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DesignSphere
October 2024 - November 2024
Project Brief
This assignment, part of a graduate Design Principles course, challenged us to create a future-focused solution to a problem anticipated 10–15 years from now.
Description
DesignSphere is a conceptual remote collaboration platform that reimagines how architectural teams work together in a future shaped by AI, AR, and automation. Inspired by the Government of Canada’s Future of Work report, it responds to the evolving architecture field—where remote collaboration, intelligent systems, and emerging technologies like 3D printing and drones are reshaping roles post-COVID. DesignSphere streamlines end-to-end workflows while AI assists with layout generation, compliance checks, and live task delegation, empowering architects to lead more strategically and creatively in distributed, tech-enabled teams.
Here's What I Did...
I independently led the entire project from concept to prototype. While usability testing wasn’t required for this assignment, I focused on delivering a grounded, thoughtful, and fully realized product experience. My process included:
Research & Discovery
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Analyzed the Future of Work report by the Government of Canada
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Conducted secondary market research on architecture, automation, and remote collaboration trends
Concept & UX Strategy
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Defined the product vision and opportunity space
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Created a detailed persona and imagined future-facing workflows
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Ideated features based on real-world needs of architects in tech-enabled, distributed teams
Design & Prototyping
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Wireframed core user flows
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Built a high-fidelity prototype to bring the platform to life
01. Research & Discovery
Research
Industry Trends: The Rise of AI-Powered Collaboration in Architecture & Design
Across the architecture, engineering, construction, and operations (AECO) industry, artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming workflows, accelerating decision-making, and redefining collaborative design practices. As organizations confront increasingly complex, hybrid work environments, the integration of AI-powered tools has become critical to enabling productivity, client engagement, and design innovation.
Of organizations now use AI in at least one business function
of AECO organizations plan to increase their investment in AI and emerging technologies over the next three years
Among AECO professionals surveyed, the top benefits of AI-driven solutions include:
Increased productivity
Automation of repetitive tasks
Generation of informed design options
Specifically, the use of VR and AR technologies powered by AI is enabling immersive, real-time collaboration and visualization. These tools empower clients to review and interact with digital designs before construction begins, reducing costly misalignments and increasing stakeholder confidence.
So, has anyone adopted such a solution yet?
Firms like Zaha Hadid Architects have embraced AI to boost early-stage and mid-stage design productivity, while Autodesk has emphasized AI’s potential in optimizing building information modeling (BIM) and generative design workflows. Architecture thought leaders like Tim Fu advocate for a “human-in-the-loop” approach, where AI serves as an augmentation tool, not a replacement for creativity or decision-making.
02. Concept & UX Strategy
Opportunity Space
Challenge
Many industries, including architecture, are shifting toward more automated, tech-driven workflows as remote work, AI, and AR technologies become more common in the workplace. But this shift introduces new challenges:
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Communicating efficiently across time zones
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Capturing detailed site context remotely
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Maintaining meaningful human oversight in AI-generated design decisions.
Solution
DesignSphere addresses the challenges of remote architectural work by centralizing site data, design tools, and communication into one AI-powered platform. Drone-scanned visuals and zoning inputs give teams instant environmental context, while AI turns meeting dialogue into actionable tasks across the workspace. Real-time simulations and lightweight 3D model exports streamline feedback loops and stakeholder engagement. This reduces delays, miscommunication, and tool fragmentation—making hybrid collaboration faster and more informed.
Persona
The user persona, Jenny Hong, is a Lead Architect who collaborates closely with her team to bring designs to life. She was created to humanize the design process, reflect real user goals, and guide user flow development. Her primary goal is to streamline architectural design using AI and AR technologies while working remotely.
Feature Prioritization
01.
Drone Deployment & AI Onboarding Autofill
Pain Points:
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Navigating different regulations across locations
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Collaborating across different time zones
How it Helps:
Removes the need to schedule site visits across time zones by automating data collection. AI onboarding uses that data to prefill regulatory and design requirements.
02.
AI-Powered Task Delegation
Pain Points:
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Chasing down team members for peer reviews
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Collaborating across different time zones
How it Helps:
AI assigns and tracks tasks intelligently, making team coordination seamless and reducing the burden of manual follow-ups.
03.
AI Design Suggestions & Integrations
Pain Points:
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Accuracy and reliability of human peer review
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Staying current on design trends
How it Helps:
Supports Jenny with smart design feedback and regulation-based suggestions, elevating the quality and speed of her review process.
04.
Virtual-to-Physical Transition
Pain Points:
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Streamlining delivery from virtual to real-world outcomes
How it Helps:
Automates final delivery, making it easy to hand off polished 3D pinted designs to stakeholders.
03. Design & Prototyping
Lo-Fi Sketches
I created rough sketches in Balsamiq to explore user flows and key functionality. These early sketches were essential in visualizing how features like AI detection, VR integration, and project tasking could interconnect across pages.
This phase allowed me to loosely map out how core tools, like AI suggestions, simulation sharing, and 3D export, would align with an architect’s real-world process, helping to define the right structure, visual hierarchy, and processes of automation before even considering the visuals.
Journey In Action
01.
Drone Deployment & AI Onboarding Autofill
New Project
Enter site location
Auto-creates Project Dashboard
02.
AI-Powered Task Delegation
Team Space
Click ‘schedule a meeting’
Enter meeting details
“Join meeting notification”
View task delegation suggestion
Click “add task”
Dismiss task
View task in spatial editor
End meeting
03.
AI Design Suggestions & Integrations
View AI suggestions
Send sim to ‘team space’
Toggle ‘Simulation’
Spatial Editor
Design is automatically updated
Click ‘Add Suggestion’
Click ‘Dismiss’
04.
Virtual-to-Physical Transition
Spatial Editor: Review Mode
Click ‘Send to 3D Printer’
Modal appears, enter passcode
Hit submit
Layout sent to printer
Final UI
The UI for DesignSphere was shaped to evoke collaboration, focus, and a forward-thinking mindset, balancing clarity with a sense of innovation. Inspired by modern productivity tools like ClickUp and Monday, the biggest challenge was simplifying dense content without losing directional cues, resulting in a minimalist layout where key actions subtly guide the user. While early concepts used construction orange, the final shift to a vibrant yet confident blue reflects the platform’s role in creative, high-stakes decision-making.
Bonus: Thoughts & Outcomes
Final Thoughts
While DesignSphere incorporates generative AI capabilities, it is intentionally designed to augment—not replace—human intelligence. The tool doesn’t make decisions or override expertise; rather, it rapidly surfaces insights and sparks practical discussions among colleagues, enabling teams to prototype ideas and iterate more fluidly.
By facilitating structured, AI-assisted ideation within a shared spatial environment, DesignSphere helps accelerate feedback loops without removing the creative and critical thinking that professionals like Jenny bring to the table. Final decisions remain firmly in human hands, while AI acts as a catalyst for alignment, exploration, and efficiency.
Learning Outcomes
DesignSphere challenged me to independently develop forward-thinking concepts tailored to a specific industry. I learned how to identify emerging technologies and trends, then translate them into viable, future-facing design solutions.
Working on my own pushed me to think critically about which ideas should come first when building out a concept, considering both impact and user relevance. This process sharpened my ability to structure early-stage design thinking and prioritize the elements that form a strong foundation for innovation.
