Creating a series of augmented reality team-building mini games
This case study explores how I designed a scavenger-hunt-style augmented reality (AR) game for tablets, aimed at making corporate team-building events more engaging and accessible.
Role
UX/UI Designer
Industry
Gaming and Technology
Timeline
20 hours over 3 days
Stack
Figma, Adobe Illustrator
Contribution
Concept Development, UX and UI Design, User and Task Flows, Wireframes and Mockups, Feedback Implementation, Accessibility Evaluation
Who I Worked With
I was contracted by Catalyst XR, an award-winning creative technology studio in Sydney known for its work in WebXR, VR/AR, and immersive interactive experiences. I collaborated closely with the Creative Director to design a series of seven AR mini-games for a corporate client who hosts team-building days for workplaces across Australia. My primary responsibility was to lead the UX and UI design, ensuring the games were easy to learn, visually appealing, and fun to play.
This project gave me the chance to explore how gamification can foster social connection, teamwork, and playfulness — all while respecting the technological constraints of AR design.
Considering the Principles of AR
Designing for AR shares many fundamentals with traditional UX/UI design, but there are additional principles that are crucial to creating a successful experience. Digital overlays must integrate seamlessly into the real world, enhancing rather than distracting from it. AR also demands attention to spatial awareness, intuitive interaction, and contextual feedback to ensure users feel confident and immersed.
Reflecting on this project, I was reminded how important it is to think not only about screens, but about the user’s physical space and movement — designing with the whole environment in mind.
Storyboarding and Wireframing the Experience
Once the client and Creative Director finalised the objectives of each game, I mapped out the user flows and game logic. I created low-fidelity wireframes to clarify tasks, interaction points, and necessary UI elements, with the goal of making each game intuitive enough that users could start playing with minimal instruction.
This phase reinforced one of my key design beliefs: that the most seamless experiences feel “obvious” to users, not because they are simple, but because the flow has been carefully crafted to match natural human behaviour.
Interaction and Onboarding
User onboarding is critical in AR, where many users may be encountering this type of experience for the first time. I focused on designing clear, step-by-step instructions that guided players through the AR setup and interactions, while providing feedback and confirmation at each stage.
I learned that good AR onboarding doesn’t just explain the interface — it builds confidence. When users know what’s happening and can see that their actions have an impact, they lean into the experience with curiosity rather than hesitation.
Conceptualising the Aesthetic
Once the games were mapped out, I turned to the visual design. This is one of my favourite stages — the chance to inject delight, surprise, and memorability into the product. I initially explored a retro gamer tech aesthetic, inspired by the idea of combining the nostalgic energy of 80s/90s gaming with the cutting-edge technology of AR.
This direction drew inspiration from the current trend of neo-brutalist UI design, with its raw, geometric shapes and bold colours. I loved the conceptual tension of “old meets new” — but I also knew that if it didn’t serve the client’s brand or user goals, it would need to be rethought.
Pivoting After Client Feedback
When I presented the retro-tech concept, the client liked it but felt it didn’t align closely enough with their brand. As a designer, I see this as an opportunity rather than a setback — it’s a chance to refine, iterate, and collaborate.
I developed a second concept that more closely reflected their existing brand identity, which was ultimately chosen as the direction to proceed. This experience reminded me how important flexibility is in design. While I am passionate about creative concepts, my goal is always to meet both user needs and business objectives — and I was proud to deliver a solution that did both.
Handing Over to Development
One of the biggest challenges was the compressed timeline for the detailed design phase. Speed was critical — it was more important to get development-ready assets handed over quickly than to endlessly polish. I worked with the 3D illustrator and development team, prioritising the most essential design elements and trusting the development process to handle much of the experimentation.
This stage taught me the value of being pragmatic and collaborative: in agile projects, perfection can sometimes be the enemy of progress. Delivering "good enough" allowed the build to proceed while leaving room for iteration during development.
Reflections & Insights
Throughout this project, I deepened my understanding of AR’s potential as a tool for engagement:
Immersion: AR transforms physical spaces into interactive game worlds, making experiences more memorable and active.
Collaboration: These mini-games encouraged teamwork, conversation, and even physical movement, helping participants bond in a more natural way.
Playfulness: When users are surprised and delighted, they engage more deeply — a principle I’ll carry into future projects.
Outcomes
Despite the short timeframe, I successfully delivered a development-ready set of seven AR mini-games that met the client’s requirements and would delight players. The design achieved:
Fast onboarding: Users were able to get started with minimal instruction, reducing facilitator involvement.
Brand alignment: The final UI reflected the client’s identity while still being playful and engaging.
Developer-ready assets: Delivered quickly enough to keep production on schedule, enabling the team to experiment and optimise in build.
This project left me with a renewed appreciation for designing under constraint and reinforced my ability to balance speed, creativity, and usability to deliver experiences that genuinely bring people together.
