Valser AR EXPERIENCE
Client - VALSER / Coca Cola
My role
UX / UI
Ideation
Asset creation
VFX
Client facing
Illustration
Storyboarding
Concept creation
Animation direction
Programs Used
Figma
Overflow
Photoshop
After Effects
The Valser Water team approached us at Zappar to create an engaging augmented reality (AR) experience for customers to enjoy while dining at restaurants across Switzerland.
The experience needed to bring the story of Valser Water to life by showcasing the brand's origins and the journey of its naturally sourced Alpine water. Alongside this narrative, the experience also needed to entertain users through interactive AR elements that would encourage exploration and engagement while reinforcing Valser's premium brand identity.
We also included a restaurant-specific water sommelier section, allowing the app to recommend the most suitable Valser water pairing for dishes available on that restaurant’s menu.
As with all of my projects, I started by mapping out the user journey through a series of wireframes. This allowed me to validate the overall experience flow, refine interactions, and ensure the AR experience was intuitive before progressing to the design and development stages.
Although the overall structure was approved early on, we went through several rounds of refinement to ensure the experience reflected Valser's premium brand positioning. As shown in the high-fidelity user flow, a number of design decisions were refined to create a more polished and sophisticated experience.
One of the most significant changes was the splash sequence. The initial concept was a simple scrolling introduction that explained the Valser brand and set expectations for the AR experience. Through iteration, this evolved into a premium, editorial-style introduction featuring elegant animations, visual effects, and cinematic transitions. The result was a far more engaging onboarding experience that immediately communicated the quality and heritage of the brand.
To better communicate the intended experience, I created an animatic of the scrolling splash sequence. This provided the development team with a clear visual reference for the pacing, transitions, and animations, ensuring the final implementation closely matched the design vision.
The whole experience centres around a low poly style model of the area Vals where Valser water is made. Users place this model onto the dining table in the restaurant where they can tap on the various menu options hovering above the model.
To further personalise the experience, we introduced an AI-powered bottle designer. Users answered a series of questions, which were used to generate a unique, custom bottle wrap inspired by their responses. The design was then applied to a fully interactive 3D model of a Valser bottle, giving each user a one-of-a-kind creation that could be explored in augmented reality.
One of the standout moments of the experience was the Valser Story—an immersive, fully animated sequence that brought the brand's heritage to life. It explored the origins of Valser Water, the pristine Alpine source of its natural mineral water, and the history behind the brand.
At the heart of the experience was a low-poly 3D landscape that continuously morphed and transformed into a series of scenes as the narrative unfolded. Carefully choreographed animations, cinematic transitions, and subtle visual effects combined to create an engaging storytelling experience that played out directly on the user's dining table through augmented reality.
Working from the narrative provided by Valser, I developed the animation flow and directed the sequence from concept through to final production, ensuring the pacing, transitions, and visual language reflected the premium nature of the brand.
Below is the simple storyboard I created for the sequence.
