Art and interior design lovers: it’s time to whip out those phones and tablets and head to download the Curioos app! Curioos, a digital art factory, claims to have solved the number one obstacle standing in the way of art sales online from becoming mainstream. Their new application allows you to visualize one of Curioos’ 5,000 digital art pieces in your own home, from the viewpoint of your phone or tablet screen. All you need is to download the app and print out a piece of paper.
The application is honestly quite an amusing experience. A framed image of whatever piece of artwork you are looking at becomes available on your small screen with just a few simple steps. After you choose the piece of art that interests you, simply enter the corresponding code into the mobile app, and aim your phone at the printed off Curioos logo. You find the code by clicking on a preview of an image on the Curioos website. A preview of the piece of art immediately becomes available before your eyes, on your small screen. The utility in the app comes when you post the paper up on a wall where you’re thinking of putting a painting; you can visualize it much better in the space before you commit to buying it.
Overcoming barriers in Augmented Reality
If, like me, you don’t have a way to print off the logo you need to scan, you can use your computer or any other digital screen. However, this is definitely where my real opinion of the app comes in. I felt like it was more a way to fool around on my phone than I thought it was helpful. Admittedly, I was not able to really visualize any images on any walls I had. Instead, it felt like much more of a game of making images appear and disappear on my phone than it did help me decide if I liked something and wanted it to decorate a room. In addition, while the quality of the digital image is fantastic, it is still like looking at a screen than an actual piece of art, and thus still clouded my experience.
Am I being too pessimistic? Absolutely possible. It certainly is a new way to view art, and could be an entirely different experience had I been able to print out the necessary paper. That being said, go try out the Curioos app for yourself, if anything just for the fun it will bring you.