MRTK3 Public Preview

Apr 2021 – 2022, Mixed Reality | Microsoft

MRTK3 is the third generation of Microsoft Mixed Reality Toolkit for Unity. It’s a Microsoft-driven open-source project accelerating cross-platform mixed reality development in Unity. This new version is built on Unity’s XR Management system and XR Interaction Toolkit.

Role

Similar to MRTK2, my main focus area was the UX building blocks. I worked closely with the visual design team to bring the new Mixed Reality Design Language to MRTK for the public. Collaborated with the engineering team and technical designers to introduce a new way of building volumetric UI with Unity’s Canvas system which enables flexible and efficient UI layout in Mixed Reality.

UX Building Blocks & Example Scenes

Defined the list of the crucial UX building blocks and design items to bring to MRTK3
Design integration of MRTK’s UX building blocks
Worked with the engineering team to ensure MRTK’s building blocks are extensible and customizable
Collaborated with technical artists to polish the visual and interaction details of the building blocks
Iterated the design of the new Mixed Reality Design Language based on the internal and external customers’ needs
Migrated and updated crucial example scenes from MRTK2
Helped the team to create and polish the examples for MRTK3’s new Theming System
Created and demonstrated internal prototypes for Accessibility capability using MRTK’s Theming System

Updated geometry with rounded corners for more approachable and friendly experiences

Improved visual feedback for enhanced multi-modal input such as eye-gaze combined with pinch gesture

Improved modular units that support various UI scenarios with permutations

Modular backplate system for building complex layouts that remain clear and usable

Redesigned bounding box visuals to reduce visual noise and enable fluid gaze-powered interactions

Integration with RectTransform and Unity Canvas that supports dyanmic and flexible layout

Figma Toolkit for MRTK3

Created, updated, and polished Figma Toolkit for MRTK3 based on the internal Figma file made by a colleague designer
Figma content optimized based on ISV customer’s need
Published the initial preview version to the Figma community

Documentation

Authored technical and conceptual documentation (e.g. Mixed Reality Design Language introduction)
Wrote design guidelines for UX building blocks
Created visual assets for documents – images, diagrams, videos
Collaborated with the content team to author and publish guidelines

Branding & Promotion Content

Produced MRTK3 brand assets and guidelines for coherent communication and promotion

Evangelism

Presented design-focused content at Microsoft Mixed Reality Dev Days 2022 (US, Global)
– Building Rich UI for MR in MRTK3
– Working with Dynamic Data and Theming in MRTK3
Presented design-focused content at Microsoft Mixed Reality Dev Days Korea
– MRTK3 Interaction Building blocks, Volumetric UI with Canvas, Theming System