From a Designer’s Perspective
Designing immersive experiences where visual and interactive choices motivate engagement
As a multimedia designer, creating virtual environments requires me to carefully consider design elements like colors, shapes, and interaction methods that influence user engagement and immersion. I am always intrigued by new features and willing to explore how they can enhance my projects.
I once developed an interactive bilingual virtual space where young learners could explore objects and learn about their shapes in both English and Mandarin. When a student correctly identified a shape, the system would trigger particle effects and crisp, pleasant sound cues, serving as immediate, embodied feedback. These reward mechanisms were intentionally designed to create positive emotional responses and support learners’ intrinsic motivation.
This design reflects Chen and Hsu's (2020) finding that VR games can enhance students’ learning motivation and self-regulation. I start to realize that aesthetics, interactivity, and usability are no longer superficial design considerations as they form the foundation for motivating learners. When such design elements are repeatedly associated with successful and emotionally rewarding learning experiences, they undergo a process of enregisterment, which becomes a socially recognized symbol of effective and inclusive educational practices.
Further, Lestiono and Setyaningrum (2025) argue that VR can significantly reduce learners’ anxiety in speaking tasks by offering a low-pressure environment for language practice. This insight guided my design decisions when working with children with autism. Drawing on both color psychology and user studies, I adjusted the visual theme from the typical primary palette, which is broadly appealing to young children, to one that also considers the sensory preferences of autistic learners, who often favor green and brown (Grandgeorge & Masataka, 2016). To accommodate both groups, I reduced the dominance of yellow while also lowering the overall saturation to create a calmer visual atmosphere.
These nuanced design choices reflect an awareness of language ideologies embedded in our educational tools, particularly the belief that language learning environments should be universally accessible. By attending to color schemes and sensory feedback, I was not just making aesthetic decisions, but engaging in the ideological act of framing who the "ideal learner" is and whose needs deserve to be centered.
I realize that VR technology alone is not enough to engage learners in language acquisition. It is the thoughtful design decisions that truly make a difference. Through design, I have given these interactions social meaning, making them transcend the technology itself and become a recognizable educational practice style. At the same time, I remain passionate about experimenting with various visual and interactive effects to enrich the learning environment and to attract and motivate users.