Designing on Top of the Real World Instead of the Computer

It’s only a matter of time until all the digital content that we currently have relegated to the tiny screens in our pocket become a tangible part of our reality. More and more content is being developed that will blend the digital and real world, so why would a creator limit themselves to a computer, when they design mixed reality (MR) directly on real-world environments and save themselves a lot of hassle? 

‍

The transformation of digital content into spatial experiences introduces new paradigms. For  designers, it is both an opportunity and responsibility to apply expertise in color theory, spacing and human interactions to craft experiences for this novel way of interacting.  The opportunity lies in the fact that this is a new paradigm so as opposed to traditional desktop and mobile apps design, in this new medium everything is being created and defined. As for our responsibility, we designers have the knowledge to make interactions and UI user friendly from the very beginning. Developers have a lot of work making things work so it’s on our table making it easy to use and intuitive. Spatial experiences can create a three-dimensional canvas, which adds a new challenge to the design process. With the content no longer static, the environment has less flexibility.

‍

‍

Digital product design now aligns more closely with physical product design than ever before, but designing spatial apps presents unique challenges, with size and space taking on new meaning. Understanding the scale of spaces and the dimensions of the human body is crucial. Designing directly on top of a real-world environment instead of building an app fully within a virtual environment  gives designers the ability to get it right quickly, and facilitates rapid iteration. 

‍

Using ShapesXR, content creators can build their MR designs directly onto a real world setting,  while also collaborating with others in real-time. This capability empowers users to experiment with their designs like never before, and create a new generation of spatial experiences. They can see exactly how the final result will look from the point of view of the end user, iterate in a real-world environment and even receive feedback faster than ever before.

‍

Here are four distinct advantages to designing MR projects directly on top of real-World environments.

‍

1. Designing at scale in the real environment, clutter included

Precision is crucial for spatial experiences; your environments, objects and text need to be the right scale and offer the right readability. By designing MR directly in the real world, you can take advantage of final measurements, and work around  clutter so you can understand how to deal with it in the experience. 

‍

Imagine you are developing a training app, and you need to position a table in a room. Using the real world environment, you can create the table and place it directly at a scale that feels right. At this stage, the exact measurement is not crucial. What matters is that it feels right for the MR experience. This allows users to start iterating and refining for more precision, which brings us to the next unique benefit: quick iteration!

‍

2. Iterate MR Directly, Speeding Up Decision Making

‍

Trial and error are essential in MR design, and the quicker the iteration, the more accurate the results. Achieving light-speed iteration is key to quickly experimenting with different approaches, until you find one that works.. With MR, you can instantly assess the size of an object, the readability of text or the visibility of buttons and make adjustments on the fly. 

‍

Continuing the example, you can immediately feel whether the table is too big or small as you're immersed in the environment, and make sure the distance fits. They can also work around existing objects and change the look of the design to fit the style around it. By using a real environment, designers receive instant answers during the iterative process.

‍

3. Design Collaboratively in Real Time

‍

Effective feedback often comes with potential solutions. Collaborating with experienced professionals – including designers, product managers and developers – is crucial, and the ability to sketch solutions quickly is paramount. In MR, these solutions need to be created directly in the medium to become effective problem solving tools. For instance, a designer colleague may suggest a UI adjustment. You could then quickly propose a solution in MR, demonstrating why you think your proposal works better.

‍

4. Receive Accurate and Informed Feedback

‍

Context is vital when presenting your work. Stakeholders and clients require as much context as possible to give designers well-informed feedback that addresses real potential issues, as well as simply meeting their personal expectations. MR can provide this context, allowing a reviewer to interact with the full MR experience in the actual medium, avoiding misunderstandings. Sharing a proxy version of an MR project on a desktop with a simulated environment lacks this depth of understanding. This holds true for collaborative design, leading to the final unique benefit of this list: designing together.

‍

Why You Should Design Mixed Reality Directly on the Real-World Environments

MR apps and games offer a unique user experience. Although they share features with traditional desktop and mobile apps, the way people interact with them is entirely different. For a designer, immersing themselves in the final medium accelerates the creation process.

‍

With the proper tools, designers can speed up the design process, and create accurate prototypes from the design stage, reducing reliance on development for prototyping.

‍