Theaterverse
TheaterVerse is an augmented reality (AR) based solution to enhance non-native English speakers' theater watching experience.
Design Question
How can we improve theater experience for individuals who are not familiar with the language or culture of the play?
Theater patrons with language barriers often encounter difficulties when watching live performances. Actors may speak too quickly for easy comprehension, and performances often include cultural references that can be unfamiliar to those unfamiliar to the culture. Our design addresses these challenges by offering real-time subtitles, cultural context descriptions, and an intuitive user interface that enhances.
This project originated from the experience of an individual who enjoyed watching plays in theaters but struggled to keep up with the language/cultural references.
Project Overview
Motivation
Our team was interested in exploring how people perceive their theater watching experience, especially non-native English speakers. Our goal was to provide a solution to enhance their watching experience.
Stakeholders
Primary
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Non-native English speaking adults who do not understand the English language, but who watch live theater performances.
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Non-native English speaking adults who do not understand culturally significant portions of the plays.
Secondary
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Theater owners that want to provide an accessible theater experience for non-native English speakers.
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Individuals who want to make theater accessible to more people.
Coursework
This project was completed as part of the User-Centered Design course in the MS in Human-Centered Design and Engineering program in Autumn of 2024.
Contributors
Zainab T.
Olivia E.
User Experience Research Process Overview
Survey
One-on-one Semi-structured User Interviews
Card Sorting
Usability Testing
Survey
We conducted a survey to understand user needs and preferences. The survey included several questions asking what features users think were most important in a device that would address barriers in theater enjoyment. Users were asked what they would find useful if the language of the play is not their native language, for cultural references, for visual impairments, hearing impairments, and for difficulty in tracking characters. We also asked how often participants watch plays in theaters and if they would watch more if they had a device to support them.
Survey Findings
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23 Participants
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University of Washington Students
When participants were asked about what leads to reduced enjoyment of their theater watching experience...
71% found it difficult to follow the plays’ plot
28% experienced a dialogue not in their native language
61% struggled understanding cultural references
28% had hearing impairments
23% had visual impairments
When participants were asked about challenges related to cultural references and/or understanding of the play's language, the following features were rated as the most important:
Alt text for entire scene
Boosted Audio
Translations
Alt text for individual scenes
One-on-one Semi-structured User Interviews
We conducted user interviews with participants to learn more about their play watching habits and how our device could possibly enhance their experience. The interviews allowed us to dig deeper into their preferred features.
A few of the questions...
What are some reasons that might stop you from watching plays in theaters?
Can you describe an enjoyable experience you’ve had watching a play at a theater?
What changes would make it more appealing for you to watch plays at theaters?
Can you describe a bad experience you’ve had watching a play at a theater?
Do you watch plays with friends or family?
When was the last time you went to watch a play in a theater?
Interview Findings
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3 Participants (followed up from survey)
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University of Washington Students
“Sometimes America’s talk about the movie stars, but I don’t know them”. Participant indicated that this negatively impacts their experience. - Participant 2
Stated that mumbled audio cues are often very difficult to follow.- Participant 3
“Hard to listen to all parts of the lines and dialogues… When you miss important lines, you lose track of the whole play”- Participant 1
“[It is] important for everyone to understand the whole play”- Participant 2
The results of these participant’s comments highlighted to our team that both cultural context and live translations will be beneficial to our participants.
Card Sort
Card sorting activities allowed for our participants to prioritize functions in a future prototype. The results of our survey allowed us to have an idea of what is important to our users, but lacked an understanding of why these are important and what features are most important for us to keep in mind moving forward.
Card Sort Findings
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3 Participants (followed up from survey)
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University of Washington Students
Most important features of the potential device:
Alt text for individual references
Closed captioning for dialogue
Boosted dialogue volume
Haptic feedback for music
Haptic feedback for music
Most important physical characteristics:
Cordless
Light weight
Easy to wear
Easy to use without instructions
User Persona
We identified our persona using the research we conducted. Based on the findings, we created one persona that reflects an average user our solution will cater to.
Ideation Sketches
The ideation phase was essential to exploring creative solutions for our design challenge. Using rapid sketching techniques, we independently brainstormed and sketched our ideas for the design solution. We then came together to review and refine the ideas.
Design Directions
After reviewing our design sketches, we refined our design focus.
Digital UI
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Obtrusive Design: An easy-to-interact, minimalistic UI that does not disrupt the users' view of the stage.
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Cultural Context Descriptions Integration: Users are able to see cultural context references on the right side of the stage.
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Subtitles: Users are bale to see subtitles in the bottom.
Physical UI
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Comfortable Design: A lightweight and comfortable device that allows for intuitive interaction with the device, supplementing the digital UI.
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Intuitive Controls: A dial to support easy scrolling and tactile buttons enable users to easily interact with the device, without interviewing with their own or others' theater experience.
Storyboards
The storyboards below demonstrate the two main features of the AR glasses: subtitles (language translation) and cultural context references.
 Storyboard showing language support |  Storyboard showing viewing cultural context descriptions |
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Design Goals
Our design goals focused on enhancing theater accessibility for non-native English speakers by providing real-time subtitles and cultural context descriptions. These objectives guided our process to ensure a seamless and inclusive user experience.
ENHANCE USERS' WATCHING EXPERIENCE
COMFORTABLE TO WEAR
ALLOWS EASY INTERACTION WITHOUT DISRUPTING PLAY EXPERIENCE
INTUITIVE
ALLOW FOR PERSONALIZATION
CONSISTENT ACROSS LANGUAGES AND PLAYS
Mid-Fidelity Prototype
The mid-fidelity prototype below shows the initial design for how users can access the subtitles and cultural context descriptions through the T.heaterVerse glasses. This prototype focuses on the flow and layout of key features, such as accessing the settings, selecting preferred language, turning on cultural context descriptions, and viewing cultural context descriptions. This allowed us to conduct usability testing and gain valuable feedback to refine and finalize our design.
Usability Testing
To further validate our design concepts and ensure that our product aligns with users’ needs, we recruited four participants to conduct usability testing. The goal was to evaluate how effective our product was when used in a real-world context and gather feedback from users on how they perceive the current state of the product. It allowed us to identify any usability issues, understand how users interact with the physical and digital prototype simultaneously, and refine our design before moving on to the next stage in our design process.
Tasks Given:
1. Turn on Subtitles: Locate the settings icon and turn on subtitles in English.
2. Turn on Cultural Context Descriptions: Locate the settings icon and turn on cultural context descriptions in English.
Usability Findings
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4 participants
Finding 1: Cultural Context Descriptions
Users feels the cultural context descriptions are too word-heavy and would prefer to be given the choice to select which words/phrases to view descriptions for.
Finding 2: Physical Buttons
Users agree that the front button should be to select options while the back button should return you to the central stage.The dial is used for scrolling.
Finding 3: Comfort
Users felt the glasses were too loose and would prefer to have the option to customize their fit.
Iteration
After conducting usability testing, we refined our prototype designs. Each iteration focused on improving the user experience by addressing usability issues, simplifying interactions, and enhancing the visual layout. This helped us ensure our final product effectively meets users' needs.
Change 1: Remove info icon with cultural context descriptions
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We removed the information icon alongside the cultural context descriptions to reduce clutter and allow users to select the cultural context descriptions for only the words/phrases users wish to see.
Change 2: Show Individual and Shorter Cultural Context Descriptions
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Since users would prefer to see individual cultural descriptions, we iterated the design to show descriptions for only the words/phrases the user selects/hovers on.
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The cultural context descriptions are brief so users can quickly read through them and continue watching the play.
Change 3: Adding an Adjustable Strap to TheaterVerse
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Users can now adjust the glasses by simply adjusting the strap. This allows for maximum personalization and comfort.
Change 4: Replace "X" icon with a return icon.
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We replaced the "X" icon with a return icon because it better aligned with the action of going back to the previous screen. It improves clarity and usability for our users.
Final Design
This section brings all elements of our design together, including the user flow, design specifications, and a demo video showcasing the digital UI from the perspective of a user.
USER FLOWS
Subtitles
This flow demonstrates how users interact with the subtitles feature of the AR glasses, from initial setup to real-time use during performances. The design ensures seamless integration into the theater experience.
Cultural Context Descriptions
This user flow illustrates how users engage with the cultural context descriptions feature. The flow begins from the user encountering a cultural context reference they do not understanding and then they turn on the cultural context description settings. It ensures that users have a smooth experience using the device.
Design specifications
The design specifications below outline the finalized design of the digital UI and the physical AR glasses. These specifications serve as a blueprint for engineers and manufacturers to accurately build the product.
DIGITAL USER INTERFACE
PHYSICAL GLASSES
