Building _Yond: Interior Design's MAD Awards Finalist

What's _Yond?

Yond is an immersive installation that seamlessly blends augmented and virtual reality to create a truly unforgettable experience. Designed by a team of talented creatives, Yond was first presented during the Infinity Festival 2022. In April 2023, Yond was recognized as Interior Design's 2023 MAD Awards finalist.

Developing a blended reality experience in six weeks

Creating an immersive blended reality experience in just six weeks is a challenge, but there are strategies that can help you optimize development time for XR experiences.

Here’s what to do:

• Create a cross-functional team that collaborates on the creative and the delivery sides of the project. Aim for a very tight collaboration.
• Let the creative team focus on storytelling and the internal and external vibe of the experience. It’s also time to work out dialogues, lighting, colors, proportions, and shades.
• The development team should work on the interaction methods as soon as possible. Then there’s the careful exploration of performance vs. visual fidelity consulted heavily with the creative team.

Best practices during a live XR event

Developing an XR experience is only part of the project — hosting the booth with it for the best user experience is critical to success. We've worked out a set of best practices during Infinity Festival 2022.

• Assign one support person to each user to ensure technical issues are solved quickly.
• Have multiple devices at hand to prevent negative user experiences in case of a device malfunction.
• Gradually introduce users into the experience to enhance the sense of immersion and freedom of movement.
• Match the physical space to the virtual world to boost the user experience.
• Turn off the Guardian effect to avoid spoiling the experience but be close to the user to keep them safe.

The whole project was rife with many hurdles and unforeseen twists that threatened to affect the deadline. But the effort and experience helped us navigate it safely, and give the participants of the Infinity Festival a “wow-like” experience.