IKEA VR Build

A Virtual Reality experience of building IKEA furniture by Vivek Selvaraj

Problem

Source: Reddit r/unpopularopinion

Assembling IKEA furniture can be a fun, relaxing activity, but the cost can sometimes be as high as a LEGO set, or even higher

What if we could develop an easily accessible, VR experience where users can engage in a hands-on-experience of assembling and showcasing IKEA furniture?

Ideation

An initial storyboard of how this app could work in a VR context

Prototyping

Physical Prototype: Diorama

I began bringing this product to life by making a physical prototype using clay and paper.

Reflection

Designing VR, as someone new to XR experience design, was initially daunting, especially due to the scarcity of user-friendly prototyping tools. However, building a physical diorama proved to be an effective strategy.

I highly recommend others starting in VR to try building a physical prototype for the following reasons:

  • It's visually intuitive for designing VR interactions
  • It's tangible and quickly adaptable
  • It simplified the process for others to visualize my concepts

Digital Prototype

I did a rough implementation on Unity to envision how this experience would feel like in a VR headset.