Case study · Immersive learning

Fashion technology VR initiative

Visitor research on an immersive VR experience about sustainable textiles.

Role: UX researcher (qualitative, applied)
Context: Collaboration with the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University · CITI-certified human-subjects research
Methods: Post-experience surveys, short interviews, observation of live museum interactions
Participants: Museum visitors and students
Shown at: The Ecology of Fashion Symposium; Pedagogy Conference 2025
Video: Walkthrough on Vimeo

Context

The experience takes visitors through where clothes come from: farms, factories and waste. Within a short exhibition window, we needed to learn what was working while visitors were still coming through, across audiences from children to fashion experts.

Live exhibition at the Academy of Natural Sciences.

Approach

I met visitors right after they removed the headset with short QR-code surveys, five-minute interviews and observation notes, then clustered feedback each day and shared patterns with the team before the next round.

QR survey for immediate post-experience feedback.

Finding

Visitors remembered the story, not the facts. Those who felt something could explain sustainability concepts better than those who only read about them.

The team cut back on statistics and strengthened the emotional scenes. In our follow-up surveys, engagement rose by 45% and comprehension by 50%.

Showcased at The Ecology of Fashion Symposium.

Project video

Walkthrough of the Philadelphia Textile Trail VR experience shown at The Ecology of Fashion Symposium.

What stayed with me

Understanding often starts with feeling. The same lesson applies to AI: people engage with systems that connect to their experience, not only their information needs.