Apple UX / UI Designers For Apple Vision Pro Must Learn Game Tools, 3D Software And Programming
Hello, I’m Kate, a Senior UX / Product Designer based in the San Francisco Bay Area with over 10 years of experience. I am always learning new tools and keeping up with the latest technologies.
I’m sharing my research on Apple’s most recent design roles for the Apple Vision Pro headset. What do these new roles mean for UX / UI and Product Designers who need to gain 3D game experience?
I’m going to reference these two Apple job descriptions below:
Lead Experience Designer — Apple Vision Pro -200490807
https://jobs.apple.com/en-ie/details/200490807/lead-experience-designer-apple-vision-pro
Key Qualifications
- Passion for creating imaginative experiences powered by ground breaking technology.
- 10+ years shipping narrative-driven interactive entertainment experiences.
- Experience managing small teams in a leadership capacity.
- Shipped at least one high profile experience in a lead design role.
- Mastery of design philosophy for interactive entertainment experiences.
- Expert in realtime 3D game editors such as Unity, Unreal, or similar.
- Expert with 3D Studio Max, Maya, or equivalent for level design.
- Expert with programming languages such as Javascript, C#, or similar for level scripting.
- Excellent problem solving, creative thinking, communication, and presentation skills.
- Desire to grow interactive entertainment beyond traditional experiences.
- Experience in spatial computing a plus.
UI Experience Designer — Apple Vision Pro ID 200489779
https://jobs.apple.com/en-us/details/200489779/ui-experience-designer-apple-vision-pro
Key Qualifications
- Shipped at least one interactive experience in a UI / UX role.
- Understanding of design philosophy for interactive entertainment experiences.
- Expert with UI design tools such as Adobe Creative Suite, After Effects, or similar.
- Familiar with realtime 3D game editors such as Unity, Unreal, or similar.
- Familiar with programming languages such as Javascript, C#, or similar for UI scripting.
- Familiar with 3D Studio Max, Maya, or equivalent for 3D UI integration.
- Excellent problem solving, creative thinking, communication, and presentation skills.
- Desire to grow interactive entertainment beyond traditional experiences.
- Familiarity with Apple SwiftUI and UIKit a plus.
- Experience in spatial computing a plus.
Do you see a pattern?
What most regular UX / Product designers skills don’t have:
- 3D Studio Max, Maya, or equivalent for 3D UI integration
- 3D game editors such as Unity, Unreal
- spatial computing
Some designers have experience with the following:
- Javascript, C#, or similar for UI scripting
We must learn Game Tools if designers want to work on R&D for cutting-edge technologies like Apple Vision Pro.
The good thing is we can learn these gaming tools in 3–6 months. How do I know? I did it.
It starts with XR design skill stacking.
Last year, I started learning 3D gaming tools and XR experiences for the Metaverse and 3D virtual experiences for virtual construction sites. Learning these tools can take time to get up to speed, but it’s worth investing time in learning them as we use more augmented reality experiences on mobile and VR headsets.
Where should you start?
There are lots of free resources online. I recommend taking free courses before diving into a bootcamp or expensive class if you’re already a seasoned UX / Product Designer. You can find everything on YouTube and TikTok.
Check out my augmented design I created: tiktok.com/@xrdesignstudio/video/7158613337100602667
