The evolving digital landscape is challenging the old ways of assumptions and upending traditional business models. With over 5.07 billion internet users, the need for a contemporary mode of engagement across social dimensions is on the rise.
With a society dominated by digital natives and increased demand for everything digital, e-Commerce and social media platforms are growing. The boundaries between the real and digital worlds are getting blurred.
Cutting-edge AR/VR technology is revolutionizing the online sphere, taking user experience to a whole new level. With this massive shift in society – one of the most remarkable changes is the release of ‘Metaverse.’
With the recent rename of Facebook to Meta – the term Metaverse has become a buzzword. According to Forrester’s The State of The Metaverse Report, Metaverse has the potential to change how businesses function and interact with customers and bring a colossal change in how we perceive the world and its reality.
Several tech giants web design company and branding companies use Metaverse to develop various products, services, and solutions.
This article explains how Metaverse impacts creative agencies’ and designers’ lives. Let’s explore how it is changing the face of the digital design industry and how you can adopt these new features.
About the Metaverse
Metaverse, also known as Web 3.0, is another internet just upgraded to 3D. It is a virtual world where you can create a virtual identity or avatars to play, learn, earn, buy, interact, and live.
It is a seamless fusion between physical and digital objects enabling users to work, socialize, attend conferences, enjoy concerts, and take virtual tours of the world in real-time, all without leaving their house or even their couch!
Metaverse is not a revolution! It is an evolution that acts as a bridge between the virtual and real worlds. It brings a cultural shift from web browsing to an immersive experience. AR, VR, Social Media, multiplayer gaming, and NFTs are all Metaverse examples.
Major tech giants, including Google, Facebook, and Microsoft, have already heavily invested in Metaverse. Facebook also renamed itself Meta and is developing wristbands, VR headsets, and AR glasses.
Today, there is a paradigm shift from users to players and traditional to a more redundant form of marketing. And the design will be the primary aspect of Metaverse to create value. From 3D tools to content design and immersive user interfaces – Metaverse is changing the UX design like never before.
Now the question comes, how to create such an advanced customer experience through design in the Metaverse era?
How Metaverse is impacting UX/UI design?
In today’s digital and Metaverse age, if a business wants to succeed, it is not enough to use advanced technologies. They need to provide advanced value. They need to go a step further than basic functionality and offer their customers an exceptional experience.
This is where ‘designing’ steps in! But, again, just creating attractive ‘packaging’ of a product or a service will not create value. In the wake of Metaverse, designers need to shift their mindset and focus more on providing competitive value.
To ensure business agility and adaptability – enterprises need to use a design like any other tool to reach customers at every touchpoint. They need to rethink the traditional marketing approach, shift to a more disruptive customer-centric approach, and use a successful digital strategy for market disruption.
UX/UI designing is all about enhancing holistic digital experiences. When Metaverse and Designing blend – the end experience becomes more immersive and unique.
Today there is a paradigm shift from users to players, and thus designers need to upend their skills to procreate a wholly immersive experience. It is imperative for UX design immersive to design UX and UI so that consumers can relate, live and interact with a virtual world rather than simply experiencing it.
While UX/UI will bridge the gap between user and technology, Metaverse will provide the digital platform to enhance virtual reality for users to experience something that has never happened before. Metaverse will push the creative envelope for the designers.
The Future of UX in Metaverse
In Metaverse, the digital customer behavior will be the same as in the real physical world. Designers will need to understand human interactions and how humans think and will need to have an excellent grip on 3D.
UX is a powerful tool that can create everlasting user journeys and experiences. In Metaverse, ‘experience’ is everything – it can make or break the factor for AR/VR/MR platforms.
UX designers will need to use familiar elements and icons in their designs to make it feel smart, more natural, and authentic. Here are some of the tweaks designers can make to make UX more intuitive and consumer-created.
- Make the design more Humane and Accessible
One of the key focus of the UX should be making Metaverse accessible and inclusive for everyone. For example, for people with visibility disabilities, with proper research, designers would need to make use of bright colors, prominent topography, and different layouts. Irrespective of the form of disability a user has, their experience should not be limited.
- Privacy and Ethics
Privacy becomes a concern when users live and do most of their activities, from business to entertainment, on the web. Good UX design should always keep privacy in mind while designing.
The designs will need to have several levels of access, making it easy for users to choose what and with whom they want to share or give access in the Metaverse.
- Story telling is the key
Metaverse will incorporate various experiences like work, shopping, entertainment, gaming, and socializing. Like in the real world, UX designers must understand the consumer journey and connect all the experiences in a seamless flow.
To accomplish a unified experience, designers will need to dig into their storytelling skills to create a virtual world that has an authentic feel in the Metaverse.
- Incorporate 3D Tools
Metaverse is a virtual world, and 3D designs will dominate. Designers will need to move from 2D to 3D sketching tools that will aid in 3D designing, prototyping, and modeling. These tools will also come in handy in creating design elements in the Metaverse.
Conclusion
The possibilities with Metaverse are endless! Though in the nascent stage – it is expected to grow exponentially in the coming years. Traditional marketing just doesn’t cut it anymore. It’s time for interactive experiences and communication – if enterprises want to stay in the game!
Metaverse and UX design go hand in hand. UX designers need to be ready for the upcoming change, leverage pre-existing knowledge, and expand their skills to design unique but natural experiences for the user. They should ensure users seamlessly familiarize themselves with the comparatively unexplored universe of the Metaverse. Metaverse is still at a nascent stage, but the scope for UX design is aplenty.
Author Bio:
Brijesh Jakharia co-founded SPINX Digital in 2005 and takes great pride in crafting web and mobile marketing solutions for mid-market businesses to enterprises. Marketing is his passion, and the thrill to build a brand from the ground up has helped him craft successful brand stories for world-class clients. While not at work, he loves to spend his time on research and reading digital content stories.
