Section Styles spotlight-header
I am an
Immersive Designer
Jessica Brillhart
Presented by society for science
virtual and augmented reality IS JUST GETTING STARTED.
As an immersive designer, I use technology to design experiences so that you and your computer can be friends.
MY WORK SETTING
Indoor vs. Outdoor
A lot of my time indoors working with computers, but sometimes I get to film outdoors.
People vs. Alone
I spend most of my time collaborating with other people but I also need the alone time to come up with ideas.
Creative vs. Defined
All of my work is creative, which I love.
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As an immersive designer, I develop experiences that make people feel like they are part of a story or environment, often using advanced technology like augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and mixed reality (MR). I craft stories and interactive interfaces that can transport users to different worlds or capture complex topics. I also think about the tools we use – like VR headsets that immerse you in content, AR apps that adds digital elements to the real world around you, and all of the untapped possibilities that we're still exploring. It's a lot of creativity, a lot of technology, and a lot of experimentation.
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I spend a lot of time thinking about the future, and imagining how different technologies can be used in new and exciting ways to change how we play, learn, and interact with the world. I also work on projects that develop new stories and content, and experiment with tools to connect people with technology. I've worked on immersive films, large-scale projections, software-based immersive video and audio installations, among many others types of projects. A lot of my days are spent traveling for research or production, building relationships, collaborating with programmers and other specialists, and trading ideas with awesome people.
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Technology has been shaping society for centuries, and it's not going to slow down anytime soon. There are a lot of really beneficial uses, but there are also a lot of risks. It's important for people to dedicate themselves not only to using the tools that are available, but also to thinking deeply about how the tools could or should be used. Immersive design has the potential to transform fields like healthcare, education, entertainment, and commerce, but it also has the potential to make it harder to connect with each other and the world. It's important to think through these challenges so we can ensure technology is a tool for enhancing people’s lives and wellbeing.
MY WORK NEEDSEssential Skills:
IMAGINATION
Everything that I do requires me to think outside-the-box and see ways to craft novel experiences for others.
ADAPTABILITY
Technology is constantly evolving and changes rapidly. Working in immersive design is like riding a train while the tracks are being laid.
CURIOSITY
Having a curiosity about the way things work is important to depicting an experience in the most thorough way.
COLLABORATION
I work with a lot of different technologists, engineers, and designers to make ideas come to life.
Days in the Life
Come along and explore what three days at my job might look like!
DAYS IN THE LIFE
How I Work
Check out what my place of work looks like on an average day.
This is what my workspace looks like!
VR headset. I’m constantly engaging with the latest technologies.
Laptop + a monitor. I spend a lot of time working in creative programs and editing videos.
Books. I can’t have too many books. I’ve got books about everything from interior design to yoga/meditation to programming.
Personal items. My two dogs might be by my side, and I love being surrounded by things that inspire me and keep me grounded.
Did you know...There are several different types of XR (“Extended Reality”).
Extended Reality, or XR, is a term that describes all kinds of technologies that change the way we experience the world around us by blending the physical and digital worlds. Imagine being able to walk through a fantasy world right in your living room or having a video game character appear to be standing next to you in your own backyard. XR makes this possible by using special devices like headsets, smartphones, or even glasses.
There are three main types of XR: Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and Mixed Reality (MR). VR is like stepping into a completely different world; when you put on a VR headset, you are entirely surrounded by a digital environment. AR, on the other hand, adds digital elements to your real-world view—like the filters on Snapchat or Pokémon Go where characters appear in the real world through your phone screen. MR takes this a step further by allowing digital objects to interact with the real world, meaning you could place a virtual object on your desk and walk around it, seeing it from different angles.
Each type of XR has incredible potential. VR can be used for immersive learning experiences, like exploring the surface of Mars or diving deep into the ocean. AR could help in everyday tasks, such as providing directions as you walk down the street or showing you how to fix a broken gadget by overlaying instructions right on top of it. MR could revolutionize fields like architecture, where designers can create and manipulate 3D models that appear in the real world before actually building anything.
The most exciting part is that the field of XR is just getting started. New technologies are emerging all the time, making XR experiences more realistic and accessible. As exciting as it is, it’s also really important that we use our collective imagination and wisdom to be cautious, and design new interfaces that align well with our goals. We want these technologies to help us all thrive, connect, learn, explore, and create, and that means being both creative and critical of what we build and how we use it.
Rewarding
These are the parts of my job I find particularly rewarding.
Traveling and exploring new places while filming for projects.
Getting to think of beautiful ways to immerse people in experiences.
But everyone is different! Drag the circles to place them where you rate them.
Challenging
These are the parts of my job I find particularly challenging.
Keeping up-to-date with the quickly-evolving technology in VR.
Staying focused on a single project for an extended period of time.
Section Styles movable
These are the people I work with:
Software Engineers
These are usually the people that create the softwares for the VR and AR that I’m using. We guide and inform each others needs.
Filmmakers & Sound Engineers
There are always several filmmakers and sound engineers working on different elements of the project to make it as realistic as possible.
User Design Professionals
They take the feedback from users and inform us to what people like and don’t like about a particular experience.
WHAT’S NEXT?
What’s next for my field of work?The combination of artificial intelligence with XR technologies could produce generative worlds with no limits.
AI could create infinite worlds and synthetic beings.
In the near future (and even now), technologists are experimenting with ways to build worlds that extend reality using artificial intelligence. This could mean that a worldbuilder starts with a set of initial ideas, and works with specialized AI to figure out how it can keep extending that world based on how a person engages with it. It could also mean generating characters, actions, and dialogue in the moment that’s completely responsive to the environment and what the participant does. It could revolutionize storytelling, entertainment, and other industries, but it’s also really important for us to be thoughtful and intentional about how we implement it to ensure it supports our wellbeing.
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