Like many of the apps we develop for our clients, QVHSM: farmAR is target based. That is to say that pointing the app’s camera at any of a number of pre-determined graphic targets activates the Augmented Reality experience. In the case of Hope and Hard Work: The Story of Our Farms and Food, these targets are embedded into several different displays, and each brings to life a narrator with personal stories about that part of the exhibit.

A new initiative, led by WORKSHOP 3D‘s Chief Design Officer, Jeff Mihalyo, seeks to help current and prospective clients get more out of the relationship between these targets and their app, by finding additional ways that these targets can be used to promote the client, the app, and their message, whether it be marketing-oriented, educational, or other content.

As noted by Mihalyo, the goal is to “maximize interactivity and connectivity between your organization and target demographic” or in other words, to use the targets and app in a way that appeals to a wider audience than those that might see them on site, and to create an opportunity for our clients’ existing audiences to be their ambassadors. Since the target is a graphic element, it might be applied to bookmarks, postcards, refrigerator magnets, or, as is the case at QVHSM, note cards. It can also be embedded in other materials such as newsletters, web pages, Facebook posts and events announcements, etc.

The new Augmented Reality note cards were launched at QVHSM’s Christmas Market 2019, and are versions of exhibit designer Chris Fiala Erlich’s original target designs with QVHSM branding added. The cards are hand silk-screened onto acid-free Strathmore artists’ paper with matching envelopes. Currently, there are four cards, and a box of eight includes two of each. There are currently two additional cards planned for the set, as the AR portion of the exhibit is expanding to include more targets, with additional AR content.

When a person receives one of these note cards, instructions on the back guide them in installing the app on their phone or tablet so that they can enjoy the Augmented Content anywhere in the world. This not only helps with QVHSM’s educational mission, but their marketing mission as well, in that the recipient might find themselves compelled to visit the museum to learn more.

As part of our Augmented Reality service, it is part of our mission to help our clients find the best way to leverage their investment in Augmented Reality technology by embedding their targets in traditional printed materials, AR-enabled products, and in other creative ways, allowing the impact of their app and its content to reach beyond the walls of their own facility.