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In design education, immersive virtual reality (VR) has grown as a visualization and interaction tool. Nonetheless, little research has been done on how individuals self-perception within VR affects their performance. This self-awareness is carried out using avatars that depict the virtual body through multiple points of view. This article assessed three different conditions of virtual body within a design exercise to better understand how these affected idea generations and spatial skills. To do so, an embodiment-cognition framework to evaluate the influence of the virtual body in immersive VR environments was developed. The designed theoretical framework relies on the concept of embodiment and its relevance to situated cognition. Research has supported how cognition connects the mind and body and the relevance of the individual's interaction with its surroundings to make it meaningful. Likewise, more immersive environments can increase the sensation of presence in VR, allowing individuals to behave more naturally. Also, through the connection with the surroundings, individuals liberate cognitive load, allowing them to relocate cognitive efforts in developing knowledge. General findings support how the use of a more embodied virtual body can elicit higher levels of presence but also increase cognitive load which can ultimately hinder cognition. However, VR interactions aided participants to develop spatial skills and allowed idea generation. Furthermore, the framework proposed can be applied to assess students' cognitive processes beyond the discipline's boundaries.

The purpose of this study was to explore design student's perceptions over traditional and digital mediums within the design process. In this research, a convenient sample of design students was selected from two universities between Latin America and North America to respond a questionnaire which inquired for the design steps and the type of tools they used. The importance of traditional medium in the design process has been widely researched (e.g. Goldschmidt, 1991; Suwa et al., 1998; Tang & Gero, 2002). In a similar manner, digital medium has evolved in the design practice and researchers have looked at how the use of digital tools affect the design process (Salman, et al.2014). Multiple studies have argued that some stages of this process cannot be supported by digital medium tools (e.g. Bilda & Demirkan, 2003; Kwon, et al., 2005; Meniru, et al., 2003; Stones & Cassidy, 2007). In contrast, digital medium stimulates the occurrence of design patterns and epistemic actions (Yu, et al. 2015: Chandrasekera, 2014). Digital medium will require the development of new knowledge which may affect the designer's role and the education practices of new designers. The outcomes of this study will help design educators to understand design students' preferences in using digital tools and develop curriculums accordingly. In addition, it will aid software developers to better understand, cater to design students' needs and take advantage in the growing shift from traditional to digital medium.

Research has shown that user characteristics such as preference for using an interface can result in effective use of the interface. Research has also suggested that there is a relationship between learner preference and creativity. This study uses the VARK learning styles inventory to assess students learning style then explores how this learning preference affect the use of Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) in the creative design process.

The purpose of this research was to explore the use of virtual reality (VR) in early design studios. In this research project, two different types of Head-Mounted Display (HMD) systems were used. One type of HMD provided six degrees of freedom and the other HMD provided three degrees of freedom. The research findings provide comparison on the functionality of the different types of HMDs and the sense of presence in VR environments. Sense of presence is defined as the sense of "being there" in a computer-simulated environment. The outcomes of this research are (a) development of a new presence questionnaire that focuses on newer VR systems and (b) understanding student perception of using VR in design projects.

Perceived crowding is a psychological state that occurs when a person's demand for space exceeds the supply. Perceived Retail Crowding (PRC) can therefore be understood as an individual's demand for space in a retail environment. PRC consists of two dimensions: human crowding perceptions and spatial crowding perceptions. Research has shown PRC negatively affects shopping satisfaction. In this study, two different retail environment layouts (linear and curvilinear) were developed using virtual reality (VR) to understand the difference in perceived spatial crowding in these two environments. Twenty participants were randomly assigned to one of two VR environments and spent approximately five to seven minutes immersed and navigating the environment. The participants' emotional responses were recorded through a functional Near-Infrared spectroscopy (fNIR) device. They were also provided with a questionnaire to assess their emotional responses to the environment. PRC was assessed through questionnaire responses and correlated with fNIR readings. The results of this study evidence that linear, in comparison to curvilinear interior layouts, increased PRC and cognitive load (CL), ultimately negatively affecting shopping satisfaction. These findings contribute to better understandings of the influence of design attributes and physical characteristics in retail environments. The main limitations of this study were the sample size and the lack of product exhibition on the shelves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of virtual reality (VR) in interior design has increased dramatically. Its interactive and visualization benefits are undeniable. Designers, clients, developers, and stakeholders can immerse themselves in future or existing design projects without the need to be physically there. Thanks to more immersive and realistic experiences, the boundaries that separate the physical and the virtual world are becoming nonexistent. Nonetheless, research has focused on the visual characteristics of the virtual space, undermining the consequences for individuals engaged within it. In this study, we assessed the effects on mental workload caused by how individuals visualize themselves in VR using a virtual body (VB). The VB is typically represented by the use of avatars. An experimental setup was carried out with a convenience sample of 72 individuals. Participants interacted in an immersive VR interface with three different conditions of the VB. They were randomly assigned to one of the three conditions and engaged for a period of approximately 20 minutes in tackling a design-like activity. Data were collected through self-report questionnaires in addition to a psychophysiological device accounting for the cognitive load (CL) and task difficulty. The statistical analysis supported differences in CL between conditions. A more detailed visual representation of the VB increased the sensation of being there but contributed extraneous CL that can hinder the task at hand. The findings of this study can guide interior designers in selecting the type of VB they should use for their immersive VR experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of the current study was to investigate how virtual reality (VR) visualizations compare with traditional visualizations such as two-dimensional (2D) photos as a marketing tool for hotel websites. The specific research question was "How do VR visualizations compare with 2D photos in terms of (1) affective responses, (2) attitudinal/behavioral responses, and (3) cognitive load—that is, task efforts and experiences associated with technology?" A quasi-experimental study was conducted over two time periods with independent sample pools. A boutique hotel lobby and a guest room were captured in 2D and VR formats. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of the two types of visualizations. The sample comprised 84 university undergraduate students from the South-Central United States. Nonparametric tests were used to test the proposed hypotheses. There was a statistically significant difference between two visual conditions for several variables—that is, pleasure, satisfaction, word of mouth, and so on. However, those differences were not always consistent between the two time periods. Overall findings suggest that the use of VR visualizations as a promotional tool might not be more effective than traditional photos. Limitations of the study include using students as a proxy for the general population of travelers, small sample size, self-reported measures, and narrow conditional scope. Those limitations should be addressed in future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study we explore how augmented reality can be used to teach drawing techniques to architectural students. Our study also attempts to understand how use of these digital mediums affects spatial abilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prototyping or model making in the Architectural and Interior Design process is an established method of design problem solving. By using prototypes, design students can better visualize structures and can give students a more concrete result when working on a design project. According to a study by Grosslight, Unger, Jay and Smith (1991), students are likely to think of prototypes as physical copies of reality that envelop various spatiotemporal views, instead of representations that envelop various theoretical perspectives. Past literature and research has suggests that student's rate building prototypes highly when compared with other types of representations, which implies that they are better able to learn the design process when using prototypes (Lemons, Carberry, Swan & Rogers, 2010). This study documents alternate modeling strategies utilizing technologies such as Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) in Architectural and Interior Design education through the Technology Acceptance Model to better understand how students perceive design solutions in early design studios. The results of the study suggest that design students found physical models to be comparable to AR models and that the AR technology was easy to use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]