Your Shot: Eye Doctors Sent to Space in Iris-Inspired VR Experience

The human iris is as unique as a galaxy, and when photographed in extreme close up it looks pretty similar to outer-space expanses too. Publicis Pixelpark, Hamburg, along with digital agency Demodern, have utilised this finding in a recent virtual reality campaign for Carl Zeiss Meditec, one of the leading providers of intraocular lenses (also known as contact lenses). 

Publicis and Demodern used virtual reality to create a universe of their own, with each galaxy representing a certain iris, meaning the participating doctors were able to explore and immerse themselves in different specifications of ZEISS’s lenses. The experience ran at 34th Congress of the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons in Copenhagen.

LBB’s Addison Capper chatted with Andreas Brunsch, Executive Creative Director at Publicis Pixelpark, Hamburg, to find out more about the task of crafting a universe...

LBB> What inspired you to connect the human eye and an outer-space galaxy?

AB> In research we found out that macrophotographs of human irises have amazing similarities to photographs of galaxies. In addition, the human iris is as unique as galaxies are. On top of that ZEISS also developed the optics of the Hubble space telescope. These were the building blocks for our core idea. We combined real macrophotographs and real images of galaxies into a unique, exploratory universe – the ZEISS IOL Universe.

LBB> Obviously the VR experience is a source of entertainment, but is there an educational side to it too? 

AB> There are various intraocular lenses (short IOLs) in the product portfolio of ZEISS. Each lens is designed for different patient profiles. The doctors have to know which lenses fit to which requirements. Our application showcased the characteristics of the various IOLs in a playful and unseen experience.

LBB> Can you see this form of learning evolving to other sectors in the future?

AB> Absolutely! Virtual reality offers completely new perspectives and possibilities. This technology will revolutionise the way we convey and capture information. And this revolution will happen in many areas. In entertainment as well as in education.

LBB> What kind of research did you have to undertake for this project?

AB> Firstly we had to intensively deal with the product. IOLs are a complex topic and the relevant facts have to be taught in a discipline-specific way. Delivering the rich product data in a playful experience was a big challenge when developing the user journey.

LBB> Where did the experience take place? 

AB> The application was presented at the 34th ESCRS (Congress of the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons) in Copenhagen and has been designed for specialised doctors. 

LBB> What kind of feedback did you get from the people who experienced ZEISS IOL Universe? 

AB> The entire experience was a great success and the feedback was very positive. We sent the doctors on a journey through the universe. The presented eye galaxies were shown in impressive dimensions. For someone who has never experienced virtual reality before, this is an unforgettable experience. We were pretty sure in advance about that. 

LBB> Who did you work with on the production of the VR experience?

AB> We have implemented the project with our friends and partners at Demodern in Hamburg.

LBB> What were the trickiest components when developing this and how did you overcome them? 

AB> A complicated part was to bring the complex information into a coherent and intuitive user journey. Most people are not used to acting in virtual reality. Therefore, the interaction with the application had to be designed as intuitively as possible. In order to achieve the best possible results we tested the function in a test application directly with the target group before going into actual development. In addition, we have made several improvements to the user journey within the development to make the application as intuitive and impressive as possible for our users.

LBB> And how about the most memorable? 

AB> Maybe not the most memorable component... but for me personally, the most memorable moment was when I had the first prototype on my own nose. It was great to see that our idea was just as impressive as we had imagined.  

To be honest... even a bit better.