CurioXR

In-headset view of the Chemistry tablet: mode tabs on the left, bond tools in the center, and a periodic table panel to the right.

Left: “Relative Sizes of Atoms,” a demo video from CurioXR’s YouTube channel showing the in-headset tablet in use.

CurioXR is a Meta Quest app where students learn subjects like chemistry and anatomy by handling 3D models. Most actions start from a tablet that floats in the scene beside that 3D content.

Over one summer I rebuilt the tablet as a reusable system so every subject shared one structure, resized its controls for hand tracking, designed a shortcut button worn on the inside of the wrist, and modeled 3D molecules in Blender for the app.

Role: Product designer (remote)
Team: CurioXR’s engineers and subject experts
Dates: June–August 2023
Status: Completed. CurioXR is listed on the Meta Quest Store.
Tools: Meta Quest (hand tracking), Blender, Photoshop

What I contributed

I designed a shared tab structure and button library for the Chemistry, Anatomy, and Physics tablets; reduced button scale by 20% and increased padding; designed and prototyped the inside-wrist button with its animated audio and visual feedback; and modeled, posed, and rendered 3D molecules in Blender for use in the app.

Constraints

Designing inside a headset changes the rules. Hand-tracked fingers are imprecise, so targets need size and separation; the tablet shares 3D space with the models students are handling; and each new subject added tools without a consistent place to put them.

The earlier tablet put every category (drawing, science, objects, content, celebrations, settings) in one row of icons, with each subject’s tools one level below. The goal was one structure that behaved the same in every subject and kept attention on the 3D content.

Legacy CurioXR tablet: one row of seven category icons with Chemistry, Anatomy, and Eraser buttons below — All categories share one row; subject tools sit underneath.

Redesigned Chemistry tablet with mode tabs on the left, Lewis structure and VSEPR shape groups in the center, and drawing tools on the right — Modes on the left, labeled content groups in the center, tools on the right.

Key decisions

Decision 1
Make the tablet a reusable system
Instead of a single category row, each subject tablet is built from one shared structure and button library: mode tabs down the left, labeled groups of content in the center, and a close button set apart in the corner. Anatomy uses the same frame with Body, Move, and Brain tabs, so moving between subjects doesn’t mean learning a new menu.
Anatomy tablet: wireframe (left) and the built version in the headset (right).
Decision 2
Put a shortcut on the wrist
Some actions shouldn’t require opening the tablet at all. I designed a button on the inside of the wrist that changes color, glows, plays a sound, and animates while its command runs, so the student gets clear confirmation without looking away for long.
Sketch of the inside-wrist button and its feedback states.

A closer look: the Chemistry tablet

Redesigned CurioXR Chemistry tablet — 1Mode tabs switch between full molecules, a basic builder, and molecule shapes.
2Content is grouped under plain headings, such as Lewis Structures and VSEPR Shapes.
3Markup tools — marker, laser, eraser, periodic table — sit in their own column.
4The close button is isolated in the corner, away from content targets.

Process

Each panel started as a pencil wireframe, then became a flat layout, then a built panel in the headset. I also modeled molecules in Blender so the 3D assets matched the interface.

Pencil wireframe of an Environments panel with a grid of scene thumbnails, a floor toggle, and a scroll bar — Pencil wireframe for the Environments panel.

Rendered 3D molecule models in a range of shapes — Molecule shapes I modeled, posed, and rendered in Blender for the app.

Two states of the inside-wrist button: a microphone icon, then a waveform, next to an 'Open Drawing Tablet…' prompt — Wrist button prototype: default state (left) and active state (right), where the icon changes to a waveform while the command runs.

Results

Chemistry and Anatomy tablets now share one clear structure, shown in the demo and headset captures above.
A reusable button library and spacing rules the team could apply to every other panel.
A working inside-wrist shortcut with designed default and active states.

The redesigned Chemistry tablet in CurioXR, with mode tabs, Lewis structure and VSEPR shape groups, and markup tools — The redesigned Chemistry tablet.

Credits

Tablet and wrist-button design, Blender assets: Raúl Falcón
Product, engineering, and content: CurioXR team

CurioXR is a product of its own team; this page covers only my contribution.

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