PSVR

With PlayStation VR primarily focused on gaming, the goal was to create a standalone app for non-gaming VR content. This initiative aimed to make VR content discovery seamless and accessible while addressing the high costs of bespoke apps for smaller developers.

Project Overview

As the launch of PSVR approached, we saw the breadth of non-game content that our partners were looking to bring to the platform. I led a team of designers to prototype and pitch VR concepts to leadership. We conducted research and collaborated with engineers to build an update to the PlayStation VR UI that better supports all VR experiences and different types of customer needs.

Throughout the process, we also created and refined a set of VR UI design principles that continue to inform PlayStation’s design for immersive spacial experiences.

Key Goals

  • Simplify content discovery and navigation for non-gaming VR experiences.

  • Create an intuitive and immersive interface tailored to seated, lean-back VR interactions.

  • Standardize a scalable design framework for future PSVR projects.

 
 

Research

  • Conducted competitive analysis of VR platforms, identifying best practices in interaction patterns and onboarding.

  • Mapped user pain points around the disjointed and minimal PSVR interface for non-gaming content.

  • Advocated for and implemented usability studies to explore what felt intuitive in VR for new users.

Ideation

  • Developed design principles focused on intuitive interaction, leveraging spatial navigation and proximity-based content organization.

  • Prototyped cardboard mockups to quickly validate concepts and improve understanding of 3D interactions among the team.

  • Designed affordances for users unfamiliar with traditional game controllers to ease navigation.

Iteration

  • Collaborated closely with engineering to refine back-end and front-end solutions, ensuring smoother performance for PSVR and PS5.

  • Upleveled team design instincts by mentoring on VR-specific interaction design.

  • Tested with diverse participants to refine and validate design assumptions, incorporating feedback into iterative improvements.

 

Business Outcomes

  • Delivered a proof-of-concept app that excited leadership and demonstrated the potential for non-gaming VR experiences.

  • Integrated back-end improvements into the foundation of the PS5, enhancing the overall ecosystem for VR users.

  • Laid groundwork for scalable design principles, influencing future VR projects.

Key Learnings

  • Early, hands-on prototyping (even with simple materials) accelerates team alignment on spatial design concepts.

  • Research-backed design decisions effectively convince stakeholders to embrace new functionality and take calculated risks.

  • Building foundational improvements for emerging technologies has long-term benefits for platform scalability.

 

PSVR 2

Guardian System and Navigation

In the early stages of PSVR 2 development, I contributed to the foundational design of the system’s navigation and Guardian features:

Navigation Enhancements

Created architectural concepts to test seamless user flows across the PSVR 2 system, integrating learnings from PSVR’s non-gaming experiences. These were used to develop early prototypes on pre-production prototypes.

Guardian System

Designed early prototypes for the spatial Guardian feature, ensuring users could move safely within their physical environment.

  • Incorporated user feedback to refine the Guardian’s boundary visuals, balancing clarity with immersion.

  • Collaborated closely with hardware and software engineers to align system capabilities with user safety needs.

Early Outcomes

  • Established a design foundation that supported intuitive navigation and safety, critical to PSVR 2’s user experience.

  • Mentored team members on design principles for VR safety systems, contributing to a more cohesive cross-functional process.

 

related projects