Extended by Design: A Toolkit for Creation of XR Experiences

Through the last decade, the creation of extended reality (XR) solutions has significantly increased due to the advent of cheaper, more advanced, and accessible instruments like smartphones, headsets, platforms, development kits, and engines. For instance, the number of GitHub repositories for XR related projects jumped from 51 in 2010 to over 15,000 in 2020. At the same time, the developer community approaches the creation of XR applications using inherited design processes and methods from past mainstream platforms such as web, mobile, or even product design. Unfortunately, those platforms do not consider the spatial aspects of these applications. In this paper, we present a revisited design process and a toolkit focused on the challenges innate to XR, that aims to help beginners and experienced teams in the creation of applications and interactions in Virtual, Augmented, and Mixed Reality. We also present a compendium of 113 techniques and 118 guidelines and a set of canvases that guides users through the process, preventing them from skipping important tasks and discoveries. At last, we present a pilot case where we accompany a team with developers and designers running our process and using our toolkit for the first time, showing the benefits of a process that strikes specific issues of XR apps.