IA Launches its Extended Reality (XR) Practice
IA is excited to announce the launch of our Extended Reality practice (IAXR). Developed in-house in order to create and deliver a highly branded and customized XR experience, IAXR is designed to augment an organization’s built environment. Extended Reality (XR) is the umbrella term for environments that combine the real and virtual; this includes Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and Mixed Reality (MR).
Our firm has been piloting, co-developing and interacting with these technologies for several years. As we navigate the current global COVID environment, our capabilities have advanced at an exponential rate. We can now design and build an array of interactive and immersive experiences to support culture, connections, productivity, user experience, brand, environments and enable distributed teams to come together.
These custom virtual environments are unlike typical “stock” XR offerings; they can be extensions of an organization’s physical spaces, promote culture and bring dispersed teams together or can perhaps be used to test future environments, while continuously evolving with each company’s needs. Users may access their virtual, yet familiar, spaces for formal meetings or conferences in all of its forms (via a headset, glasses or desktop app), or spend a “typical” day in the office, making chance connections with colleagues.
XR as a practice is evolving rapidly, and IA is a development partner with several companies at the forefront of this technology evolution as it applies to space and workplace. We are currently in the R&D phase with several organizations ranging from financial services firms to technology companies. Our initial findings suggest that by continuing to augment virtual environments through XR, the platform is providing a multitude of benefits that include a more sustainable, wellness-focused, equitable workplace that reinforces the brand and culture of a company.
The traditional office model is being challenged, requiring us to think differently and apply our design capabilities to new mediums. The office is the physical embodiment of an organization and it will endure—to shape culture, to connect and engage people. We are in a world where the physical and virtual lines are being blurred and we can now provide meaningful user experiences that were only imagined a few years ago. This is why we are excited about our expanded capabilities, and look forward to fully exploring the boundless potential of XR. - David Bourke | IA Co-CEO and -President