Overview
Creating an XR experience, showcasing the brand story and experience of Wardill Motorcycles for exhibition at events such as Goodwood Revival and Festival of Speed. Supporting the XR experience with a mobile app enabling customers to customise and view their new motorbike in AR.
Uncover the clients needs to formulate product idea and features
Web and mobile app user flow, UI design and prototyping
XR experience storyboarding
3D modelling of Wardill 4 motorbike
2 square mile environment creation
Facilite usability testing
Interviewing the client to uncover business and user needs and brand story
Interviewing the client remotely, I had a number of sessions to uncover the business and user needs for the project:
Wardill Motorcycles has a rich family history, the brand is being revived and reinvigorated more than 100 years after its inception.
By reviving the brand, the company attends many events such as Goodwood Festival of Speed to promote the brand and it's family story.
Motorcycles are very bespoke and Wardill had no way of previewing bike designs to clients before building, leading to last minute changes.
Customers regularly customise colours of all parts of the bikes
Seats and handlebars often change to suit customer preference
Defining solutions based on customer interviews
Virtual Reality Storytelling
The key to building the rejuvenated Wardill brand is storytelling, drawing on the brands past and showing where it is in the present. Through virtual reality I created an immersive story and riding experience that is true to history and the experience of riding a Wardill 4.
Bike Builder for Web and AR
A Wardill 4 is a fully customisable hand-built motorbike, bespoke to every customer. To allow customers to customise their motorbike remotely, I designed web and augmented reality apps enabling customers to customise and perfect their Wardill 4.
In 1903 Henry Wardill Snr set up shop as ‘The Wardill Motor and Cycle Works’ in Carshalton, Surrey, to repair and maintain cars, motorcycles and bicycles. This was to be the location utilised in telling the marques history.
CEMET recreated the workshop in rich detail which the user is slowly transported through in virtual reality. After passing through the accurately recreated facade they are able to watch the motorcycle being put together, view a selection of the patents from 1923 scattered around the desks and take in the original photographs adorning the walls of the 1920’s Wardill motorcycles in action. This rich environment, accompanied by compelling narration delivered by Mark Wardill himself provides a complete level of immersion to the user, preparing them before taking control in a virtual test drive through the Welsh countryside where the motorbike is now produced.
Environment and motorbike modelling
The story of Wardill wouldn’t be complete without an experience of the modern day. Once the user emerges out of the workshop all narration stops and the motorbike roars into action. They are then given full control of the bike.
Designed for use at events, the user has no controllers, instead they are physically sitting on a real Wardill 4, specially kitted out for this VR experience. The user places their hands on the handlebars and if they turn, the bike turns in VR, if they pull back on the throttle, the engine will rev and the motorbike will move off. This physicality adds a sense of presence which draws the user in completely, enabling them to focus on the riding experience. The track is designed to last around two to three minutes after the initial journey through the workshop, maintaining the users level of excitement through to the end.
After completing the virtual reality experience the customer is able to talk with the Wardill representatives and customise their perfect Wardill 4 using the Wardill Bike Builder on a tablet. The customer is able to swap out parts of the motorbike such as adding different styles of handlebars and fuel tanks, they can change the colours of different parts all the way down to seat leathers. This configuration can be saved for the user to access later when they get home.
For customers unable to see a Wardill 4 in person or want to see what their customisations will look like in the real world, I designed an Augmented reality version of the bike builder for use on Android and iOS. This enables users to walk around and view in minute detail every aspect of their bike before purchase. This helps with the buying process as it lets them test what height handlebars suit their style of riding and which colour feels perfect for them.
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