Monday 4th of July, 2016

The national awards recognising excellence in customer centred design, the UXUK Awards, has officially introduced VR as an award category. Reflecting Gartner’s forecast that head-mounted displays will grow by a factor of 10 in 2016.1 Forrester, another leading research firm, made a modest estimate of 52 million units sold over the next 4 years. The technology is continuing to expand mainstream following mass market investments by Google, Microsoft, Samsung, Sony, Oculus Rift, HTC and more. Last week, Sony, Nintendo and Google made further announcements on new research into products for VR, adding to the notion that competition will be fierce in the rapidly growing space.

According to Gartner Research director, Brian Blau “Film producers and sports leagues will augment their traditional content through HMDs (Head Mounted Displays) to enhance their customer experiences by creating interactive attractions, movies, and sporting events that make the content more personal and meaningful”2

“Effective UX design directly correlates to the success of VR technology. Thus it is important to highlight and recognise user-centred design within this area!” UXUK Judge, Jon Dodd (CEO, Bunnyfoot).

The awards officially opened today for submissions. It attracts organisations from all sectors and includes categories:

Best User Experience

Best Entertainment and Leisure

Best Not-For-Profit

Best Public Sector

Best Transactional Experience

Best Effect on Business Ggoals

Best Innovation

Best Student Project

Best Information Experience

Best Education or Learning Experience

Best Virtual Reality / Augmented Reality / Internet of Things

The UXUK Awards has recognised top talent from students to big brands including The BBC, easyJet and NatWest. User Experience, or UX, has become a mainstream remit for all organisations as it consistently and directly converts customer satisfaction and bottom line results at a significant level.

The awards are now running into it’s 4th year. The winners will be announced at the ceremony in central London on the 10th of November. Spaces for the UXUK Awards event are limited and therefore primacy is given to entrants, with those shortlisted being priority attendees. However, non-entrants are welcome to apply for the free tickets to attend.

1, 2 Gartner Press Release, Gartner Says Worldwide Wearable Devices Sales to Grow 18.4 Percent in 2016, http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/3198018