Co author: Aditi Bathija, Vasudha Katti
Crafting Immersive VR Storyboards: A UX Designer’s Perspective
In the world of UX design, Virtual Reality (VR) presents unique challenges and opportunities. Unlike traditional interfaces, VR environments require designers to think beyond screens, focusing on spatial interactions, sensory feedback, and seamless transitions.
Creating a VR storyboard for a Hand Hygiene Training Module for Dental Students
This blog explores the essentials of VR storyboarding — visual arcs, Virtual world, real-world world interactions, and feedback systems. Whether you’re a designer or simply curious about VR, we hope this inspires your next immersive project.
Introduction: Why we chose the Dental training module?
Creating a storyboard
To create a storyboard for VR , we researched multiple sources and came up with this structure as our inspiration for each scene:
We divided each scene into 4 parts
Visual Arc : A visual arc in VR storyboarding is the planned progression of a viewer’s experience, considering their 360-degree view and guiding their attention through the virtual space.
What the user sees : The virtual environment generated and displayed to the user. Simulation of a real-world environment or a completely fictional world, allowing the user to interact with and explore the virtual space.
User interaction (Real World) : User interaction in VR refers to the physical actions performed with VR controllers to manipulate virtual objects, translated into digital commands that the VR system interprets.
System Responses and Environment Changes : Refers to the dynamic reactions of the virtual world to user input and the subsequent alterations in the virtual environment. This includes visual and auditory feedback, object manipulation, and changes in the overall scene
Designing the navigation in the virtual world
We created a basic navigation system to detail out the happy path as well as the error recovery in case of error for a task.
We created quick sketches to understand how to visualize each scene
We used the following controller mapping to detail out interactions in our storyboard
The Final Output
Scenario: A VR user is guided through a virtual dental clinic, learning proper handwashing techniques by following visual instructions and interacting with virtual objects like soap and water.
This attempt is just the beginning, but it underscores the exciting potential of VR in design.As UX designers, creating VR experiences pushes us to rethink traditional design frameworks and envision how users engage with and feel within an immersive space.
Every choice — whether visual, auditory, or haptic — shapes how users navigate and connect with the virtual world.
Thank you for reading!
