AdVANcing Design: Customizing Spaces for Vanlife

This study examines three modalities for designing live-in van interiors. Participants (N=18) situated within an empty van were asked to explore potential designs using physical cardboard prototyping, a commercial software application (Vanspace 3D) for planning van interiors, and an augmented reality application that we developed. Participants were asked to think aloud as they designed van interiors for fictive journeys using each modality. A qualitative evaluation was conducted to assess how participants' conceptualizations of space shifted across the use of each prototyping method. The results demonstrate that each design method influenced design outcomes due to the physicality of the task. This study highlights the importance of considering the role of physicality in the selection of prototyping modality for the design exploration process.