Arriving on campus for the first time can be overwhelming, especially for students trying to navigate unfamiliar buildings, locate classrooms, and access essential support services under time pressure. SMCC saw an opportunity to reduce that friction by giving students a more helpful and accessible way to move through campus.
CM&D designed and developed Cougy Campus as a mobile augmented reality and wayfinding application available on both iOS and Android. The app combines location-aware campus navigation, AR-powered guidance, and digital access to student resources, helping students find where they need to go while making the overall campus experience feel more approachable and less intimidating.
Built with both student usability and institutional longevity in mind, the experience also included interactive AR features such as geofenced content and a 3D college mascot that helped bring personality and engagement to the platform. The result was a digital tool that supported student orientation while giving the college a scalable, maintainable solution for ongoing use.
The Goal:
Reduce first-day confusion and anxiety by helping students navigate campus more confidently and access important information through their mobile devices. The broader goal was to create a practical digital tool that improves orientation, supports student success, and reduces reliance on in-person guidance during high-demand periods.
Our Approach:
CM&D approached the project as both a user experience challenge and an institutional support tool. The application needed to work smoothly in real campus conditions, feel intuitive for students under stress, and remain manageable for college administrators over time. We combined mobile AR, location-aware mapping, and thoughtful UX design to create a campus-wide experience that balanced wayfinding, engagement, and long-term maintainability.
Key elements of the project included:
