Short-term stress
Work deadlines, academic pressure, daily frustrations.
Clear
An immersive VR emotional relief experience that helps users reconnect with their emotions through AI interaction, spatial environments, and gentle sensory relaxation.
Mar 2025 – July 2025
My Role: Immersive Scene Designer, 3D Designer, Interaction Designer
Collaboration: Caesar Wu (Project Manager, Programmer), Cheng-Ye, Yang (Programmer)
Virtual Reality
AI User Experience
Storytelling
Blender
Emotional Wellbeing
Invitation from Apple
🍎 The project was invited by Apple to be featured at Today at Apple in December 2025, where I shared my creative process and insights on designing for Clear.
🍎 The team was later invited to attend an Apple press event and was interviewed by 13+ media outlets.
Background
According to the World Health Organization, nearly 1 billion people worldwide are experiencing mental health challenges.
Feeling on the verge of collapse among office workers
42%
Emotional distress hard to express among teenagers
33%
Depressive tendencies among college students
23%
Rising suicide rates among teenagers
18%
Current Limitations of AI Interaction
Lack of sensory relaxation — limited to 2D screens
Interactions are restricted to visual and textual experiences, offering only superficial emotional value.
Confined to the chatbot framework
Most AI systems remain stuck in question-and-answer interactions, lacking personalization and emotional depth.
No visual understanding of emotion
While health apps present endless charts and data, they fail to help users visually step into their own emotions.
Identifying the Opportunity
Interviews with 9 students at National Taiwan University revealed two major types of stress:
Long-term stress
Family conflict, career uncertainty, personal relationships.
“Some participants had tried therapy, but effectiveness often depended on whether they matched well with the therapist.”
AI & VR Product System
User Emotion Input
SPATIAL INTERACTION DESIGN
Technique
SwiftUI
Reality Composer Pro
Blender
Spatial Audio
OpenAI
Apple Health
Design Process
UI design also proved to be quite tricky because, in VR, UI elements that float in the 3D space can easily break the sense of immersion. Apple visionOS still adopts the concept of windows to present information. I carefully considered users’ viewing angles and posture, avoiding placing content too high within their field of vision.
Designing Comfortable Selection Targets
Interactive icon elements should provide a minimum 60 pt target area to ensure they can be selected comfortably and accurately.
For example, consider a mini button (28 pt). Although the visible button appears small, it is surrounded by a 60 pt interactive hit area, making it easy for users to focus on and select with their eyes.
Corner Radius
App Icon
An app icon can contain up to three layers: one Background layer and two Foreground layers (Foreground 1 and Foreground 2).
When the layers are combined, the system automatically applies a glass material effect, adding depth, specular highlights, and shadows. Designers should avoid using large semi-transparent elements, as increased transparency can cause layers to blend with shadows cast by underlying layers, reducing visual clarity.
When a user gazes at a specific app icon, the icon enlarges to provide visual feedback.
Characters Design and 3D Modeling
I created 6 different 3D models of Clear, our AI companion, in Blender, each representing an emotional state. Clear’s color and motion dynamically change based on the user’s daily mood and stress level.
Building the Immersive Environment
After completing the modeling and material setup, we used Apple’s native VR authoring tool, Reality Composer Pro, to build the interactive scene and finally deployed it to Apple Vision Pro.
Demo Video
Outcome
Stress Report
When users open Clear, the AI companion asks how their day has been. Through conversation with Clear and Apple Watch health data analysis, users receive an emotional report that highlights sources of short- and long-term stress. Clear’s color and expressions shift based on the user’s emotional state.
Misty Forest: Immersive Relaxation
After receiving the stress report, users enter the Misty Forest, where they engage in relaxing activities. For instance, pushing away the mist with their hands reveals photos of meaningful memories. The experience encourages new perspectives for users dealing with pressure, and the forest gradually becomes clearer as the fog is gently pushed away.
Daily Relaxation Picks
Based on the user’s emotional state, the app provides personalized daily relaxation recommendations, including meditation, music, journaling, and more. After users complete the wellness activities, the app provides an updated emotional report.
Home Page Interaction Optimization
The initial button design featured colorful, semi-transparent style.
Based on feedback, I switched to white text to ensure clarity while adapting better to varying lighting conditions.
In our second usability test, some users did not realize they could talk to Clear after entering the app. We added a wave diagram that visualizes voice input, making it clear when the system is actively listening.
Future Vision
Integrating Apple Foundation Models to Enhance AI Capabilities
- Provide more comprehensive and personalized stress analysis and coping strategies.
- Process and store data locally on-device to ensure a high level of privacy.
Optimizing Frameworks with visionOS & iOS 26
- Introduce widget features that enable users to access emotional support beyond the app itself.
- Leverage Apple’s latest technologies and system features to refine the user interface design.
Collaborating with Medical & Consulting Partners
- Integrate Apple ResearchKit to improve stress detection algorithms and health analysis capabilities.
- Support users in medical consultations or professional settings by providing more detailed emotional insights and analytical reports.
Present
Through this app, we hope to help users better understand why they may feel emotionally unwell at times. Sometimes, all we need is a space where emotions can be acknowledged and where we can reconnect with ourselves.
Future Vision and Roadmap
We hope Clear can serve as a supportive tool for mental health counseling. Beyond formal therapy sessions, Clear accompanies users in recording their emotions and encourages more people to value mental well-being. For those who are hesitant to seek help, Clear offers a warm presence that helps them find the courage to take the first step.