User-centered design of augmented reality interior design service

This paper presents key findings on user expectations of an augmented reality interior design service, a service which combines features of social media, augmented reality (AR) and 3D modeling to ambient home design. Our study uniquely bridges all actors of the value chain to the user-centered design of an augmented reality interior design service: consumers, interior design enthusiastics and professional interior designers, but also furniture retailer and digital service providers. We examine the benefits and challenges of applying user-centered methods with three different target user groups; consumers, pro-users and professionals. This paper also describes desired features of an AR interior design service for different target groups, and discusses their technical and practical feasibility. User expectations for AR interior design services were studied with a scenario-based survey, co-design sessions and focused interviews. Altogether 242 consumers and pro-users responded the ambient home design service on the survey. Thereafter, special co-creation sessions with five consumers and two professional interior designers were conducted to develop the concept further with the target groups. In addition, we interviewed four different commercial actors on the field to deepen insights on product expectations. The combination of different user-centered methods proved valuable in the early phases of concept design. It appears that there is a demand for easy-to-use design tools both for consumers and professional users. However, our research confirms that consumers and professionals have different needs and expectations for home design system, and therefore target users should be included in the design process with appropriate methods. Commercial actors see viable business model as most substantial attribute for the service, which must be taken into account in service design as well.