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How Virtual / Augmented reality has become common practise in brand identities and what this means for Graphic Design

With new technological advances occurring more and more each year, one of the biggest mainstream devices being implemented in most digital sectors is Virtual Reality. VR has grew and grew over the last few years and has made its way into the creative community with ease.  The aim of this academic essay is to look at how Virtual and Augmented Reality has affected the design process for graphic design and why companies are more likely now than ever to incorporate VR into their brands. With all the hype that VR trend has received and is still getting, it’s under threat of becoming a fad.  The aspect of this technology will also be addressed within this writing as a way of looking at what can be done to prolong its life span. That said, this isn’t a brand new piece of technology. Virtual Reality has been considered to have begun back in the 1960’s but there are early elements of VR that have been traced back to the 1860’s, way before the development of digital technology. One of the first examples of a head mounted display (HMD) was developed around 1962 by Philco Corporation and was considered a marvel at the time. Unfortunately, this first version of the product that most people are used to now didn’t last long as the technology at the time wasn’t at a level that could properly execute Virtual Reality and due to this they fizzled out, until recently. The re-emergence of this product has taken the tech industry by storm and has become something that is slowly becoming accessible with the likes of cheap headsets such as Google cardboard to free augmented reality apps taking phones by storm such as the recent Pokémon Go game (which has fell victim to becoming a fad). The question of whether or not both virtual and augmented reality can be classed as the next big turning point in advanced technologies for creatives and designers is one that’s up in the air.  Most agreeing that it is while the rest state it’s just a fad that will die out eventually.

VR as a concept breaks down borders with its increased consumer availability of virtual and augmented reality headsets from the likes of Oculus Rift to the cheap consumer friendly Google cardboard. People are now free to possess their own personal 3D gateways into an alternate yet shared experience that has already started to emerge. The VR experience now is set to add to the storytelling side of graphic design that will bring the audience into the world of the product in question (frogdesign.com, 2016). The dilemma though is brands trying out virtual reality as part of a marketing strategy and should they be wary about whether spending on the emerging platform is worth it. Research from Greenlight VR suggests the investment could be paying off in brand affinity and increased purchases as a recent survey of 1300 adults found that 71% believed virtual and augmented reality are a forward and modern approach which immerses the consumer into the world of the brand. A further 53% of people surveyed said that there more likely to purchase a product from a brand if they use virtual reality than that of a brand that doesn’t. These figures are perfectly in correlation with large scale brands starting to embrace this technology.