Issue #5: What is the Metaverse, and how can I be involved in it as a designer?

The metaverse is super trending today, and here’s a quick introduction to the topic plus how designers of all skill-levels can play a part in this new lucrative field 😎.

@leonkarsenn

Hello 👋

Welcome to the fifth issue of [Navigating] Design at Berkeley, Design at Berkeley's newsletter, and blog about navigating design at UC Berkeley! It’s been a while since we’ve posted, but we’re so so glad to be back 😊.

This issue covers:

• Introduction to the metaverse 🪐

• Different components of the metaverse ✨

• Design roles and opportunities in the metaverse ✏️

• Opportunities at Berkeley to get involved 🔥

But first, some quick announcements!

🌱 Figma decal X Design @ Berkeley

Collaborating with the Figma Decal - Hosting Open Labs!

Want to learn how to design, iterate, and prototype efficiently? Design @ Berkeley and Figma decal are collaborating to bring you a three-week open lab session where you can learn how to use the popular design software Figma! You will have the opportunity to learn the basics, components, prototyping skills, and more! Whether you are just beginning or advanced in Figma, you will be able to walk away with new skills to develop projects for your portfolio or even just design things for fun!

Lab sessions will happen twice a week on Mondays and Wednesdays so you can come to either. The first lab session will be on October 10th at Evans 7 from 5:30- 6:30pm PST. Wednesday lab sessions will be at Dwinelle 87 from 4:00- 5:00pm PST.

👩🏻‍🏫 Design Advisors

Design @ Berkeley free mentorship resource!

Looking to get mentorship in design? Check out our new advisor list here https://www.designatberkeley.com/resources/advisors. Read their bios for what specific skill sets and areas of expertise they’re willing to advise on and reach out to them!

Introducing the Metaverse⚡️

What is the metaverse, really? Despite being one of the biggest buzzwords of the tech industry, the metaverse lacks a clear definition.

You’ve likely heard of the topic, where users navigate the “virtual world” using their VR set, which is pretty cool 🤭. However, just like the internet couldn’t be fully characterized until decades after its conception, the metaverse is still a rapidly evolving concept. However, we know what the key building blocks of the metaverse will be and why they are the natural evolution of existing systems - and in this substack, we will discuss the role of design in pushing these boundaries forward (and how you can play a part 😊). Let’s look at some aspects necessary to make the metaverse, the next iteration of the internet, a seamless integration of our virtual and physical lives.

Components of the Metaverse 🗂

The metaverse will span digital and physical worlds.

Users will create personalized avatars that represent their digital identity - these will be the face of virtual communication. Think Snapchat Bitmojis, Mii on Wiis, and Apple Memojis 🙃. This disrupts the digital and physical divide, allowing people to communicate in an entirely different manner. Check out a curated list of resources and tools about metaverse avatars here!

The metaverse will be made up of experiences and content made by individual creators.

Designing metaverse experiences allows for much fewer boundaries. Users can experience content not only in 3D, but through different mediums and levels of immersive-ness. It however, also involves a new layer of complexity - designers have to consider gesture & voice integrations, accessibility, and enhanced personal protections. Design x the metaverse will become a whole new discipline of design and design education, as we utilize human-centered design to create the best metaverse for users today. Check out some resources on design principles for the metaverse here!

The metaverse will be interoperable.

The metaverse is meant to have unprecedented interoperability in terms of content/services, digital assets, experiences, data, & more. However, one of the greatest challenges facing the industry is the learning curve for users to enter the metaverse. From crypto wallet to blockchain games, user experience design is rapidly becoming one of the most pivotal roles in the industry. The metaverse industry needs designers like you 🥳 to change the world! Learn more about intuitive design in the metaverse and how you can get involved here.

The metaverse will change the way the world operates.

The usage of the metaverse in day-to-day scenarios is emerging. Here are some instances of how it can be used.

• Workplaces: The metaverse changes the way offices function. It allows individuals to work and be present anywhere around the world, developing a beautiful sense of shared spaces, all in the comfort of wherever you are. Check out the Oculus Horizon Workrooms, a metaverse workspace used in offices across the world today!

• Gaining knowledge/training: The metaverse can help you develop the one-on-one instruction you receive in a classroom, instructor’s office, and more. You can receive training from anywhere in the world!

• Games: VR headset games are already ultra-popular, and the greater emergence of the metaverse will lead to even more games in our world today. Game design is imperative for this, if you’re interested in designing games! 🎮

Design roles and opportunities in the metaverse ✏️

Designers in the metaverse will:

• Develop comfortable and well-designed 3D spaces for different purposes! Creativity, including visuals and more are up to the designer’s discretion 👀.

• Assisting users with accessibilty needs and designing products well for diverse ranges of people. And make things easy to understand and grasp for ones newly acquainted to the metaverse.

• Designing digital goods: Things like baseball caps, jewelry and more are digital goods people need to support their metaverse experience, and designers are needed to develop these!

• And more! There’s a wide variety of articles like this one you can explore to find more resources.

If this interests you, there’s a whole community at Berkeley providing resources and tools to designers (like you!) to step your toe in this industry.

Design leads the evolution of the metaverse, and is critical to its adoption. An organization at Berkeley, Web3 Berkeley, connects students to amazing resources including industry mentors and meetups in SF, and open up curriculum around digital assets, CBDCs (another form of cryptocurrency / digital cash) and more. Check out their Metaverse Class, which revolves around the metaverse and deep dives into sectors like blockchain, NFTs, gaming, the creator economy, & more (see syllabus here)! Feel free to reach out to the Design at Berkeley Community via Slack if you ever have questions about design opportunities and its intersection with the metaverse! 🥳