Julian Gander, Unlock Lucerne, 2023

Project presentation: youtube.com/shorts/SnyJbdFQIXY

Have you ever come across a door and wondered what‘s behind it? Maybe it‘s just a storage room, but maybe something unusual is hidden there. Unlock Lucerne gives you an alternative view behind doors in the public space of Lucerne. Using augmented reality doors in the public space act as a portal to a hidden world. The project uses Snapchat to provide the augmented reality experience and is therefore aimed at a younger target group.

With Unlock Lucerne the visitor is sent on a journey through Lucerne with the mission to find those doors. Therefore they explore the physical public space in front of the door as well as the virtual, hidden space behind it. In the virtual space the goal is to find Locky, the mascot that hides somewhere in every space.

The virtual spaces are inspired by the concept of liminal spaces. Because they act as an alternative reality, they should feel unreal and strange but at the same time also inviting and adventurous. This feeling is achieved by combining soft pastel colours with winding yet geometric shaped spaces.