VR and co-design: Examining virtual reality as a collaborative tool for the early stages of the design process

Abstract

This master’s thesis explores the potential of Virtual Reality (VR) as a collaborative tool for iteration and rapid prototyping during the initial stages of the design process as a future integral part of the Design Method. The research is validated using Denzin’s triangulation process, involving a review of existing literature on VR, benchmarking and semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders in the design industry and VR software development sector, and the conduction of a series of Usability Testing sessions, observing a select group of industrial designers interacting within an immersive, collaborative workspace developed explicitly for this study.

The findings, derived through the triangulation method, have been categorised into three dimensions that discuss and elaborate on each one of the research questions: Fitness: How VR is perceived fit as an exploratory tool; Co-Design in VR: How VR can add to the design process; and Streamlining UX: Considerations for enabling an overall better VR experience. These provide an overview of how Virtual Reality is perceived in the industry and why the aversion to adopting new technologies from a managerial level might be one of the primary reasons for the slow adoption of VR as a design tool.

The study also includes VR's best use cases, benefits, and current challenges, such as a fragmented User Experience, the technostress derived from extended immersive sessions and the discordance between the physical and virtual spaces. Last, it discusses high-level suggestions for addressing these to foster the use of VR and the immense potential of immersive technologies for collaborative and explorative practices in the creative industry that transcend today’s technological constraints.