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Principles of spatial design

Discover the fundamentals of spatial design. Learn how to design with depth, scale, windows, and immersion, and apply best practices for creating comfortable, human-centered experiences that transform reality. Find out how you can use these spatial design principles to extend your existing app or bring a new idea to life.

  • speakers:

    • [[Nathan Gitter]]

    • [[Amy DeDonato]] Goal: Learn to design for a spatial operating system.

Familiar

  • Common elements like sidebars, tabs, and search fields.

  • We place interfaces within windows so people can see them and use them.

  • Windows on [[visionOS]]

    • Windows

      • Glass material provides context, awareness of surroundings, and adapts to lighting conditions

      • Controls to move, close, and resize windows

    • Sizing

      • Designed to be comfortable for the content

        • Safari is tall by default

        • Keynote is wide

      • Resizable

      • Tab bars and toolbars push outside the window and are layered above it

      • Or use multiple sections to set content away from controls

        • See Safari’s implementation of the toolbar and sidebar

      • Apps can have multiple windows

        • In Keynote, the slide and presenter d display are both visible separately.

      • Ideally keep your interface in a single window if you can because multiple can become a lot for users to manage.

    • [[Points]]

      • Points are the way we specify the size of interface elements so they can adapt tom future scenes

      • As windows get further away, they get larger to remain legible.

      • Design your interface with points and it will work at any distance.

Human-centered

  • Good design is always human-centered.

  • Field of view

    • It’s easiest to see things in the center.

    • The field of view is wide, so prefer landscape layouts

    • Example:

      • Safari’s tabs view expands in landscape and tilts tabs toward the user.

  • Ergonomics

    • Place objects comfortably in all dimensions

    • When placeing your own content, place it relative to the user’s head and the way they’re facing

      • Think about the laying back on the couch use case

    • Place content

      • A bit further than arm’s reach to discourage direct interaction

      • Not too high or too low

      • Not everyone will be able to move around

      • Avoid anchoring content to people’s view, instead anchor it to their space

  • Movement

    • Require minimal movement

    • People should be able to use your app without moving

    • When they do move, they can press and hold the [[Digital Crown]] to recenter

      • Your app doesn’t need to have a way to recenter or reset the scene.

Dimensional

  • Design your app to work in any amount of space

  • Don’t constrain your app by the physical space available.

  • With windows, you don’t need tow worry about how.

  • Dimming allows windows to dim the background and focus on content.

  • If you do need more space for immersion, you can create a [[Full Space]].

  • Create hierarchy with depth.

  • Example: TV app

    • Playback controls are small and nearby.

    • Movie is large and far away.

  • Use light an shadow to reinforce depth.

  • Any custom objects in your app should cast shadows.

  • Prefer subtle depth.

    • Modals push back windows very slighty.

  • Not everything needs depth.

    • Keep text flat when using it as an interface element.

  • Explore different scaels for your content

    • Most items should probably be at their natural scale.

Immersive

  • Immersion spectrum

    • [[Shared Space]]

      • Try to start your app here.

    • [[Full Space]]

      • Keynote uses this when you’re rehearsing the presentation to show you a full theater.

  • Essential tips

    • Guide people’s focus toward parts of your experience that matter most.

      • In [[Mindfulness App]], the flower is the focus point, until the petals expand outward when it’s time for deeper focus.

    • Blend thoughtfully with reality

      • Use the shape of the room to blend content meaningfully with it.

      • When blending entire scens into someone’s space, use smooth edges.

    • Make things feel alive.

      • Subtle animation like water rippling on a lake or clouds in the sky.

    • Create atmosphere with sound.

      • see: [[Explore immersive sound design]]

    • Do more with less

      • In [[Cinema]], a subtle light on the floor and ceiling gives the user of being in one

  • Comfort

    • Fade out content in motion

    • Provide a clear way in and out of your immersive experience.

      • Expand and collapse arrows.

Authentic

  • Apps on this platform are better when they can hang around longer.

  • Think about how you can make your app worthwhile, engaging, and distinct enough t

  • Find a key moment

    • Example: Photos, the key moment is selecting a panorama that is fully immersive.

    • Enhance a moment with depth and scale.

    • Transport someone

    • Evoke a feeling.

Missing anything? Corrections? Contributions are welcome!

Written By

mbbischoff
mbbischoff
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