Digital Temple
An interactive classroom designed for immersive learning
Overview
From architectural space to speculative UX—this project explores how design can best faciliate the learning of foreign & esoteric subjects. I was the project manager and product designer for a series of educational websites focused on Kaihua Monastery. The site itself features annotated images, virtual gallery, interactive 3D models, and learning games to explore Buddhist art history.
Organization
My Role
Product Designer, Project Manager
Project Site
Year
Jun 2022-Feb 2024
Context
Do you know 85% of Buddhist temples worldwide are unprotected and not open to the public?
There is little to no digital data on Kaihua Monastery, and we can only learn about this hidden heritage site from the research of few scholars.
Vision
Our goal was to innovate traditional ways of online learning, and make it easier for a global audience to understand the storylines and appreciate artworks in the digital world.
We are devoted to preserving and revitalizing the digital assets of the fragile Buddhist art heritage.
Design Challenge
How might we make medieval Buhddist art more accessible and engaging for a global audience through digital experiences?
UX Research
10+
25
140+
After conducting in-person user interviews with students, scholars, and public audiences, hosting Zoom meetings with the Harvard Art History research team, collecting Google form survey data, and creating user journey mapping, we identified and understood current users' needs and learning goals.
Problems & Opportunities
Working closely with scholars, we realized that academic researches are layered and labyrinthian, yet graphics are usually very upfront. How might we preserve the depth of scholarship without overwhelming the user?
By analyzing the research data above and conducting card sorting to narrow down our scope, we found four main opportunity spaces we'd like to address in the higher education tech space:
1. Subject matter: lack of accessibility, difficult to comprehend.
2. Design: Lack of interest from general public; limited visual clarity for academic content.
Design Solutions
This project asked how we might turn a sacred, ambiguous architectural site into a speculative, interactive experience—without flattening its meaning or imposing a fixed narrative.
Solution 1: Spatial Experience--Make 2D into 3D
Collaborating with CG artists, historians, and architects, we brought the monastic space and the murals online with fast-loading, interactive 3D.
Solution 2: Layering Information
Addressing user painpoints from researchers who had to jump between platforms to access different types of data, we layered research, spatial data, and multimedia content into one single interface, all accesible in their native environment.
Solution 3: Interactive Annotation
We combed through the complex mural images and divided the narrative into small modules. Through user testing, we found out that this is a much more engaging way to learn. Students showed better understanding of the storyline and did better in image-text matching tests.
Solution 4: Gamify Learning
We designed learning games into the experience. Users can complete a 16-scene graphic and text matching quiz based on what they've learned and share the results on social media.
Solution 5: Archive Everything
A consolidated archive of high-resolution images categorized and labeled: This feature speaks directly to the use case where scholars navigate the site for research and bibliography-writing purposes.
Information Architecture
Wireframes
Design System
Usability Testing
Moving through rapid animated prototyping, we conducted 5 rounds of interviews with 40 participants after establishing our usability testing metrics. We identified 35 issues and devised 18 actionable items.
Our design team identified UI challenges, usability issues, and under-addressed painpoints, leading to targeted improvements in subsequent iterations.
1. Improving Spatial & Narrative Clarity
We made major upgrades to the interactive annotation components. Improving spatial and narrative clarity.
2. Fast-load, intuitive, lean
We made major upgrades to the interactive annotation components. Improving spatial and narrative clarity.
Museum Exhibitions & VR
Alongside the digital application, we also curated physical exhibitions at Harvard University and in various museum spaces in Asia, featuring art installations, immersive theater, and academic events.
We also crated complimentary VR experience, where users can view the temple in 360 degree mode through either their tablets or VR goggles.
Impact
+90%
1.1 M
1535
+4
After the project launched, user interviews revealed that 90% of participants gained new knowledge about Buddhist art through the Digital Temple experience.
On Instagram, the project reached over 1 million views, received 1,535 comments, and sparked collaboration inquiries from 4 research institutions and art organizations.
Engagement continues to grow steadily.
Reflections
Aside from much rumination over content, I was also interested in exploring those 4 topics through this project:
Visual design with and through creative technology
As a small media lab, we try to connect creative tech with academic research as well as public interest. Visual design is the bridge that connects them.
Making complexities simple
Academic researches are layered and labyrinthian, yet we realize graphics are usually very upfront. How does the latter convey the former?
Multidisciplinary collaboration, done remotely
How do you talk to, make request from, and send assets to developers, architects, scholars, visual artists, writers, and those who come in to play test?
Managing is a maker's skill
Alongside of designing, I also acted as the project manger. It felt very different to be in a managing role.