Nuoran Chen

Phantom Gallery

2024

Medium:

Digital user interface, Environmental photogrammetry, Artificial intelligence

Dimension:

1125 x 1500 (px)

Phantom Gallery is an AI-powered mobile app that allows users to explore museums remotely through immersive, interactive digital experiences. Using environmental photogrammetry, the app creates detailed digital twins of museum spaces, making global cultural heritage accessible regardless of location, mobility, or economic barriers.

As attention shifts toward social media and away from traditional cultural spaces, museums face growing challenges in engaging audiences. Phantom Gallery responds by offering an alternative space for cultural connection—one that is mobile, affordable, and deeply interactive. An embedded virtual AI guide customizes each user’s journey, answering questions and offering context about artifacts in real time. Users can also play educational scavenger hunt games, encouraging exploration and learning through play.

This project addresses critical issues of cultural decentralization and accessibility. Many museums and heritage sites are geographically isolated or resource-limited. By removing physical constraints, Phantom Gallery bridges gaps in cultural access and memory, inviting users to engage with shared human history in new ways.

Ultimately, Phantom Gallery envisions a future where cultural engagement is not defined by proximity or privilege, but by curiosity and connection—reclaiming fractured legacies and imagining inclusive, tech-driven futures for museums and the communities they serve.

About the Artist

Nuoran Chen

Nuoran is a product designer and HCI researcher based in New York, originally from China. While art has always been an integral part of his life, it was his passion for social science that shaped his approach—merging creativity with critical thinking to design for impact. Nuoran’s work centers on inclusive design, whether in physical or digital environments. Grounded in empirical research and informed by theories of equity and justice, he advocates for design that builds a more accessible and equitable future. His projects often explore the intersection of technology, culture, and human experience.

Graduated from University of Pennsylvania and UC Berkeley, Nuoran’s work has been recognized by international honors such as the iF Design Award (2024) and the International Design Awards. Alongside professional practice, he actively contributes to academic research, with accessibility-focused studies published at top HCI conferences. Currently, Nuoran works at the New York Times as a product designer, where he creates tools and resources that support independent journalism, which bring more readers closer to truth and help them better understand the world.

Nuoran Chen

Phantom Gallery

2024

Medium:

Digital user interface, Environmental photogrammetry, Artificial intelligence

Dimension:

1125 x 1500 (px)

Phantom Gallery is an AI-powered mobile app that allows users to explore museums remotely through immersive, interactive digital experiences. Using environmental photogrammetry, the app creates detailed digital twins of museum spaces, making global cultural heritage accessible regardless of location, mobility, or economic barriers.

As attention shifts toward social media and away from traditional cultural spaces, museums face growing challenges in engaging audiences. Phantom Gallery responds by offering an alternative space for cultural connection—one that is mobile, affordable, and deeply interactive. An embedded virtual AI guide customizes each user’s journey, answering questions and offering context about artifacts in real time. Users can also play educational scavenger hunt games, encouraging exploration and learning through play.

This project addresses critical issues of cultural decentralization and accessibility. Many museums and heritage sites are geographically isolated or resource-limited. By removing physical constraints, Phantom Gallery bridges gaps in cultural access and memory, inviting users to engage with shared human history in new ways.

Ultimately, Phantom Gallery envisions a future where cultural engagement is not defined by proximity or privilege, but by curiosity and connection—reclaiming fractured legacies and imagining inclusive, tech-driven futures for museums and the communities they serve.

About the Artist

Nuoran Chen

Nuoran is a product designer and HCI researcher based in New York, originally from China. While art has always been an integral part of his life, it was his passion for social science that shaped his approach—merging creativity with critical thinking to design for impact. Nuoran’s work centers on inclusive design, whether in physical or digital environments. Grounded in empirical research and informed by theories of equity and justice, he advocates for design that builds a more accessible and equitable future. His projects often explore the intersection of technology, culture, and human experience.

Graduated from University of Pennsylvania and UC Berkeley, Nuoran’s work has been recognized by international honors such as the iF Design Award (2024) and the International Design Awards. Alongside professional practice, he actively contributes to academic research, with accessibility-focused studies published at top HCI conferences. Currently, Nuoran works at the New York Times as a product designer, where he creates tools and resources that support independent journalism, which bring more readers closer to truth and help them better understand the world.

Nuoran Chen

Phantom Gallery

2024

Medium:

Digital user interface, Environmental photogrammetry, Artificial intelligence

Dimension:

1125 x 1500 (px)

Phantom Gallery is an AI-powered mobile app that allows users to explore museums remotely through immersive, interactive digital experiences. Using environmental photogrammetry, the app creates detailed digital twins of museum spaces, making global cultural heritage accessible regardless of location, mobility, or economic barriers.

As attention shifts toward social media and away from traditional cultural spaces, museums face growing challenges in engaging audiences. Phantom Gallery responds by offering an alternative space for cultural connection—one that is mobile, affordable, and deeply interactive. An embedded virtual AI guide customizes each user’s journey, answering questions and offering context about artifacts in real time. Users can also play educational scavenger hunt games, encouraging exploration and learning through play.

This project addresses critical issues of cultural decentralization and accessibility. Many museums and heritage sites are geographically isolated or resource-limited. By removing physical constraints, Phantom Gallery bridges gaps in cultural access and memory, inviting users to engage with shared human history in new ways.

Ultimately, Phantom Gallery envisions a future where cultural engagement is not defined by proximity or privilege, but by curiosity and connection—reclaiming fractured legacies and imagining inclusive, tech-driven futures for museums and the communities they serve.

About the Artist

Nuoran Chen

Nuoran is a product designer and HCI researcher based in New York, originally from China. While art has always been an integral part of his life, it was his passion for social science that shaped his approach—merging creativity with critical thinking to design for impact. Nuoran’s work centers on inclusive design, whether in physical or digital environments. Grounded in empirical research and informed by theories of equity and justice, he advocates for design that builds a more accessible and equitable future. His projects often explore the intersection of technology, culture, and human experience.

Graduated from University of Pennsylvania and UC Berkeley, Nuoran’s work has been recognized by international honors such as the iF Design Award (2024) and the International Design Awards. Alongside professional practice, he actively contributes to academic research, with accessibility-focused studies published at top HCI conferences. Currently, Nuoran works at the New York Times as a product designer, where he creates tools and resources that support independent journalism, which bring more readers closer to truth and help them better understand the world.