Did you attend Daler Mehndi’s first Indian virtual concert in the Metaverse, or fascinated by Louis Vuitton’s adventure-based ‘Louis the Game’ celebrating their second centenary?

The Metaverse is still a new concept, and it’s already creating countless exciting opportunities for brands and consumers alike. It takes social networking in the virtual world to the next level, making it highly immersive, interactive, and closer to reality. It’s literally opening a world full of possibilities, for everyone, including designers.

Designers will find themselves to be in for a roller coaster ride exploring the Metaverse and discovering new ways of doing things. The way ahead is ripe with challenges as well. Until now, design revolved around transforming the user experience, now, it’ll be focused on the person inside the virtual world.

Now, it’ll not only be about performing a task such as adding products to a basket to make a purchase. The Metaverse will be all about the experience that leads to the task, for e.g., virtually walking to the marketplace. Getting users to interact with elements inside virtual reality and take part becomes the duty of the designers. They have the power to make sense of a new universe and transfer this understanding to the rest of the world. They will act as a bridge between both worlds.

Unleashing this power means constantly trying out new things, reimagining their design thinking, and upskilling at every chance available.

But it is not only designers who will get impacted by the new reality. The Metaverse itself has a lot to gain from their expertise. As much as the lines blur between the real and virtual, a lot of the problems that pose in the actual world will also translate to the digital one. Metaverse will benefit from being designed by people conscious of the threats to society and the ability to ethically create a positive space free of these.

Making it a space that prioritizes mental wellbeing is crucial. Designers have the ability to bring solutions that reduce toxicity, increase accessibility, and remove algorithms that reward negative behavior. Creating safe communities where people can engage with like-minded people, spread their talents, and collaborate must be the goal.

Not only this, but it also falls onto the designers’ shoulders to make the technology interesting. It should be immersive enough that the players and their avatars merge into one. There needs to be an incentive for people to invest their time and resources in the virtual universe.

We have only begun to scratch the surface of where technology can take us, and the countless things considered impossible that it can make possible. It’s up to new-age designers to innovate and create solutions that can create a better world. Do you consider yourself to be one of them? If you can’t wait to dive into the exhilarating new opportunities, you need to check out our School of Design. We have expert-led courses that shape your design thinking and prepare you to jump headfirst in an exciting, dynamic world. For more information, click here.