Once a privilege of big-budget corporations, creating augmented reality experiences is now a superpower, almost anyone can have — as long as they have access to a computer, internet, and a mobile device. Similar to the likes of DIY design platforms like Canva, Piktochart, or Infogram, Overly app offers a web-based AR creator for individuals who want to realize their augmented reality gift ideas, create novelty surprises, tech-up their home decor, or simply stun their friends.
Below you’ll find a list of ideas for personal projects that can be created with our DIY AR platform — no need to sign up to a coding academy or join a design school.
Augmented reality invitations and greeting cards
The most accessible and most popular augmented reality application for personal projects goes to personalized birthday, anniversary, and other occasion cards, as well as invitations to such events like weddings.
Greeting cards are the perfect outlet for additional AR content because they can be easily personalized or designed from scratch, and they have a flat surface, which makes it easier for computer vision to read their content.
You still have to take into account some good marker image practices when designing a postcard for augmented reality recognition, but that’s about it. The typical content that usually goes on top of one of these cards is a personalized video message, which you can even record on your phone. Below is an example of an AR wedding invitation, and you can read about this use case within our case studies.
Another example here of a commercial augmented reality card (I do admit this video is cheesy), but it shows that Christmas is a great occasion for making the most of personalized augmented reality cards. However, with free AR creation and design platforms out there, you do not have to buy a commercially branded card as in the example, you can create your own design in a few steps with the likes of Canva, for example.
Here is another idea, although it comes from a corporate case study, I think a lot of families could get together for an amateur Christmas song video to cheer up their friends over the festive season. Something to start preparing now, so the performance is ready by the end of the year. Explore this AR Christmas card within our interactive demo case studies as well.
Augmented reality for novelty gifts
- T-shirts
- Caps
- Calendars
- Travel cups
- Pillows
- Keyrings
- Drink coasters
- Candles, and anything else that you dread receiving (and giving) in the annual Secret Santa gift exchanges at work, can be given another lease of life with augmented reality.
I find a good starting point for AR novelty gift ideas is any of the online providers for personalized gifts. Just scroll through the likes of www.gettingpersonal.co.uk or www.notonthehighstreet.com and think about what you can personalize and bring to life with AR. As long as a box of chocolates or a notebook can have your unique design on top, you are likely to be able to augment it. If in doubt, read our blog on creating marker-based AR experiences.
When you create your design, it doesn’t matter which AR creator you use or where you create your gift design. All web-based AR platforms will allow you to upload the same design/photo you plan to use on your gift, plus the AR message you want to bring to life. Below is an example of a wall-calendar. Using any of personalized gift platforms, you’d be able to create such a calendar, while adding all photos to an AR creator and hiding videos beneath them.
Here is, once again, an example from the corporate world for a box of chocolates. Using a personalized gifting service and adding your design to a box of chocolates may be just as easy as personalizing a greeting card. It may also mean that you do not need a card to go with your chocolates. Again, a simple video layer with a message will do the trick when it comes to personal projects.
Augmented reality for photo albums, canvas, and other print-on-demand projects
The above example rings a bell with one of the most popular home decor ideas and AR projects for personal use. It is bringing albums, photo frames, and canvas to life. This is, of course, also a great gift to your family members and friends, but often people choose to brighten up their own stuff with interactive tech.
We live in times, where we’ve got both photos and videos from most occasions, and while the data may clog up our phones, we are not always comfortable pressing the publish button on social media. These may be our babies’ first steps or wedding vows. Augmented reality allows for this content to still be present without getting a TV out every time you want to show your guests something special. Just get them to take their phones and reveal video layers on personal devices. Below is an example of AR photo frames and canvas. Often these can also be created on personalized gifting sites.
Similar to the above, augmented reality is also easy to implement with other print-on-demand projects.
Student projects with augmented reality
Students are a whole new group that work on various personal AR projects and can, therefore, benefit from free AR creation options with basic features from multiple providers.
Marker-based augmented reality is more of an interest to humanities and social sciences students, who have lots of creative ideas but no coding skills to develop something from scratch. With augmented reality, they can create mock-up marketing campaigns, bring to life their exhibitions, create interactive guides for tourism projects, and anything else they can think of. Below is a tourism brochure, that is similar to what marketing or tourism students could be tasked with developing. This is an easy AR project because it only uses a video layer.
I hope this blog has given you a taste of what can be created at the comfort of your own home. For more specific ideas and examples, you can check out our AR christmas gift ideas, which can be tailored to any season and occasion. You can also surf through our projects within our demo case studies section or YouTube.
