Engaging in a collaborative project with the proprietor of El-Baron Barbershop, nestled in the vibrant heart of Kitsilano, was an incredibly rewarding experience. The store was opened in December 2021 with the goal to provide a heaven for men seeking not only exceptional grooming services but also a warm, vibrant, and modern atmosphere.

Our story began when the owner, whom I’ve known for years as my personal barber, initiated his entrepreneurial vision to establish his own shop. Shortly after opening, we started discussing ways to enhance the visibility of his business. It wasn’t long before we agreed on creating its virtual panorama.

After arriving at the location our first step was to collect the necessary data from inside the store, as well as the exterior and aerial views. We made some final adjustments to the interior and let the owner step out to a nearby café as we began our work. The shop’s striking modern design made it a pleasure to work in so 3 hours later, we had gathered ample footage.

From there, we embarked on a month-long journey to process all the photographic material meticulously. Our focus was on absolute precision, ensuring that every detail in the panorama was assembled flawlessly and that the colourfulness of the photos was outstanding.

Next, we moved on to implementing the brand design into the panorama, creating an original user graphic interface and defining the behaviour of every component (something like creating a website, but with a much higher level of interactivity, it almost felt like crafting a game).

Thanks to the interactive elements embedded within the presentation, a customer can walk through the barbershop as if physically being there. While entering the salon, a friendly voice welcomes you to the tour, and notifications guide you on how to navigate yourself in the panorama. You can see various aspects of the store, even go outside and hear the ambient sounds of the street or click on a drone hotspot to get an aerial view of the city and the barbershop’s location.

We also incorporated a menu with various features like fullscreen mode, muting sound, activating VR glasses, or even taking screenshots. The user can move forward or backward thanks to the keyboard or by clicking on yellow arrows to proceed further in the panorama. Interactive elements are present throughout, allowing you to explore products, hear surrounding noises, or observe stunning visuals like a lens flare when looking at the sun.

Additionally, a top menu allows customers to visit the barbershop’s Instagram page, book an appointment, check out the services offered, pricing, and a gallery of images from the store.

In conclusion, we aimed to create an immersive, engaging, and user-friendly virtual tour that functions seamlessly on both desktop and mobile devices and can also be experienced in VR. This project was a rewarding endeavour, marrying technology and creativity to showcase the fantastic atmosphere and services of El-Baron Barbershop.