Concept Ideation & XR Storyboarding
Tools Used in this Lesson
-Meta Quest Pro Headset - For experiencing and testing my concept in virtual reality.
-ShapesXR - for low-fidelity spatial prototoyping for the Meta Quest Pro headset.
-ChatGPT & Dall-E - for help with imagery and storyboarding.
-Figma & Figjam - for brainstorming concepts, storyboarding and UI design.
-Sketchfab - for finding the 3D interior model.
-Misc. Art Supplies - for bodystorming concept.
Assignment
Create a “Gaze-and-pinch” Smart Home experience by storyboarding how users interact with your design.
Challenge
Spatial design is a challenge to visualize and communicate among designers, making it more difficult to co-ideate and co-create than flat experiences. This lesson teaches to ways to tackle these challenges in XR.
My Concept
Create a VR gardening app that provides guidance on plant care, watering schedules, and pest control as the user virtually "walks" through their garden and receive interactive advice.
Moodboard & User Journey Ideating
Testing Concept Using ShapesXR
To test this concept (and to learn how to create spatial environments using a new tool for me), I prototyped an interactive environment using ShapesXR. ShapesXR is the spatial prototyping tool for Metaquest.
Play video to see full walkthrough of concept using ShapesXR.
Step 0:
Assuming user has downloaded and logged in from Metaquest Pro store...
Step 2:
Person dons XR headset and walks around plant for app assessment.
Step 1:
Person enters desired plant environment for plant health analysis.
Step 3:
App offers various plant assessment choices for user.
Bodystorming Concept
I tried the idea by wandering my home, observing my plants through a makeshift headset I crafted based on lesson instructions. Bodystorming aims to rapidly ideate through spatial role-play. I am committed to the process.
DALL-E
I also asked DALL-E to create an image for an app that assesses the health of plants because why not? This image it created is amazing. Thanks, AI bot.
Project Refinement
What would that app interface look like? Here’s my stab at a UI using Gaze and Pinch capabilities in my Meta Quest Pro headset.
Proof of Concept Refinement
Step 1: Choose plant to analyze by gazing at plant in your environment.
Step 2: Pinch to open up user interface to select what type of info user wants about the chosen plant.
Step 3: User reads plant info in modal window and can close out of window to analyze next plant as needed. This being a proof of concept, this plant isn’t what is in the environment, but you get the idea.
Meta Quest Screen Recording
This video shows the whole plant app experience using a headset and some behind the scenes environment building in ShapesXR if you watch until the end.
Learnings
Initially, this concept was set as an augmented reality experience but ended up being in virtual reality to get this concept refined. That’s ok, it was a great learning experience into ShapesXR.
