Creating a VR Reading App

I recently designed ReadSpace, a VR app that redefines how people read, especially those who find it hard to stay focused or motivated. It explores how immersive environments can create a sense of calm and reduce real-world distractions. The experience is designed to make reading both engaging and comfortable, with features like customizable environments, light and dark modes, session timers with built-in breaks, and seamless zoom controls within the virtual space—carefully balancing deep immersion with clarity and ease. Here, I share my insights on how designing UX for this project required a different approach compared to the conventional methods used for 2D screen applications.

The Elements of VR Interaction

The core goal of UX design for VR is much like that for web or mobile apps — enabling users to accomplish their tasks easily and intuitively. However, VR adds new dimensions that can significantly impact how users reach those goals. In this environment, users can still move a pointer and perform right or left clicks as they would on a laptop, but they can also physically walk around and turn, adding an entirely new layer of interaction.

You might wonder why walking and turning matter when it comes to UI interaction. In VR, they actually matter a lot. It’s not just you inside the environment — the UI exists there too. Sometimes you have to take a few steps or turn around just to see or interact with something. That was a big learning for me. In my first wireframes, I didn’t think about where or how the UI was placed, and when I tested it, nothing felt natural. I had to move around too much just to view or use it. After that, I started thinking of every step or turn like a click — just like we try to reduce clicks in an app, here we try to reduce unnecessary movement. In the next version, I placed things at angles that made sense, so the user didn’t need to keep turning around.

Another important factor to consider is which UI elements exist within the environment and which are global. Global UI shouldn’t be fixed to one spot in the environment—for instance, if I start reading in one place and then move around, I shouldn’t have to return to that original spot just to check the time. It’s crucial to think about the world in relation to the objects within it, not just as isolated elements.

Understanding User Goals

From a broader UX perspective in VR, a user’s goal is shaped by what they aim to achieve within the application. However, there’s an additional overarching goal unique to VR immersion. Users enter these environments to be free from distractions. That’s why every design decision should support both objectives: helping users accomplish their specific tasks while maintaining a deep sense of presence and immersion.

The Fear of the Tool

Unity is a whole different world compared to Figma and for designers, that can be pretty frustrating. Even something as simple as drawing a rectangle feels unfamiliar, and I definitely felt that struggle while designing the interface. But I soon realized that getting comfortable with your tools is key to turning your UX vision into reality. Once you stop fearing the tool, you start to move through it confidently and that’s when real design begins.

Another important thing to remember is that as designers, we prototype. You only need to learn Unity to the level that helps you bring your UX ideas to life not necessarily at a full implementation level. Of course, you can dive deeper and master 3D dev if you want to, but our main goal should be to "communicate" a great user experience, not to "build" a poor one.

These are just a few insights from my experience designing for VR. I’m sure there are many more principles and guidelines I haven’t covered, but I wanted to highlight the ones that stood out to me as being different from the usual design process.