Reinventing Airtravel
Nouro was born from the idea of returning a sense of wonder and magic to air travel with the goal of delivering the world's best in-flight immersive experience through the use of technology and access to luxury.
CONCEPT CASE STUDY
Initial Exploration
THE CITY OF EXPERIENCES
What makes up a city? Is it physical plots of land or the buildings within a city – or is it the people within it? With the rise in popularity of virtual experiences and the COVID-19 pandemic forcing everyday interactions online, how would our idea of a city change? There are many factors impacting the growth, shape, and identity of cities around the world. Historical events, inventions, peak shifts in culture, and the movement of people, to name a few. Our task was to examine the products, systems, and services that have influenced the development of cities around us to design a meaningful product to fit within present day or future cities.
We started by drawing inspiration from ourselves. As a diverse group, each of our lives has been impacted directly or through family members by travel and the travel industry, anywhere from immigration to taking a vacation. We thought of everything that makes a city what it is - from its people and culture to the infrastructure needed to support them, even the movements that can threaten the city's very existence. Our analysis was intentionally kept broad to consider things other than air travel when thinking about the City of Experiences.
INSIGHTS
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Even in the same cities, around the same times, our experiences were all very different. Our primary research points highlight these differences. While air travel has brought people together for work, vacation, visiting family, and immigration, there are more advancements to come.
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With all the innovation and change brought by connecting people and cities through travel, there is also a negative impact. The history of fuel consumption in the airline industry has been one of the points of contention. This has led to innovations in sustainable practices and an emphasis on working towards a cleaner future.
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Ideas that were science-fiction and previously thought of as unachievable are becoming a reality. Inventions like flying cars and moving faster than the speed of sound are already in development.
By creating a timeline of important historical events, along with current and future developments related to travel, relationships between moments in time and cultural shifts within cities were identified. This provided context for the foundation of our project. Initial insights and themes were reviewed for the development of 3 initial concepts that were not restricted by current technology capabilities. Each concept took a different approach to the overarching theme of the impact of travel within a City of Experiences.
Nouro Airways - luxury travel experience harkening back to the early days of air travel when people thought of flying as a special event.
Storyline – different generations can share memories with family members when they arrive at a significant travel destination.
Flash Drop - the development of a box or cabinet that will allow for goods to be transported via teleportation internationally.
Focused Research
RE-EXAMINING AIR TRAVEL
As Nouro Airways was approved to move forward, our team began focusing research on themes around the future of air travel and the aviation industry.
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Hydrogen-electric engines become a replacement for traditional engines to meet manufacturer's sustainability goals.
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Partnerships between carriers and manufacturers:
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Delta and ZeroAvia (a company working on engines powered by hydrogen fuel cells)
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Initiatives like Quantas' Project sunrise set out to maximize guest comfort during long-haul flights.
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This extends beyond traditional luxury amenities and considers re-timing flight schedules to minimize jet lag upon arrival.
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The effect of dryness and low air pressure on the body - including sense of smell and taste.
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The re-design of the reclining chair in Quantas' business class to the Skybed by Marc Newson Ltd.
Air travel innovation was re-inventing components of the existing airplane structure. Our aim was now to provide passengersa means of escape of the physical limits of the cabin and let their experience go beyond their means of transportation. Guests should slow down to enjoy the space they are in and look forward to the in-flight experience.
OUR GUESTS & THEIR EXPERIENCE
Branding:
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Sleek and modern but grounded in the luxury, opulence, and detail of past eras.
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Inspired by the Art Deco movement.
Personas:
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Personas provide realistic representations of the clientele for Nouro Airways.
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They help describe user needs, experiences, behaviours, and goals and build empathy in the design process. The users developed are gender and racially neutral to be able to design an experience for a wide and inclusive audience.
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Touch on behaviours, motivations, and goals of target audience and how it relates to Nouro Airway’s ideation process.
User Journey:
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The personas were placed in a journey map to provide context and better understand user pathways onboard.
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The journey map captures reactions during different touchpoints both temporally and spatially through the airplane. This exercise also provides a visualization to identify opportunities and guide design decisions to improve the Nouro experience.
Development Process
A BRIDGE BETWEEN TWO CITIES
This project is set in 2035 and uses the assumption that hydrogen fuel will be adopted by all major airlines which will make flying affordable and accessible to most. Nouro is an event for guests to save and treat themselves to as it offers an experience of luxury travel once reserved for the ultra wealthy.
Traditionally, passengers experience negative side effects from long-haul flights crossing time zones including deep vein thrombosis, back pain, dehydration, and jet lag. Nouro Airways will integrate comfort and technology to prevent these side effects and create a superior in-flight experience.
Nouro Airways inaugural flight from New York to Singapore was chose to highlight unique cultural practices and how they can be integrated into the inflight experience. The onboard experience includes specialty rotating menus and curated care kits. This would help passengers familiarize themselves with their destination while showcasing local businesses.
Integrated future VR tech into individual pods to help people with effects of long-haul flights crossing time zones. The pods are taking virtual reality beyond the headset and creating an encompassing environment for experiences. Beyond the pod, shared spaces such as the bar and lounge area would feature interactive and moving features to encourage interaction and socialization among guests to build a sense of togetherness. A transparent ceiling would combat the closed nature of the cabin and bring the wonder of the sky inside.
The pod experience within the Nouro website would showcase our immersive pod experience. Once within the pod, a selection of experiences would be available to try that have been specifically selected to provide a relaxing atmosphere for guests to recharge. This would provide an opportunity to partner with established meditation or exploration companies for the use of their products.
PROTOTYPE
Nouro Airlines lives within the future of air travel which led to Round 6’s decision to develop a company website to show prospective guests why they should choose to fly with Nouro.
The plane's interior will be designed, and 3D modelled to illustrate the cabin's physical environment in virtual space. The model will be featured in an interactive walk-through where guests can tour the plane and see examples of our immersive media. We separated into two teams to work simultaneously and complete the build efficiently. A Gantt chart was produced to visualize the project’s schedule and coordinate check-ins to test at pivotal times.
3D MODELLING - SABRINA & TORI
Maya | Substance Designer/Painter | Adobe After Effects/Photoshop/Illustrator
Inspiration for the design of the pod and airplane cabin came through reference images that were collected to consider brand values and the passenger's overall experience through the ornate design details. Reference sketches and illustrations were created to bring together Nouro’s unique take on futuristic airplane styling.
Rendering different videos to test throughout the process started early in the project with plane blocking, then moving onto a playblast and to different versions of the final render to test lighting and render settings. The optimum frame rate and video length needed for a smooth scroll on the website was determined by reviewing workflows in Maya and After Effects with advisors. A playblast video using keyframes in Maya was created to test how the tour will look with the 3D model prior to texturing it. This was embedded into the existing Nouro website to test the scrolling speed and video quality.
After testing was complete and the entire team was satisfied, the 3D team identified and textured primary and secondary assets with every detail thought through and executed accordingly to give a realistic appearance. To achieve this the team made use of UV-mapping techniques and applied textures with both Arnold in Maya and Substance Painter. Testing the basic Maya models early in the project was a crucial step in time management prior to committing to the final render. The final video went through multiple versions with settings tested for various lighting and colouring options before being uploaded to the site.
WEBSITE - ADRIN & TAMLYN
HTML/CSS | JavaScript | GitHub/VS Code | Wix Hosting | Adobe XD
Personas and user journeys assisted in building the website systems map, and what the experience would look like. A brand book housed all the key components and assets to be used on the website. This included logo and icon development, spacing buttons and div elements for information overlays, and the wireframe mockups of the final experience.
The scrolling web experience was inspired by this CodePen with informational pop-ups at certain frames throughout the experience. This method would use the pre-rendered mp4 video provided by the 3D team. By scrolling through the section, the user would control the playback of the video, therefore the speed of the tour, and the team could curate what would be seen. This method also avoids rendering and loading issues across various platforms and devices.
Custom code was pushed onto the Wix basic structure through GitHub pages and edited using VS Code. During production, different usability tests were conducted to see how the experience was viewed from different devices and if any UI changes had to be implemented. Our contingency plan to use Three.js (lighting and controls) to show the basic cabin model was tested for use if rendering the video was too time consuming. However, this direction was not ideal as the tour of the cabin could not be guided and information could be overlooked by the website visitor.
USABILITY TESTING
Regular testing was completed throughout the lifespan of the project in order to catch small issues early and often. Once identified, coding tweaks were done to improve the final deliverable. The website was also assessed on various browsers and devices to ensure the project is consistent for all users. Formal usability testing was scheduled once the website structure was finalized. Insights drawn from this activity included:
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0/5 users grasped how to close the information overlays during the scroll-through tour
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1/5 users understood how to return to the immersive experience menu
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5/5 users said they would visit the site again
This part of the project proved to be incredibly useful in analyzing the effectiveness and intuitiveness of the Nouro Airways website. Issues noted during this process were communicated to the coding team to improve the final website’s overall user experience.
Outcome & Future Iterations
THE NOURO EXPERIENCE
Each member of Round 6 brought unique strengths and skills to the project. Working through challenges and technical problems throughout this experience was guided by multiple advisors from GBC. Their expertise was greatly appreciated. After setting out to explore our connections through the world of travel, the final deliverable was a culmination of our journey into design.
PHYSICAL PROTOTYPING
In the future, this case study would provide the base for the design of a physical prototype of Nouro Airways' cabin and pod. A physical prototype would provide the tactile and physical experience of being on the aircraft which is not currently possible through virtual mediums.
DESIGNING FOR ACCESSIBILITY
The hefty price tag makes this experience unattainable to most, however, as more sustainable fuel sources and immersive media technology becomes more widespread, the fundamental experience that Nouro Airways provides could influence the entire airline industry. This is a glimpse into the future of travel.
EXPLORE OUR BRAND BOOK
