For my Masters of Design in Strategic Foresight and Innovation, we were asked to write a Master Research Paper (MRP) or my capstone project. Mine started with the thought: What is the future of UX and Product Design? Cross referencing this with the 2024 Apple Vision Pro release (and since then many other models of smart glasses or smartwear), it made me wonder about what this future would look like in design, our daily, lives, our economy if we no longer had phones or personal computers but operated hands-free. It would change the platforms we designed for, but how?

Here's a part of my papers Abstract: With the impending global release of the Apple Vision Pro, spatial computing has become increasingly mainstreamed in today's world. User experience (UX) design will have to adapt to new technologies, but little practical research is available for guidance as UX moves towards the new era of spatial computing. Exploring the intersection between spatial computing and UX design requires extensive research which will be guided through the research question: 'How might the evolution of spatial computing impact UX design?' Spatial computing is on a trajectory towards a more seamless integration of both digital and physical worlds. To understand the future of spatial computing, a contextual analysis of the world was launched by gathering signals and identifying trends. The trends were cross referenced with spatial computing to understand how spatial computing could evolve in the next twenty years. The futures wheel identified eight themes that demonstrated potential future scenarios that UX designers must be mindful of. The study explored the impact of spatial computing on UX designers and developed recommendations to help them proactively prepare for the future. Overall, UX designers have a large part to play when it comes to ensuring that this new era of spatial computing is beneficial to humanity.