PagePlane.com

October 21, 2011

Graphics Tech

Augmented reality and the limitless extensions of design and imagery

Once again I've missed the cruise ship in the sink — meaning I'm so often focused on seeing the small thing, I miss the big thing.

Luckily I'm surrounded by people who challenge my thinking. In this case, my friend Lee Garvey pointed me to the term "augmented reality". (I can hear all you AR freaks moaning, wondering how did this guy get so old being this stupid? I agree.) I've seen augmented reality applications, I just didn't know that's what I was looking at.

For the rest of us, Adobe defines augmented reality as, "...a field of computer science that involves combining the physical world and an interactive, three-dimensional virtual world." You've doubtlessly seen examples like the changing yard lines that are projected on a football field or the caption balloon that points to a particular car on a racetrack and shows you some stats on its driver.

But that, as they say, is the tip of the iceberg. I didn't realize how many folks are already using this technology and hadn't considered how big a role it will play in the design world in the future.

Imagine the countless opportunities this will afford graphic designers. For example, to create a live, mobile brochure that pops up when a passerby points their device at your client's business. And the endless extensions of imagery that will be applied to all manner of applications.

If you thought there were limits to the potential for your work as a designer, a dose of augmented reality will make you think differently.