The What
Back Then Dot Com is an augmented reality (AR) installation that transforms analog photographs into portals of digital nostalgia. Visitors are invited to explore three interactive WebAR experiences triggered by flipping over Polaroid photos placed on a table. Each AR scene reimagines a piece of early-2000s media culture, from iconic tech to childhood rituals, rendered through a contemporary XR lens.
Born in the mid 90s and raised on a steady diet of dial-up tones, grainy cartoons, and blinking chat windows, I’ve always carried a deep affection for the tech relics that shaped my earliest digital memories. This piece is a love letter to those moments. A tactile, immersive archive for fellow 90s kids to reminisce, reconnect, and maybe even giggle at how far we’ve come.
Through playful interaction and visual storytelling, Back Then Dot Com captures the joy, weirdness, and beauty of a pre-smartphone childhood. One channel surf, pixel pet, and “you’ve got mail” at a time.
This experience is built using 8th Wall WebAR, allowing instant access through mobile browsers with no app download required. The installation features three physical Polaroids each embedded with a unique QR code that launches AR experiences.
Interactions are light, intuitive, and carefully optimized for mobile, using simple gestures like tap to uncover a nostalgic digital layer hiding behind each analog photo. I used Blender to tweak and optimize 3D assets, Photoshop to tweak their textures, and After Effects to downgrade the quality of some videos (on purpose!) and add some post-production magic.