Microsoft Omniverse: Designing for 3D
UX/UI Design · Research · Prototyping · Visual Design
June - August 2024 (10 weeks)
Simulation UX · B2B · VR, Desktop & Tablet · Digital Twins · 3D UI Design · Figma
Commissioned by Microsoft, this cross-platform demo showcased the potential of NVIDIA Omniverse, AI, and Apple Vision Pro through a 3D digital twin simulation. Users could track and simulate city-wide energy usage across devices – from spatial headsets to laptops and tablets – illustrating how immersive simulations can transform urban planning.
I joined at the earliest stages and helped turn vague technical ideas into a demo-ready experience by defining structure, visuals, and storytelling strategy across multiple surfaces.
Framing the Story
To align the team and stakeholders, I created storyboards and stylized wireframes that visualized how events like energy spikes or outages could play out in real time. These assets helped communicate the demo’s potential across AR and VR platforms, from laptops to Vision Pro.
They also helped drive a key early pivot: should users freely walk through the simulation in VR, or should interaction remain anchored to fixed UI controls? We opted for the latter—placing simulation triggers along the viewport edges to improve demo guidance and maintain a consistent user experience across devices.
High-Fidelity Explorations and Prototypes
Once the content structure was in place, I began exploring how to present it visually. These early high-fidelity mockups introduced core interface ideas — like a timeline-based playthrough, side navigation for triggering events, and layered transparency to preserve depth within the 3D simulation.
To support implementation, I also created interactive prototypes to demonstrate key behaviors like hover states and timeline interactions. While simple, these helped the team experience the flow in motion and ensured the final product aligned with design intent across devices.
Final Screens
These were the final screens delivered to Microsoft for the flagship internal demo. The interface supported real-time energy simulation and scenario triggers, optimized for laptops, tablets, and spatial environments.
Designed for both clarity and spectacle, the product showcased how digital twins can support more predictive, interactive planning workflows.
Reflection
This project stretched my abilities more than any before. It was my first deep dive into visual design – and into spatial UI. With no established patterns, I had to self-teach the basics, ask the right questions, and bring structure to a complex, open-ended space. I learned how to work through ambiguity, adapt fast, and help steer a cross-disciplinary team toward a clear outcome.