The NCID phygital experience

National Centre for Infectious Diseases

The NCID phygital experience

Creating a phygital experience that drives user engagement

The National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) is a national institution making waves in global healthcare. It wanted to share its rich history and crucial role in protecting Singapore from infectious diseases with visitors and staff through a brand experience.

What we did

Stakeholder research
Experience strategy
Content strategy
Interpretive strategy
Gamification strategy
Project management
Visual and spatial design and build
Content curation and creative copy
Augmented reality
UIUX mapping and design
Web app development
Engagement data collection

Challenges

The corridors and galleries in Singapore hospitals are often adorned with flat stickers. These stickers usually contain content-heavy graphics that communicate their histories and achievements to hospital staff and visitors. These static displays come across as old-fashioned and boring. They are not effective in capturing eyeballs and engaging their intended audiences.

NCID was also concerned about the possibility of infection in the gallery. This thus limited the interactivity options enabled by touch. How could we create an immersive, engaging experience for all?

Insights and strategy

“Not a gallery, but an experience” – this was HOL’s core strategy to break free from the trend of static displays in hospitals. The NCID Experience would diverge from the traditional gallery formula, and visitors would instead be active explorers of content and co-creators of their own unique experiences available only on site.

The experience would befit NCID’s stature as a leading global healthcare institution, inspire confidence in Singaporeans and measure up to NCID’s state-of-the-art facilities.

Solutions

A no-touch, gamified phygital experience

The NCID Experience drove higher audience engagement with gamified augmented reality (AR) experiences that visitors could enjoy on their mobile phones:

interactions with the CEO and a senior doctor that let visitors create emotional, human-centred connections with NCID
the colourisation of an old black-and-white photograph that engaged visitors through gamification
a Q&A with a historical figure replying in his real voice that engaged visitors through digital storytelling
interactive 3D models of viruses and bacteria and the NCID Building (in the form of a hologram) that visitors could rotate and explore

A content-rich physical gallery

A corporate branding wall, chronological timeline, photography exhibition and artefacts illustrated NCID’s rich expertise and heritage and lent aesthetic appeal to the space.

A harmonious experience and creative design in a functional public space

Turning the long corridor to our advantage, we conceptualised a walking experience along the lengthy passage. We also blended the design harmoniously with the building’s existing features, ensuring that wheelchair and hospital bed access would not be disrupted.

Impact

The NCID Experience delighted and engaged its audience, boosted staff morale and set the trend for visitor experiences in Singapore hospitals. The ground-breaking experience was featured in The Straits Times, The Business Times, Channel 8 News and Channel News Asia.

Boost in staff morale during the fight against Covid-19 is an impact

“Despite a very tight timeframe, Angeline and her team at HOL completed our project on time. We faced many technical and site challenges, and Angeline worked with us to overcome every one of them.

Her team spared no effort in researching past records to creatively tell the story of our humble beginnings. A no-touch but still immersive experience was important for us. Angeline and her team took in our requirements, strategised and executed the augmented reality interactives beautifully. The team’s professionalism and high standards can be seen in the exhibits now displayed in The NCID Gallery.”

Mr Albert Tan
Director of Operations
National Centre for Infectious Diseases