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VisionDesigner is an innovative AR/VR application designed to assist individuals in realizing and accomplishing their interior design aspirations
Duration
10 weeks
Role & Responsibilities
Wireframing
UI Designer
Prototyping
Tools
Figma
Photoshop
Google Forms
Team
4 Interactive Designers
Indigo Design Awards
🏆 Gold – Virtual Reality (VR) Design
🏆 Gold – UX, Interface & Navigation
🥈 Silver – Interactive Design
| Overview
Over 65% people encounter obstacles when decorating their living spaces, ranging from a lack of design expertise to logistical constraints. Additionally, they find it challenging to assess if the layouts align with their unique lifestyles.
Recognizing this design challenge, our goal over the 10-week period was to simplify and streamline the interior design experience, making it more accessible and stress-free. We aimed to empower users with confidence in their choices while eliminating the hassle of costly mistakes and excessive expenditures. Our approach focused on providing an engaging, user-friendly VR application that enhances creativity and efficiency, ensuring that designing a beautiful home feels effortless and enjoyable.
| Research
Problems faced by people
Through conversations with 10 people, we found out that they face a variety of challenges while decorating their homes, from a lack of design knowledge to practical limitations. Interviewing an interior designer validated our findings as their clients usually struggle to evaluate whether the spaces are conducive to their personal lifestyles.
Why?
People might feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of choices - furniture styles, paint colors, layouts - and struggle to find a cohesive vision for their space.
It can be difficult to visualize how furniture will fit and function in a room, leading to purchases that don't work or rooms that feel cramped.
Finding a design style that reflects their personality and taste can be tough, and translating inspiration from pictures to their own home can be even harder.
Interior Design market size data suggests
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In 2024, the revenue in the Home Décor market Segment worldwide amounts to an impressive US $133.60billion.
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This market is projected to experience steady growth, with an annual increase of 3.89% (CAGR 2024-2029).
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When comparing global figures, it is noteworthy that in the United States generates the highest revenue, reaching US $35,440m in 2024.
"I want to create a beautifully designed home that reflects my style and personality. I want to be involved in the process too."
| Problem Statement
How might we make a professional interior design service more accessible, affordable, and efficient for individuals who want to create an aesthetically pleasing space in their homes, but lack the expertise to do so on their own?
| Ideation
Persona
After thoroughly analyzing our research data, we synthesized the interview insights through an affinity mapping process to develop a detailed user persona. This persona represents a novice user with minimal design experience who desires a beautifully styled home without exceeding their budget.
They value the ability to visualize their space with potential designs beforehand, aiming to avoid the inconvenience and frustration of product returns and exchanges. This approach helped us empathize with their needs and goals, allowing us to design solutions tailored to their aspirations and pain points.
The Tech
We opted to leverage AR/VR technology to bring this concept to life, and the Apple Vision Pro emerged as our ideal platform. We brainstormed with phone and desktop screens but immersive reality stood out.
Its advanced capabilities, such as spatial computing, high-resolution visual fidelity, intuitive gesture controls, and immersive augmented reality, made it the perfect choice for redefining the interior design experience.
These features allow for precise spatial visualization, seamless interaction with virtual models, and a highly immersive environment. We chose Apple Vision Pro because it tackles all the pain points of our users when it comes to designing their homes.
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User Flow
To refine our VR experience, we mapped out the ideal user flow, detailing each step a user would take to navigate and interact within the system.
Visualizing the user flow provided a clear framework for user interaction, helping us identify gaps and incorporate feedback from testing.
With this understanding, we moved seamlessly into wireframing, creating a blueprint that aligns with user needs and sets the stage for future improvements.
| Wireframes
Using generative fill, users can easily explore different design options and visualize how items would look in their space
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Users can explore curated collections and mood boards tailored to their preferences
| Testing
Through extensive user testing and iterative design processes, VisionDesigner's strategy adopts a holistic approach which addresses multiple fronts and features.
Think Aloud
Participants: 10 graduate design students familiar with Figma and AR/VR concepts
Platform: MacBook prototype (interactive Figma)
Goal: Capture real-time thoughts to identify cognitive load, frustration points, and moments of clarity.
Observation | % of Participants | Insight |
|---|---|---|
Tried clicking outside the room area to deselect | 40 | Indicates a mismatch between expected and actual interaction model (users expected global click-outs to work). |
Misunderstood 'Save vs Export' | 70 | Users said “Wait, does save mean it downloads?” or clicked both buttons to figure it out.
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Expressed delight on visual realism of furniture | 80 | Phrases included “That looks so real!” or “This is so satisfying.” Shows emotional connection with photorealism.
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Confused about object manipulation (rotate/scale) | 60 | Users verbalized things like “Where do I rotate this?” or “Oh, this doesn’t work how I thought it would.” |
Paused or hesitated before switching layouts | 50 | Users said “I’m not sure where to change the room” or hovered on icons silently before clicking.
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💡 Takeaway: While users appreciated visual aesthetics, they struggled with feature discoverability and control affordances. These insights helped refine labels, gestures, and button hierarchy.
Task-Based Usability Testing
How: Ask users to perform key tasks, such as selecting furniture, placing objects in AR, or adjusting lighting within the app.
Metrics: Task completion rate, error rate, time on task, and user frustration points.
Task | Goal | Success Rate % | Time to Completion (sec) | Key Issue | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Navigating to the Inspo section | Locate and access the Inspo section for guidance. | 55 | 27.3 | The section was buries under a lot of sub-sections | Moved it to the main navigation bar as 'Moodboard' |
Switching Between Different Room Layouts | Change from one preset room layout to another. | 90 | 7.2 | Users overlooked the tabs in the navbar | Highlighted active tab and added a micro-interaction when switching layouts.
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Selecting and Placing a Furniture Item | Successfully select and position a furniture piece within a room. | 85 | 12.4 | Users expected drag-and-drop but initially clicked instead.
| Made drag interaction more visually prominent. |
💡 Takeaways:
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Drag-and-drop needed better affordances to match user expectations.
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Rotation and scaling controls needed clearer UI elements to avoid confusion.
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Navigation tabs lacked visibility, causing hesitation when switching layouts.
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Saving/exporting labels needed to be more intuitive to differentiate functions.
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Section placement impacted discoverability and required repositioning.
| Solution
Customized Experience
In VisionDesigner, users start by selecting a price range and interior styles which seem appealing to them to customize their experience. This helps guide them to the most relevant products and design options.
Tailored Moodboards
Users can explore curated collections and mood boards tailored to their preferences. The interface also highlights personalized suggestions, on-sale items, and ideas for various spaces, creating an engaging, user-focused journey from inspiration to purchase.
Get Inspired
The platform provides suggestions inspired by celebrity interiors, ensuring a personalised and aspirational experience. It also allows users to check alternative furniture suggestions in their price range and request more budget-friendly options.
Generative Fill
AI functionality enhances user experience by detecting pre-existing furniture in a room and suggesting alternatives that match the user's budget. The system offers AI-driven alternatives for every piece of furniture, helping users visualize new layouts or styles. Using generative fill, users can easily explore different design options and visualize how new items would look in their space.
| Takeaways
Explored the concept of affordances in XR/VR, such as visual cues and haptic feedback
Learned to create and manipulate 3D assets to improve the VR experience
Developed skills to design intuitive visual signifiers for 3D environments
Leveraged the potential of Apple Vision Pros gestures to enhance user experiences in VR