Loko

Final year · Northumbria University

A self-initiated AR concept for home decoration.

UX design Mobile

Brief

My final-year project: a self-initiated brief where I identified a problem, developed a solution, and built a working prototype while documenting the process throughout.

Solution

I developed Loko, a mobile app centred on home decorating with AR at its core. The space is crowded, but I wanted to explore whether a more focused concept could stand apart—this was as much a learning exercise in scoping and research as it was a product proposal.

Loko product video

The Problem?

Current offerings often felt incomplete or gimmicky rather than making full use of the technology available.

Initial Idea

A multi-purpose room planning app.

The original idea centred on COVID-safe workspaces—practical at the time, but ultimately uninspiring. I am glad the concept evolved significantly from there.

Idea Development

Thinking bigger, but maybe too big?

I spent considerable time expanding the idea and adding features, until the scope became too ambitious and I needed to refocus.

User Research

I had a lot of potential users to think about...

To focus the concept, I outlined three key user types—home makers as the primary audience, with additional considerations for landlords and interior designers managing multiple projects at once.

Idea Development

Creating the right experience

I mapped the current home-decoration process and considered how to digitise it, breaking it into three areas to design against.

1. Inspiration Phase

The importance of inspiration and social media in interior design.

2. Design Phase

The use of AR technology to accurately preview furniture.

3. Purchasing Phase

Finally purchase said furniture once you're sure.

I wanted to outline the app features and how the content would be broken up within the app. The app follows a really linear process and matches the common process to interior design. The content is also impacted by the 'project selector' users create projects based on what they're working on in their home. i.e. If the user is working on their living room they won't be suggested content relating to a bathroom.

Design Development

Developing a brand.

I spent a lot of time with this project developing a fun and interesting brand. I wanted to really push myself creatively and created a really broad colour palette, with graphics clearly inspired by the likes of Peter Blake.

Prototype Development

Translating the branding into the UI.

I was really happy with the visual style I'd adopted for this project. I spent a lot of time wireframing screens to make sure I had the right balance of style and function.

Mobile Prototype

Below are the final screens for the project.

Experimental Prototype

As well as the visuals, there was a lot of technical aspects.

I developed a few prototypes to test the more technical features within the app. I was able to use image detection tools to identify furniture in real time. I also created an AR prototype using Unity and the ARKit plugins.

Loko product walkthrough