Facebook AR Drawing

Pilot Feature

From Concept to Launch

Leading design of the AR Drawing feature for the Facebook camera required collaboration with teams across the company. While building the first ever AR drawing prototype at Facebook, I worked with art directors to establish creative direction, researchers to study usability and platform engineers to ensure a stable product experience.

Prototype Design

Before AR Kit and AR Core, I built the first AR drawing application at Facebook with still-developing world tracking technology. An initially unpolished demo was pivotal in rapidly assessing technical feasibility and establishing UX direction. As the project matured, the prototype took a more opinionated visual direction.

Usability Research

We studied usability and market fit for Facebook, Instagram and Messenger using these initial prototypes as the primary stimulus. Many useful insights from this research, which i designed alongside my research partner, helped shape the launch of AR drawing.

Launch & Beyond

We decided to test launch a limited number of features before expanding the product further. In retrospect, I believe that we didn’t launch a feature that reflected what makes AR drawing truly special. Our one colorful brush essentially reduced AR drawing to a more difficult version of 2D drawing, and once the novelty faded there wasn’t much utility. Initial metrics were mixed and the project was later cancelled. I still have hope for this type of creative tool and ideas to make them better if I find the opportunity again.