Sanctuary VR is a virtual reality meditation app that focuses on users’ mental health, giving them a place to calm down, relax, and think. The app is designed to allow users to engross themselves in tranquil and calming virtual environments, from both a select number of preloaded locations, as well as locations scanned in by the user. All locations are 360 degrees, with immersive audio, lighting, and atmosphere.
This is a concept I made in my junior year for a hypothetical VR meditation app, designed in the Apple Vision Pro. The goals of the concept were to create high quality mockups in Figma, follow the design principles of our VR headset of choice, and expand our understanding of VR/AR design philosophy.
We were given this assignment and were tasked with creating various high-fidelity mockups in under one month. It was assigned to us right after Thanksgiving break, and at that point I had been really missing home and longing to go back. What if I could design an app that could let people be at the place they are the most comfortable whenever they please? The idea intrigued me greatly, especially when I thought about the various mental health aspects that the app could help alleviate like homesickness, anxiety, depression, and stress.
I began with a simple survey to talk with others about the app’s concept and what they would want in a calming or meditative app. Most people elaborated on their desire for audio control, atmosphere, and fear of quality control over a hypothetical online portion. A key concern too was that VR headsets are rather clunky, so to relax, it was imperative that the headset was as light as possible.
After some research, I discovered that the Apple Vision Pro was by far the lightest headset on the market, so it would only be natural that I design for it. After some digging, I found a Figma file of the Vision Pro’s design systems and with that and an analysis of Apple’s marketing of the product and how it was presented there, I began designing. I constantly went back and forth between my file and the Vision Pro design file to match colors, hover states, sizes, and more. I wanted to ensure that my designs were as accurate to the Apple model as possible.
Given that this was only concept screens and most of the actual function of the app comes in the control you have over your environment, it was important that I include a multitude of settings and options. I included not just quality of life functions like various audio options, but also options that can control how your environment is displayed. I also ensured there was an option to help prevent motion sickness in VR, called ‘VR Tunnelling’, which darkens the edges of the screen, putting the user’s focus directly in front of them.
I worked diligently to ensure that all my designs had the user in mind first and that everything would be as reliable and smooth to use as possible. By the end, I believe that my concept and screen successfully captured the ideal meditation and relaxation app for the Apple Vision Pro.
