Back
Virtual Reality
Data-Driven Design
Oculus
3D Modeling
3D Molecular Visualization
User Testing
User Interviews
Drug Discovery
Biotech
Role
Lead Product Designer
UX Research Methods
User interviews, competitive analysis, surveys, usability testing
Collaborators
CTO, Tech Lead, UI Dev, UI Designer, Application Scientists, Founders and Me
Tools
Figma, ShapesXR, Unity3D
Nanome is a virtual reality platform designed for scientists to visualize and interact with molecular structures using the Oculus or other compatible VR headsets. It allows users to visualize, modify, and analyze molecular structures and chemical compounds in an immersive 3D environment, enhancing collaboration and understanding in the fields of biochemistry and molecular biology
La Jolla, Ca.
2015
Biotech, Pharma
$2mm (2021)
40
Problem Statement
Users expressed difficulty in recalling and communicating specific moments during VR scientific simulations and presentations, leading to miscommunication and missed opportunities for collaborative insights.
Result
Created the "Spatial Recordings" feature, which allows users to record, replay, and share their VR sessions.
3D Molecular visualization
Chemical Interactions - a feature I designed
Research and Ideation
I conducted user interviews with several scientists asking them questions in what they would like to see in a recording tool in Nanome. I asked questions like:
How would you share your work or findings with other members of your team?
How do you explain your molecular designs to fellow team members when using 2D design tools?
How would you train yourself and others, new discoveries in molecular design?
I mapped out potential flows that would make it easy for our users to use the feature. Performed competitive analysis and conducted “how might we” exercises on how we can tailor this feature to the needs of our users.
Working in close partnership with the founders and development team, we collectively ideated potential solutions for this feature. Our collaboration resulted in deep discussions and a whole set of questions, which would influence a lot of my design decisions.
Some of the questions that came during those discussions were:
How can we create an experience that resembles familiar platforms like YouTube and Netflix, but with unique elements for our 3D environment?
How would a spatial recording behave in AR (augmented reality)? How would we optimize playback in a user's real life space like an office or living room?
How can we communicate any potential limitations of the feature to users?
Design
I led multiple iterations of the design, taking into account feedback from the founders, internal and user testing, and the unique constraints of our tech stack.
Following the iterative process, I consolidated my final solution for the Spatial Recordings feature into a comprehensive storyboard
Familiar affordances played a crucial role in the spatial recording feature’s design. For example:
Navigation and controls were designed with affordances similar to YouTube and Netflix, enabling users to navigate through playback controls.
A unique affordance in Spatial Recordings is the ability to interact with the 3D elements in the recording during playback, panning and zooming in the VR workspace. We look to set that standard.
Content Discovery menu, where all spatial recordiings can be found
A Spatial Recording in action
Usability Testing
I conducted usability testing and collected vital user feedback for the Spatial Recording feature.
This is what user testing looks like in VR
This is what user testing looks like in Real Life!
Some of the findings I gathered from the tests were:
Testers wanted clearer navigational cues, controls always in their line of sight.
Strategic entry points for a more natural flow for our scientists to do their work.
The need to communicate the platform constraint of backwards compatibility to our users.
“ I struggled a bit with the navigation controls initially. Having them always visible or providing some on-screen guidance could make it more user-friendly. ”
Wilian Cortopassi
Computational Chemist | Novartis
Customer Feedback
During usability testing, scientists shared that they often reached critical points in their analysis or experimentation where they wanted to initiate a recording in VR. However, having to navigate away from their current viewpoint or molecular model to start a recording disrupted their workflow.
Design Decision
Decided the entry point of the Spatial Recordings feature to be located on the user wrist menu, ensuring it's readily accessible at all times. This allowed scientists to initiate recordings with ease, without disrupting their workflow in the VR environment.
Wrist Menu with the Spatial Recordings entry point highlighted in red
Design Handoff/Implementation
I prepared comprehensive design guides and assets for the development team to ensure that my designs were implemented correctly.
Conclusion
The Spatial Recordings project demonstrated the practical effects of collaborative innovation throughout its development process. We navigated through technical constraints, made a breakthrough in novel technology, and transformed abstract ideas into a functional, user-friendly feature.
Nanome in the Media
Nanome was featured on CNN, a lot of my work and designs were featured in the video.
Nanome was also featured in the Wall Street Journal:
