In the aftermath of the epidemic, combining physical and digital encounters strengthens ties.

If you’re anything like me, you spend a lot of your time reading about how far the COVID vaccine has come in terms of development, testing, approval, and distribution. It’s starting to feel like there’s a light at the end of the tunnel for individuals wanting to return to normal, daily experiences, and for people like myself whose job it is to design those experiences. But not right now.

Digital and non-digital experiences have a long road ahead of them, and for reasons, you might not think.

Sure, there will be concerns about safety during in-person events, but it is simply the first (and most essential) worry. Expectations for all experiences have been entirely adjusted across the board. The epidemic not only demonstrated that digital and physical experiences can coexist but also expedited the process. It’s no longer a strategic option to create cohesive, frictionless experiences across all touchpoints; it’s now the requirement.

Individuals are now far more willing to perform things electronically or at home that they previously only did in person. Virtual meals, virtual concerts, online high-end or artistic products shopping, and streaming of recently released box office films are all available. Even virtual travel is available.

People will want to enjoy these things in person and be social after the epidemic, therefore there is now a considerably smaller or non-existent barrier between those normally opposing wants.

Because the lines between those two worlds are blurring, expectations will be sky-high, and experience will need to be strong and consistent, everywhere, at any time, and on any channel. Therefore, businesses that offer high flexibility in terms of where and how you interact with them will gain audiences.

In the year 2020, gorgeous and Snap Kitchen set out to revolutionize and modernize the direct-to-consumer health food firm. Handsome and Snap Kitchen.

Beyond digital platforms, the push for flexibility in experience design is already well started in a variety of industries. Several restaurants have altered their business strategies to offer dining packages, allowing customers to prepare their favorite meals at home. Snap Kitchen, another meal delivery business, has started selling “big” meal packages to accommodate complete families rather than single people.

My firm, gorgeous, worked with them to rebrand for this new world and improve their e-commerce experience, leveraging this family-friendly lodging to strengthen their relationship with their customers outside of traditional digital channels and develop a presence in their homes.

Virtual reality is another fantastic tool, allowing a plethora of businesses to offer experiences with limitless customization options. Because remote work will continue to grow in popularity, solutions like Spatial, which allows you to build a 3D avatar and collaborate with your team in a virtual workspace from anywhere in the globe, will become more popular.

We’ve purchased Oculus Quest 2s for the entire firm for this purpose, and it’ll be welcomed by businesses and audiences. Given its low price point and low barrier to entry for developers.

When the pandemic is over, people will be social, but they will want to have the same experiences at home. They’ll want their experiences, whether online or offline, to be intuitive, easy, and human after a difficult year. Taking into consideration how the pandemic has altered even their most basic business, social, and emotional demands.

It’s up to the companies and designers that develop these experiences to understand what people are going through and design experiences that can help meet those needs, resulting in a brighter future for all.