USER EXPERIENCE DESIGN FOR AR/VR

We’re kicking things off with a warm welcome, a few housekeeping tips, and a sneak peek into what's coming up in our exhilarating journey together.

• Instructor intro
• General housekeeping rules
• Classes & assignments overview 

First class! From understanding the XR designer's mindset to exploring real-world case studies like Metaverse Banking, we'll navigate the pivotal role and significance of UX in immersive technologies.

• What makes design for XR so exciting today?
• XR designer's mindset
• UX role in AR/VR
• Case study: UX in Metaverse Banking VR/AR Design Concept

Navigate the intricacies of design challenges and constraints while expanding your creative toolkit in Class 2. Learn to craft a personalized design process and explore innovative strategies to tackle privacy and security concerns, all while delving into the ethical complexities of AR/VR.

• Design challenges & constraints
• Developing your design process
• Ideation techniques 
• Privacy & security considerations
• Case study: Ethical challenges of AR/VR

Assignment #1: Design Concepts
Illustrate two AR/VR experience concepts through storyboarding and ideation techniques, ensuring alignment with user personas to address diverse needs effectively.

Create user experiences that are not only slick & smooth but also address technical challenges efficiently. Dive into the nitty-gritty of visual design to supercharge engagement and performance in the virtual world.

• User needs hierarchy in UX
• Visual hierarchies in UX design
• Technical constraints & solutions
• Case study: Google Maps AR
• Demo: Creating effective visual design in Unity

Assignment #2: Visual Element Design
Create 8-10 visual elements using Figma tailored for your AR/VR concept, such as menus, buttons, icons, environment assets, or HUD elements, enhancing user engagement, usability, and aesthetic appeal through refined design techniques.

Hone your user-centric XR solutions by embracing iterative design methods, where we'll explore testing techniques, interaction patterns, and rapid iterations to create impactful user experiences.

• User testing & prototyping
• Usability testing methods
• Rapid iterations
• Case study: ShapesXR - CAE Healthcare & ShapesXR - TriggerXR
• Demo: Visualizations in VR with Bezi and ShapesXR

Assignment #3: AR/VR Prototyping
Develop an immersive AR or VR experience using Figma & Bezi, focusing on foundational interactions, environments, and assets for user exploration and feedback, while iterating rapidly to optimize user experience.

Refine interactions in immersive environments, ensuring every touchpoint feels intuitive, responsive, and utterly captivating. Get hands-on with gestural interfaces, haptic feedback, and multi-modal interactions to create environments that truly come alive.

• Interfaces & interactions
• Affordance & reactivity
• Designing for spatial awareness
• Demo: Importing VRTK and Meta Interaction SDK into Unity

(Optional) Assignment #4: Exploring Environmental Factors in VR/AR Design
Analyze the impact of environmental considerations on user comfort and interaction, and integrate strategies to enhance user experience in your designs.

Let’s try crafting unforgettable user experiences in AR and MR — think of it as shaping digital realities that users will love to explore. Get hands-on with essential frameworks, perfecting movement, interaction, and onboarding.

• Essential frameworks for seamless UX
• User movement
• Micro & macro interactions
• Importing MRTK and AR Foundation into Unity

Today’s goal: to effortlessly blend information into the spatial fabric of virtual and augmented reality worlds, keeping users hooked and engaged.

• Adaptive UI
• Presenting impactful information overlays
• 2D to 3D: Spatialized UI design
• Case study: Apple Vision Pro UX analysis

Assignment #5: Communicating with Users: Crafting Information Overlays
Design an informational overlay for your AR/VR concept using Figma, emphasizing key details to effectively communicate with users, and explain your design rationale.

Effectively navigate spatial constraints to foster seamless interactions across various scenarios. Learn dynamic scaling, contextual awareness, and spatial mapping to create seamless experiences.

• Dynamic scaling through points systems
• Contextual awareness & implications
• Spatial mapping: anchoring & constraints

Unlock the power of spatial understanding and visual perception in virtual realms. We’ll talk about dimensionality, field of view dynamics, and spatial relationships in Unity, setting the stage for unforgettable user interactions.

• Dimensionality & spatial awareness
• Designing for the human eye: Field of view (FOV)
• Spatial relationships & depth perception
• Demo: Navigating spatial relationships in Unity

Assignment #6: Elevating the User Experience through Spatial Optimizations
Refine spatial relationships in your AR/VR prototype to enhance user experience, and demonstrate how spatial principles optimize immersion and interaction.

Learn how to level up immersion using cutting-edge audio processing techniques and frameworks, ensuring your creations stand out in the immersive landscape. Let's tune in!

• Harnessing spatial audio
• Audio processing techniques
• Audio optimization frameworks for improved UX

We’re mastering motion design. Learn how to nail timing, pacing, and transitions to craft captivating experiences, all while keeping motion sickness at bay.

• Timing & pacing
• Crafting dynamic elements
• Transitions & animations: Pre-crafted sequences of movement
• Case study: Guidelines for minimizing motion sickness
• Demo: Sequencing animations with Unity

Assignment #7: Motion in AR/VR Designs 
Apply animations to assets within your prototype using Unity, experimenting with dynamic effects such as object rotations, scale changes, and fading effects to enrich the immersive environment.

Seamlessly blend functionality, aesthetics, and inclusivity. From intuitive navigation to performance optimization, we'll equip you with the skills to create user-centric designs that elevate the overall user experience.

• Performance optimization
• Integrating accessibility & inclusivity
• Case study: VR applications with accessibility features (eg. Moss, Assassins Creed Nexus VR)
• Demo: Applying accessibility principles to a simulated scenario

In Class 13, explore effective presentation techniques and sharpen your communication skills. Let's transform ideas into interesting stories, forge stronger user bonds, and nail those stakeholder pitches with style!

• Design documentation, design assets, and specifications
• Coordinating design efforts in a virtual space
• Storytelling in UX design
• Case study: Building an XR spatial presentation tool for digital assets

(Optional) Assignment #8: Immersive Design Showcase
Present your prototype with effective storytelling techniques to convey your design process and user experience considerations convincingly.

Final session! Gain insight into industry trends, explore standout portfolios, and dive into inspiring discussions with our seasoned guest speaker. Whether you're starting fresh or eyeing a mid-career shift, this session promises to illuminate your path.

• Career outlook
• Portfolio review
• Guest speaker fireside chat

Assignment #9: Solving Real-World Challenges with Immersive UX
Create an AR or VR experience addressing a real-life challenge or craft intuitive training experiences for skill acquisition or task mastery, utilizing innovative assets and interactions to captivate your audience – you get to decide!