Gettig started with Virual Reality

As a designer you might be familiar with various forms of concept representations, such as (animated) sketches, storyboards or physical prototypes. These representations can facilitate communication with stakeholders such as end-users. Involving end-users in the early stages of the design process allows you to ask what end-users think of a product concept, see how end-users would use a product concept or even ask end-users to assist in the definition of a product concept. When developing new, complex or interactive products, ‘traditional’ concept representations sometimes fail to fully convey the product, interactions or use context. Presenting a product concept in a concrete use context or use situation makes it easier for end-users and other stakeholders to understand the product concept. For example, when evaluating the user interface of a new printer, it is important to not only show the screen and buttons, but also the printer of which the user interface is part. This article explains how Virtual Reality (VR) can be used to create realistic and representations of future products, user-product interactions and use contexts.