Chapter 9 focuses on how AR and MR applications need to account for changes in light around the user. Since they can be used in a variety of indoor and outdoor settings, the program needs a way to avoid digital images becoming too bright or dark to use due to the ambient light. Some applications account for this by having light sensors that can brighten or darken the screen based on the lighting conditions where it’s being used. Other programming like Anchors change where AR elements are placed based on the orientation of the device or the nearby horizon line.
Another important element to adjusting AR and MR for different circumstances is the Figure-Ground relationship: a design element that uses colors and shapes to show which parts of a design are “background” or less important or “foreground” or most important. The difference between a design’s figure and ground can be clear (stable) or unclear (unstable.) A black dot in a white box clearly shows the dot is most important, while optical illusions, like Rubin’s Vase, allow the figure element to change based on the viewers’ angle or perception.
This chapter’s exercise involves modeling a 3D icon with Stable, Ambiguous, and Reversible Figure-Ground relationships, or color patterns that make it either clear or unclear which part of the design to focus on. I used Shapr3D to create my digital icon, which involved a fairly steep learning curve, as it’s my first time touching CAD software. After lots of trial and error with different designs, I settled on a divide symbol, and used the visualization settings to add different colors and textures to it. My “stable” version uses blue and yellow contrasting colors, while the “ambiguous” version has metallic black and white reflective surfaces. Since the image changes depending on its angle and the reflections of ambient light, the background can become the focal point of the model, or vice versa. My “reversible” model takes after Rubin’s Vase with its black and white colors, allowing the white divide sign to be either the focal point or a hole in the black background depending on the viewer’s perception.
The next chapter focuses on Typography, and involves making an AR eye chart. This will be my first attempt at using AR technology, but I’ll do my best!
Ataturk.svg. “Rubin’s Vase.” Wikimedia Commons, 2011, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubin_vase#/media/File:Face_or_vase_ata_01.svg
Stevens, Renee. Designing Immersive 3D Experiences. Pearson Education Inc., 2022.
