FB Augmented Reality

In 2017 I was the lead designer for the FB AR Platform. This was a space for external brands like Nike, Warner Bros, and others to create and manage AR effects that were available in the FB camera. I worked closely with our Engineering, PM and Partnership teams as we met with brands, brainstormed AR effect ideas, and delivered some of the first branded AR content in the FB Camera app.

Justice League AR Masks

DC partnered with Facebook to create AR effects for their upcoming movie Justice League. I was the lead designer on the AR Platform team for FB, working closely with engineers, external agencies, and directly in the design files to create all five masks and effects.

The Goal
Create movie quality effects for all five Justice League characters, which can be used as promotional content and gets natural social use and sharing by people in the FB App.

The Challenges
Creating complex effects and textures, which can run on an app camera on nearly any phone (some with low processing power), using limited imagery available prior to the movie’s release. We had a very fast timeline, plus multiple review cycles & critique by Justice League movie producers. Creating understandable ways to initiate special effects, only using facial interactions. We were building these effects in a tool that was in alpha (early version of Spark AR), and were finding and helping fix bugs and recommend features as we worked. Effects needed to work with all hair styles and face shapes, even if the character’s outfit covered their head (like batman or the flash).

How I Helped
I represented FB Camera App design in all meetings with our partners. Worked closely with an external agency to oversee timeline and communication for asset and effect creation. I partnered closely with lead FB engineer who did the final build and optimization of all the effects, iterating and problem solving together. Created and optimized textures, backgrounds, and effects using the early versions of the Spark AR tool from FB.

The Result
We created the most technical and complex (to build) masks to date in the FB Camera. All were able to run on a wide range of devices, which is very challenging with larger masks effects like this. The masks were successfully used for Justice League marketing prior the release of the movie, even by the actors.