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SnapChem
AR Chemistry Class
Project Type:
Hackathon Team Project
Role:
UX/UI & Spatial Experience Designer · AR Prototyping · Pitch/Storytelling
Platforms:
Spectacles · Lens Studio · Snap Cloud · Figma · Generative AI
Location:
Reality Hack at MIT - Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Timeline:
3-4 days (Hackathon sprint)
SnapChem
AR Chemistry Class
Project Type:
Hackathon Team Project
Role:
AR Product Designer
Spatial Interaction Designer
Pitch/Storytelling
Platforms:
Snap Spectacles
Lens Studio
Snap Cloud
Figma
Generative AI
Location:
Reality Hack at MIT
Timeline:
3-4 days
(hackathon sprint)
Project
Overview
SnapChem is a context-aware AR learning experience designed for students and educators, enabling them to understand and retain complex chemistry concepts by interacting with spatial, multimodal content directly embedded in their real-world environment using Snap Spectacles.
Problem:
Idea:
Indoor navigation makes people stop, hesitate, and constantly “re-orient” using 2D maps.
Replace map reading with instinctive following through a calm companion and environment-anchored cues.
Solution:
Outcome:
A cat guide + ground-anchored Paw Trail + Target Point that reinforces spatial trust.
A coherent spatial UI concept + prototype direction for hands-free wayfinding on smart glasses.
speaker & live demo
speaker & live demo
speaker &
live demo
As part of the XR Guild NYC event, I was invited as a speaker and demo presenter. I had the opportunity to introduce the project to the XR community and facilitate live, hands-on experiences, allowing participants to directly engage with the spatial interaction design and learning concepts in real time.
Reflections
Designing for Spatial Trust
I learned that in XR, “clarity” is not just visual—it’s behavioral. Consistent anchoring, scale, and occlusion rules make guidance feel believable, which reduces hesitation and keeps users confident without adding UI noise.
Calm UX beats “More UI”
The biggest improvement came from subtracting, not adding: keeping cues lightweight, peripheral-friendly, and context-aware. Minimal prompts at the right moments created a smoother experience than constant, map-like instructions.
Anchoring is a Design Decision
World-locked, head-locked, and camera-locked elements each serve a distinct purpose. Choosing the right lock mode at the right time (route cues vs. confirmations) helped the interface stay comfortable, readable, and aligned with spatial UI best practices.
What did I learn from this project?
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