About the Spaceform

The Spaceform One is a concept project exploring the design of a VR headset if it was targeted towards creatives and a creative workflow. A lot of creatives still use traditional mediums for their work missing out on the value that exploring their art and design in a 3D space could bring to their work and to validate 3D work with clients. This project explores the understanding of a creative’s workflow and translating the study into the design of a new yet uniquely familiar headset concept.

Making Virtual and Augmented Reality more inviting and accessible as the next medium for creatives.

Why do so many artists stay away from adopting VR as the next medium of creation and exploration? Is it the complex use of the hardware, how a lot of the headsets feel tailored for gamers and sim-racing enthusiasts? How VR is sold primarily as a medium of next-gen gaming? Diving deep into these questions gave me an understanding of the 4 areas that need to be addressed for the modern-day creative.

Convenience of use: How convenient is the current VR workflow?
Artist’s workflow: Do the current VR tools facilitate an artist’s work?
Sharing work: Does the current platform enable easy sharing and transfer of creative work to social media, clients, creative directors, etc.?
Form: How can VR hardware be made to look more inviting while still following a familiar archetype?

Archetypes inspired by natural human behaviour

A major inspiration for this project was noticing the unique human nature of pinning a writing instrument behind their ear to free up their hands, whether to use a measuring tool or just to drink coffee. It’s a practice seen in a lot of field workers such as craftsmen, carpenters, construction workers, etc. It’s a really quick and easy action and people do it across the world.

This action informed my exploration of archetypes leading to the top 3. A big part of these 3 archetypes was the docking of the “controllers”, live-sharing of what a VR user is currently doing through a screen on the front to make it a bit more involved and focus on a unique form that would break the mould of modern day VR headsets.

2025-03-25 05_48_37-AR Headset Rhino Master (4476 MB) - Rhinoceros 8 Commercial - [Perspective].png

2025-03-25 05_48_37-AR Headset Rhino Master (4476 MB) - Rhinoceros 8 Commercial - [Perspective]_2.png

CAD Refinements

The final archetype was one that felt quite familiar, in that it derived its form from a lot of the mainstream consumer headsets such as the Quest, yet with elements that made it feel tailored towards the magnetic docking of the asymmetric controllers on each of its sides.

A big focus was the clean, open “faceplate” on the front, to create a clean, inviting look. A single camera island adds just enough detail.

Test Visuals: Early detailing

Towards the end of the CAD phase, a very important step was constantly making quick visuals of what the design feels like and whether the original intention comes through in these visuals, that of a specialized consumer electronic made human. A lot of the detailing here is incomplete but the intention is to validate the integration of elements and overall form language.

Final Concept

The final concept is a complete combination of an open and inviting form with a blend of seriousness and softness, integrated controller mounting, details such as a 1 click capture button to take pictures of whatever the user is looking at without having to dive into the UI of every individual app. The Spaceform One is my proposal to addressing the move towards new-age tech, not AI but VR.

Palette Controller

The Palette Controller to the left of the headset is a device designed primarily to use your secondary commands when in a creation app. As per its name, the touch button can be clicked to bring up the color, material and finish palette and then sliding one’s thumb on the same button, a selection can be made by pressing the trigger on the end of the controller.

The controller snaps magnetically and also charges itself when snapped.

Space Pen

The Space Pen is the primary tool of drawing inside the Spaceform’s VR/AR environment. A single draw button on the pen lets one star drawing when held down while a double tap works like an undo button. It’s simple, intuitive and draws from an artist or designer’s own basic workflow.

Inspired by second nature.

As mentioned previously, it’s incredibly simple and natural to dock the controllers to the side of the headset magnetically to free up your hands or to offer the headset to someone else unlike other headsets where bulky controllers leave the user searching for the nearest counter-top to place them on before handing the headset to someone else.

What’s next?

The faceplate is designed in a way that it can be removed and replaced, essentially opening up possibilities to replace the look each time letting owners personalize it with art or stickers representing their own style or personality therefore turning an otherwise cold electronic product into something of sentimental value.

What is fun is the digital faceplate which lets spectators view what the artist is working on. This turns your headset into a window to your mind because why look at someone’s digital eyes when you can look at their beautiful art?

2025