2025
Palestine: Lit by Loss
A data-driven mobile AR experience translating real-world datasets into a spatial act of remembrance.
AR • Data Visualisation • Interactive Systems
A project demo showing the AR map, region selection, generated candlelight vigil, and name-based data interaction.
Overview
Palestine: Lit by Loss is a mobile augmented-reality project exploring how real-world data can be translated into a spatial act of remembrance. Built with Unity and AR Foundation, the experience uses datasets from Tech for Palestine to generate an AR candlelight vigil. Users select regions on a 3D map to view child death toll information, with candles generated in response to the data for each region. A separate Know Their Names feature displays the names of deceased children from Gaza, shifting the experience from numerical information towards individual remembrance.
Build & Strategy
I created the 3D map using QGIS, Adobe Illustrator and Autodesk Maya, then imported it into Unity as the central interface for exploring regional data.
Datasets from Tech for Palestine connect each region’s child death toll with generated candle displays and name-based information.
To maintain performance, I used object pooling and staggered spawning so large numbers of candles could appear gradually without overwhelming the application.
Clear interaction states support region selection, guidance prompts and information panels, while subtle map movement contributes to the experience’s quiet visual atmosphere.
I kept the interface and visual direction intentionally restrained, using AR to support reflection and remembrance rather than spectacle.
Reflection
This project changed how I thought about AR, showing how spatial media can shape the way people encounter information when data represents real lives rather than abstract numbers. It also established foundations for later Unity work involving interaction systems, performance constraints, sensitive subject matter and data-driven spatial experiences.