Innospace VR is an innovative virtual reality interior design and visualization tool developed in Unreal Engine. This interactive application allows users to design and customize floor plans, place assets, and experience their creations in real time, providing an intuitive and immersive environment for architects, designers, and clients.
This was a group project where I was the VR UI/UX Lead and I will be covering the areas I worked on this VR Application
Tools
Area Of Expertise
Branding
3D
App Design
UI/UX
Virtual Reality
Motion Design
Overview
Role
VR UI/UX Lead
Year
2023
Genre
VR Application
Platform
PC VR, Meta Quest
Tools
Unreal Engine 5.3, Autodesk Maya, Adobe After Effects
Key Features
Real-Time Floor Plan Customization
The floor plan customization feature enables users to design layouts interactively in VR with precision and ease. Using VR controllers, users can draw walls, adjust dimensions, and define spaces while grid snapping ensures proper alignment. Real-time feedback displays changes instantly in the 3D environment, providing immediate validation of design decisions. Dynamic scaling allows for resizing rooms and corridors effortlessly, and features like layered editing help separate structural elements from decorative ones for an organized workflow. The inclusion of undo/redo functionality makes experimentation risk-free, giving users the freedom to refine their layouts without limitation.
Asset Placement and Manipulation
Asset placement transforms the design process by allowing users to bring their spaces to life with a rich library of furniture, decor, and architectural elements. Drag-and-drop functionality makes placing assets intuitive, while dynamic snapping ensures objects align perfectly with walls and floors. Collision detection prevents unrealistic overlaps, maintaining the integrity of the virtual space. Transform controls, including scale, rotation, and movement, provide precision in asset placement. Additionally, users can personalize their designs by customizing the materials and colors of placed items directly in VR, offering a highly flexible and immersive design experience.
Visit Your Creations
Immersive exploration allows users to experience their designs firsthand, walking through virtual spaces as if they were physically present. Smooth locomotion and teleportation options cater to different comfort levels, ensuring a seamless navigation experience. High-fidelity visualization renders the environment with realistic lighting, reflections, and shadows, providing a true-to-life representation of the design. Users can interact with the environment in meaningful ways, such as opening doors or toggling lights, and adjust their perspective with real-time scaling to view designs from miniature to full-scale. Environmental effects like ambient sounds and dynamic lighting further enhance immersion, making the exploration process both engaging and insightful.
Contributions
Working on Innospace VR was like stepping into a sandbox where I could bring creativity and technical know-how together. My role spanned UI/UX development, concept design, asset creation and even producing the app’s trailer. Here’s how I contributed to this immersive design tool.
Concept Development
When we started working on Innospace VR, the biggest challenge was figuring out how to make designing in a virtual reality environment feel intuitive and natural. VR isn’t like traditional design software—it’s immersive, three-dimensional, and demands a completely different approach to how users interact with tools and environments.
I dove into brainstorming sessions with the team to break this challenge into manageable pieces. We began by mapping out the ideal user journey, starting from the very first moment someone puts on a VR headset. How would they navigate the space? How would they find the tools they need? And how would they interact with objects like furniture or lighting? Each step had to feel natural and intuitive, even for someone who had never used VR before.
We focused on creating workflows that balanced creativity and ease of use. For example, we designed the object placement system to feel as simple as dragging and dropping in real life, but with added precision through snapping and alignment tools.
Beyond functionality, it was also important to make the app visually appealing. We wanted every menu, tool, and interaction to look sleek and modern while still being clear and accessible. Striking this balance required a lot of iteration, but it was worth it to ensure that Innospace VR felt both powerful and approachable.
This phase of the project was incredibly exciting because it laid the foundation for everything that followed.
UI/UX Lead
Designing the UI for Innospace VR was a unique challenge because it was my first time creating a VR interface, having previously designed 2D app UIs for traditional platforms. I started with familiar tools like Photoshop to create the initial 2D app flow, mapping out how users would navigate through features like object placement, lighting adjustments, and floor plan customization. This gave me a clear structure to work from before transitioning into Unreal Engine for the actual UI design.
The VR UI consisted of floating menus tailored for 3D space, which made it fundamentally different from traditional flat-screen UI design. In VR, users interact with elements by physically pointing or grabbing, so I had to think about depth, positioning, and accessibility in ways I hadn’t before. The menus weren’t static; they adapted to the user’s perspective, appearing within reach and staying non-intrusive. Users interact with through drag-and-drop mechanics, a key component that allowed for intuitive asset placement. For example, users could grab an object from the menu and drag it into the environment, with dynamic snapping ensuring precise placement.
Holographic Grids
The holographic grids were designed to make the floor plan feel futuristic yet practical. Using Unreal’s Material Editor and blueprints, I created amimated overlays that updated dynamically as users adjusted layouts. The grids weren’t just visual—they acted as interactive guides, with snapping logic to ensure precise placement of objects along gridlines. A subtle pulsing effect gave them a sleek, holographic vibe while keeping the interface intuitive and functional.
Frosted Glass Material
To create the frosted glass material for the UI planes in Innospace VR, I focused on replicating the soft, blurred aesthetic of real frosted glass while ensuring it functioned effectively in a VR environment. Using Unreal’s Material Editor, I incorporated a Fresnel node to simulate a subtle edge shine, mimicking the way light scatters around the edges of frosted glass. For the opacity, I applied a spiral blur to create a gentle distortion effect, allowing the environment behind the UI to remain visible but slightly diffused. Since it was a UI element, I ensured the material wasn’t affected by environmental lighting, keeping the look consistent and polished. This shader added a modern, immersive touch to the floating menus, enhancing both functionality and aesthetics in the VR space.
Trailer Video
To showcase Innospace VR, I directed and edited an engaging trailer that highlighted the app’s core features. This was where I could really let my storytelling skills shine. I planned the shots to highlight key features, like such as real-time customization, material adjustments, and intuitive user interactions. The goal was to not only demonstrate functionality but to captivate viewers with the app’s potential for creativity and immersive design. Using Adobe After Effects, I crafted a visually dynamic video where Motion graphics played a central role, featuring holographic-style overlays and animated text effects that echoed the app’s futuristic aesthetic. To enhance the narrative flow, I applied color grading and cinematic post-processing effects like lens flares and depth of field, giving the trailer a polished, professional feel. This approach brought the experience of Innospace VR to life, engaging viewers and emphasizing the seamless integration of creativity and technology.
Environment Staging
My job was to stage the assets in Innospace VR to create a functional and inspiring space for users to design in. Using Unreal Engine, I carefully placed furniture, decor, and architectural elements to build environments that felt both practical and immersive. The goal was to give users a clean, organized space where they could focus on their designs without distractions. I also incorporated branding into the environment, such as subtle logo placements and cohesive color schemes, to make everything feel unified. The result was a space that not only looked good but also enhanced the overall user experience.
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