Virtual reality is rapidly becoming mainstream and will change how designers work. Designing for VR requires thinking beyond traditional rectangles and considering how to design immersive 3D experiences. It also requires optimizing performance and prioritizing user comfort, ease of learning, and feedback to avoid motion sickness and create an intuitive experience. Sound design is especially important in VR to provide feedback and allow users to locate themselves. Both game design principles and print design skills will be relevant for virtual reality design.

1. VR age is rapidly
approaching
DI SIMONE GIANNOTTI - VALERIO RUBINO - STEFANO LANFRANCO

2. But, why should
designers care?

3. Experts say that this
VR revolution will be
bigger than the
advent of the mobile
phone.
A new paradigm of
immersive 3D content
making even the most
novel 2D screen
experiences feel
boring and dated.
WHY SHOULD DESIGNER CARE?

4. Think Beyond
the Rectangle

5. We’ve all grown so
used to designing for
rectangles because
every viewing device
is a rectangle.
When you’re in a
immersive 360 space,
your environment is
boundless.
THINK BEYOND THE RECTANGLE

6. "Virtual reality is the ultimate empathy machine. These
experiences are more than documentaries. They’re
opportunities to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes."
— Chris Milk

7. The ultimate
empathy machine

8. Physiological Comfort
Designing an experience that is
comfortable for people is the
most important consideration.
The user must control every
movement and be provided
with reference points in order
to prevent sickness.
Environmental Comfort
It’s important to understand
scale when designing in VR.
If you design a space that’s too
big, users may get lost. If a
space is too small, users may
get claustrophobic.
Input Methods
Unlike gaming controllers that
we’ve grown accustomed to
(Playstation, Xbox, Wii), VR hand
controllers have to be suitable for
“blind mode” use.
THE ULTIMATE EMPATHY MACHINE

9. Ergonomics
Comfortable
range of motion
zones are
something to keep
in mind.
THE ULTIMATE EMPATHY MACHINE

10. Sound and
synesthesia
where stimulation of one
sense leads to the
automatic triggering of
another sense

11. While sound is often
annoying when using
the web or mobile
apps, it is a integral
part of VR.
3D sound or
holophonic sound
allows us to tell if
sound is coming from
above, below, or
behind us.
SOUND AND SYNESTHESIA

12. Sound and synesthesia
How can we build
a good UX for VR?

13. PAG 33
Optimize for performance
Keeping the frame rate above
60fps is paramount, Without this,
you risk motion sickness.
Prioritize comfort
Ensure that user’s can employ an
economy of motion: cluster
actions that are used together
(ie. next/prev), make objects
magnetic/snap to grid, etc
Prioritize ease of learning
This means ensuring that everything
provides clear feedback,
interactions are explained through
action rather than text instruction,
and that key concepts are
introduced in a timely fashion.
SOUND AND SYNESTHESIA

14. PAG 33
Skeuomorphism
will be back in VR?
SOUND AND SYNESTHESIA

15. The first instinct many
people have in VR is to
make everything
behave like real world
counterparts. Use cues
from the real world
where helpful, but take
advantage of the fact
that the physics and
character of a VR
environment are
flexible.
SOUND AND SYNESTHESIA

16. Sound is a critical detail.
Sound helps them situate themselves and focus on that task. It is also
one of the fundamental ways that you can provide feedback to the user.
SOUND AND SYNESTHESIA

17. Sound and synesthesia
Visual, auditory, haptic.
feedback becomes even
more critical in VR
because of the low
barrier to distract a user.
It’s all about the
feedback

18. Game design
becomes largely
relevant. It’s important
to surface feedback
in some form and to
do so consistently so
users understand
what “rules” they
have for invoking
objects and actions.
IT’S ALL ABOUT THE FEEDBACK

19. Print design
VR is a strange mix of
the two, and is kind of
more relevant to print
design than anything
else. Screens, and
specifically typography
lend themselves very
much so to the same
relationships you
would find and leverage
in the real world.
IT’S ALL ABOUT THE FEEDBACK

20. Is it big enough?
When it comes to design, one can never get away from
typography, and when it comes to typography in
space, virtual or real — it’s all about the readability and
communication.
IT’S ALL ABOUT THE FEEDBACK

21. Resources
- blog.prototypr.io
- uxofvr.com
- youtube.com
- virtualrealitypop.com
- medium.com
- medium.com

22. thanks!
P.s. are you really there or it is VR?