VIVE Reality System
Designing Spatial OS Across Consumer and Enterprise Products
Role
UX Product Design Leadership — co-creation to full design authority (2019–2025)
Scope
Spatial OS platform across VIVE product headsets and accessories
Key Products
VIVE Cosmos · VIVE Focus 3 · VIVE Flow · VIVE XR Elite · VIVE Focus Vision
Patents
3 granted patents in spatial navigation, content management, and VR interaction, plus 7 granted design patents protecting the VRS and VIVERSE interface
CONTEXT
Defining VIVE ecosystems
HTC VIVE launched the world's first commercial room-scale VR system with SteamVR. The product experience was dropped into Valve's interface after setup. The VIVE Reality System (VRS) was the proprietary spatial UX platform we initiated to build a cohesive ecosystem across VIVE products, designing immersive home experiences and shaping user interactions for spatial computing. The foundations grew over six years, expanding from consumer to enterprise in XR.
DESIGN LEADERSHIP
Transitions to full design authority
Co-creation partner (2019) — VRS 1.0
My Taiwan team co-created the system with Creative Labs North America for the VIVE Cosmos launch, then extended VRS to the SteamVR platform and optimized the experience for Mobile VR.
Strategic ownership (2021) — VRS 2.0
As VRS 2.0 moved the platform from PCVR to standalone AIO with VIVE Focus 3, I owned the OOBE framework across all product entries, presented UX proposals to executives, drove a flexible architecture serving both enterprise and consumer features, and completed the design-to-production cycle in 90 days for the VIVE Flow launch.
Full design authority (2023) — VRS 3.0
I led my team to restructure the design-system architecture, introduce MR/AR transitions and system behaviors, and deliver a coherent experience across platforms.
KEY DESIGN DECISIONS
The evolution of the system
Establishing the spatial immersive system paradigm
We evaluated the success of the first release and prioritized the features for Cosmos launch. The start point of user landing was Origin, the minimal space to begin the immersive user journey with discovery. We designed the system menu, Lens, integrated with core features including the VR keyboard that users can summon from anywhere. However, the VRS experience was facing implementation challenges due to hardware and platform constraints after Cosmos. I led the team to create optimized design extensions for SteamVR and AIO devices.
Redesigning the spatial metaphor for enterprise
When HTC pivoted to enterprise focus with VIVE Focus 3, we researched business user needs and redesigned the holistic system for enterprise, including product portals and business features integrations. Foreseeing branding customization needs from potential enterprise partners, I led the team to restructure the design system and implement the color system for custom brand creation.
Leading through constraint — VIVE Flow in 90 days
VIVE Flow launched as an All-in-Two headset for consumer target. Due to only three months to meet the development schedule, the design priorities had to focus tightly on the highest-impact areas — phone as the controller, and the big-screen experience. I led the team to build a mobile-first OOBE experience and extend the design system to the consumer branch.
Unifying the platform and leading the MR transition — VIVE XR Elite, Focus Vision
VIVE XR Elite introduced mixed reality as a primary consumer experience. I directed the cinematic MR opening sequence and built MR features for VR/MR system transitions. The most significant structural contribution was unifying the design system with design tokens handling theme variation and optimizing usability for multimodal interactions globally. That evolution of VRS enabled a new design branch and eye-input models in VIVE Focus Vision.
OUTCOME
The VIVE Reality System Legacy
During six years of product design for VIVE headsets and accessories, we established the VIVE Reality System beyond any individual product. We built the design-system architecture, UI structure, interaction models, and UX platform — and kept evolving the spatial ecosystem from everything we learned across products.