The Verse
A culturally grounded VR experience at the intersection of design, art, and spatial intelligence
Immersive Brand Space in Virtual Reality
In collaboration with MerciV (New York), I designed the spatial and interaction experience for a multi-level VR world built for Jack Daniel’s. My role covered the entire UX system architecture — from the overall spatial concept to the detailed design and functionality of each level.
I developed the visual direction, narrative structure, and navigation logic of the virtual environment, ensuring a seamless user experience across 3D atmospheres, interactive layers, and brand storytelling components. Each floor was designed to offer a distinct purpose: exploration, storytelling, and gamified engagement.
Key contributions:
• Designed multi-sensory VR interactions aligned with brand values and user psychology
• Built a modular UX system that supported intuitive navigation and spatial orientation
• Created immersive flows that encouraged emotional engagement and freeform discovery
• Contributed to a flagship experience featured in client showcases and immersive brand activations
The result: an interactive, multi-level VR brand space that translated Jack Daniel’s heritage into a narrative-driven, immersive experience — blending architecture, interface, and emotion into a coherent, memorable journey. Check it out here!
"The Verse" was honored across several major international award platforms:
🏆 Shorty Awards (2024) – Finalist in Immersive, plus Bronze Honor in Multicultural Community Engagement 🏆 ANA Multicultural Excellence Awards (2024) – Winner in African American and Experiential Marketing categories 🥈 AAF Los Angeles American Advertising Awards (2024) – Silver Addy in Virtual Reality – Single 🏆 PR Daily Social Media & Digital Awards (2024) – Winner in the Metaverse category 🎖 Webby Awards (2024) – Honoree in Best Experiential Design and Arts, Culture & Events (Upscale Magazine)
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🏆 Shorty Awards (2024) – Finalist in Immersive, plus Bronze Honor in Multicultural Community Engagement 🏆 ANA Multicultural Excellence Awards (2024) – Winner in African American and Experiential Marketing categories 🥈 AAF Los Angeles American Advertising Awards (2024) – Silver Addy in Virtual Reality – Single 🏆 PR Daily Social Media & Digital Awards (2024) – Winner in the Metaverse category 🎖 Webby Awards (2024) – Honoree in Best Experiential Design and Arts, Culture & Events (Upscale Magazine) 〰️
“Luca, our talented concept designer - your creativity knows no bounds. Your insights into design language, shapes, scale, and the overall artistry breathed life into the spaces we envisioned. Every concept brought us closer to the final design that now stands as a testament to your artistry. Thank you for creating our dreams.”
Merging Art, Culture, and Spatial Computing
Beyond its formal and experiential innovation, The Verse also placed strong emphasis on cultural depth and technological experimentation. The VR experience celebrated 50 years of hip-hop, showcasing over 80 works by more than 30 Black and urban artists — including Polo Silk, Marryam Moma, and Tim Okamura.
To ensure authenticity and respectful representation, we worked closely with cultural consultants, curators, and community voices throughout the creative process. Their insights were vital in shaping the tone, narrative, and visual expression of the experience — helping us avoid superficial appropriation and instead foster meaningful, grounded engagement.
The installation featured a galaxy-themed virtual concert by Brooklyn fusion band Phony Ppl, brought to life through one of the first-ever applications of AI-assisted, markerless motion-capture technology in immersive media.
The result was an immersive in which visual systems thinking, UX architecture, spatial orientation, and narrative artistry were fused into a singular, emotionally resonant, and culturally conscious experience.
Where UX Becomes Architecture
This project bridged disciplines rarely combined at this level — merging the structural clarity of UI/UX, the systemic depth of spatial design, and the atmospheric richness of concept art, all within a fully immersive VR environment.
Each level in the multi-floor experience functioned as its own narrative and aesthetic system — with distinct visual language, spatial logic, and interaction rhythm. Nothing was generic. Every surface was intentionally composed to support orientation, encourage exploration, and communicate meaning.
The challenge: choreograph user behavior without UI overlays or instructions. Instead, we used lighting, color, materiality, and architectural flow as a kind of visual syntax. Navigation became ambient. Affordances emerged naturally from form and context. The result was a space users could read, feel, and act within — instinctively.
At the core was a belief that interaction is authored through environment — and that with enough coherence and care, even complex behaviors can feel inevitable.
