and unlock new creatures along the way.


Wildlife AR Lens


Use your camera to bring animals to life right where you’re standing. The AR lens lets you see 3D creatures in their natural environment, complete with fun facts and sounds that make each moment feel alive.



Scrapbook


Keep track of all the animals you’ve found in your own personal scrapbook. You can revisit each one, learn more about their history, and complete your collection as you go.







MARKET RESEARCH

Industrialization of NY leads to wildlife loss

While Central Park is home to wildlife in New York, continuous urban development and human activities negative impact on wildlife in Central Park, such as habitat loss, disease, pollution, and direct harm.

According to the Shannon-Wiener Diversity Index, higher population density is associated with lower species richness.








APPROACH

Augmented Reality revives the forgotten and rarely seen animals of Central Park

As urbanization reshaped Central Park, many native species quietly disappeared from view. Wild Peek uses AR to reintroduce these rarely seen animals—bridging the gap between past ecosystems and present-day awareness. 

Through immersive sound, animation, and location-based interaction, AR transforms passive observation into memorable learning. By enhancing engagement, improving visualization, and supporting diverse learning styles, it offers a playful yet powerful tool for ecological education.










USER JOURNEY

From park visit to wildlife discovery

A location-based experience designed to guide users from discovery to interaction—blending physical movement with digital exploration. Different user touch points are considered, including posters and banners for app promotion tothe  mobile app experience itself.






WIREFRAMES

Mapping the experience across realities

 This stage focused on defining both the mobile interface and the AR environment. While wireframes shaped the app’s onboarding and navigation flow, the 8th Wall prototype brought the AR interactions to life—allowing users to see, hear, and move around the animals in a real-world context.








INITIAL DESIGN DIRECTION

Building on Central Park’s voice

 The early visual direction was guided by the Central Park Conservancy’s branding system—leveraging its color palette, typefaces, and signage style to create a sense of familiarity and place. This foundation helped anchor the AR experience in the park’s real-world identity, building trust and coherence from the first interaction.





CONCEPT TESTING & SITE VISIT

Testing ideas on real ground

I conducted lightweight concept testing with early visuals and prototypes—gathering feedback on clarity, engagement, and physical context. This helped surface practical needs like clearer onboarding, sound cues for attention, and location marker visibility in a dynamic outdoor environment.






ITERATION

Rethinking the experience through iteration

 Initial feedback and real-world testing made it clear: the design needed to shift to better suit younger users and create more meaningful engagement. I narrowed the target age group, introduced a more playful tone, and restructured the experience to go beyond visual novelty—adding context, storytelling, and educational layers.

The before-and-after comparisons reflect key pivots in tone, clarity, and interaction design.





❌ Clean, neat information card, yet lacks personality to appeal to young users.✅  Clear concept of ‘collection’ by using visuals such as scrapbooks and stickers.



❌ Simple explanation to keep users’ attention and provide educational value.✅ Easy-to-understand information for ya oung target audience.



❌ No visual cues or notifications to guide users to AR animals or alert them when they’ve arrived at the correct location.✅ Clear visual cues and icons are used to communicate the next actionable step to the user.




SOLUTION

A playful conservation experience designed for curious young explorers

 Wild Peek blends storytelling, spatial interaction, and AR technology to create an engaging journey through Central Park’s forgotten wildlife. Rather than presenting facts passively, the app invites kids to walk, search, and unlock animals—turning each discovery into a moment of wonder and learning. By combining movement, sound, and context, Wild Peek builds emotional connections with nature while fostering early awareness of urban biodiversity loss.

















OUTCOME & NEXT STEPS

Where It Landed

This project was created as part of an academic AR brief, and while it hasn’t launched publicly, it laid the groundwork for designing location-based educational tools through immersive technology. If given more time, I would:

• Conduct testing with children and families to better understand usability and engagement in real-world settings
• Explore WebAR compatibility and GPS-based logic to trigger context-aware content more accurately

Ultimately, Wild Peek showed me how AR can spark curiosity and learning in outdoor spaces—especially for younger audiences—by making the invisible past visible again.



REFLECTIONS

What did I learn from this project?

Test Early, Even If It’s Rough
One of the biggest lessons from Wild Peek was how valuable early testing is—even if the prototype isn’t polished. Getting feedback early helped me clarify the direction of both interaction and UI design, and surface unexpected issues before they became blockers. It reminded me that iteration doesn’t need to wait for perfection.

Designing for AR Means Thinking Beyond the Screen
Unlike non-AR apps, this project required me to consider things I usually take for granted—like environmental context, sound design, and permission prompts. I had to think through how users would grant location or camera access, how animals should sound when they appear, and even what safety or warning messages might be needed. It was a challenge, but also what made designing for AR so engaging.

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