INSPIRIT VR APP
EDUCATIONAL CONTENT REPOSITORY AND VIEWER
App Design ― Brand Identity Design
inspiritVR is a virtual reality design consultancy startup born out of Georgia Tech in Atlanta, Georgia. They work with educational and corporate organizations around the globe to co-design and assist in the integration of VR-enhanced curricula into existing workflows and practices.
Upon starting inspirit in 2016, the founder Aditya Vishwanath recruited me to rapidly design the first generation of a mobile app. Serving primarily as a content management platform, the app is intended for use with cardboard VR headsets. Leveraging the work I'd done to create the logo and establish the foundational brand identity, I designed the app in about a week and worked remotely with developers in India to get it built out in mere days. Key design principles we co-created provided a grounding force as we rapidly built out the MVP.
Centering CONTENT DISCOVERY
As inspirit established early partnerships with educational institutions and businesses throughout Georgia, India, and beyond, we leveraged 360° images freely available on Google Earth to build out a proof of concept and begin needs assessment research.
The first generation of the app aimed to serve primarily as a repository for images pulled from public sources and generated by inspirit's network of content creators. Our design put content at the center of the platform, allowing users to quickly and easily jump into experiencing new environments upon opening the app.
PROMOTING EXPERIMENTATION
By integrating a 360° camera into the platform, we aimed to increase engagement and encourage learners to capture their own content.
While we explored and designed the interaction flows, technical constraints prevented this functionality from being released with the first version of the app. Developers aim to implement this in the next version.
KEEPING IT IMMERSIVE
Keeping the app hierarchy shallow and functionality focused lets the 360° image content speak for itself. By limiting features and posing the experience of content as the core value proposition, we help learners immerse themselves and get transported to new places.
COMMUNICATING DESIGNS TO Remote Developers
Executing my designs required working with developers located remotely in India. Due to the quick turnaround time and geographical constraints, clear communication and detailed documentation of the system was key for a smooth implementation. Flow diagrams with final screen mockups communicated interactivity and transitions, while extensive styling notes outlined UI design for each component of the app.
looking towards the future
As the inspirit platform gains traction and additional partnerships are established, we continue to obtain insights into how to best serve learners and educators looking to use VR content in their curriculum. The next generation of the app is in development, influenced by multiple academic research studies that have since been conducted by inspirit's internal researchers. At a minimum, it aims to:
Integrate a fully functional 360° camera
Include mechanisms for sharing user-generated content
Provide a back end system to support educators with curriculum design
TYING THE EXPERIENCE TOGETHER
An integral part of the inspirit business model is to provide learners with cardboard viewers so they can dive right in to exploring content during workshops, talks, and meetings. I also designed the foundational branding and cardboard viewers for the organization.
