For decades, user experience (UX) has been synonymous with the layer of monitors, laptops, tablets, and smartphones. However, technological advancements have taken UX beyond those limits. Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), and Spatial Computing are opening up a new era where interactions are no longer limited to touch and click, but rather involve space, movement, sound, and physical context. This is the concept of UX Beyond Screen, a digital experience that blends in with the real world. 

Traditional UX operates in two-dimensional (2D) spaces: layouts, buttons, and screen-based navigation. In spatial-based UX, interfaces become three-dimensional (3D) and contextual. Users don’t just “use the app” but experience the system immersively. 

  • Augmented Reality (AR): UX That Blends with the Real World 

AR enriches the real world with a digital layer of text, 3D objects, or animations without eliminating the user’s physical context. 

UX AR Characteristics: 

  • Context-aware: the experience depends on location, objects, and surrounding conditions. 
  • Just-in-time information: information appears when needed. 
  • Low cognitive load: users don’t need to switch focus to another screen. 

Example of application: 

  • AR navigation that visually guides directions 
  • Product visualization before purchase 
  • Interactive instruction guides in industry and education. 

The challenge of UX AR lies in visual clarity, eye comfort, and the relevance of information so as not to interfere with the user’s reality. 

  • Virtual Reality (VR): Immersive UX Without Physical Boundaries 

VR brings users fully into the digital world. UX in VR is no longer just an interface, but an environment. 

UX principles in VR: 

  • Presence: users feel “present” in the virtual world 
  • Natural interaction: body and hand movements replace traditional inputs 
  • Spatial orientation: the design should prevent disorientation and motion sickness. 

Use case utama: 

  • Training and simulation 
  • Immersive education 
  • Therapy and mental health 
  • Entertainment and gaming experiences 

In VR, poor UX is not only confusing but can cause physical discomfort. 

  • Spatial Computing: When Space Becomes an Interface 

Spatial computing combines AR, VR, sensors, and AI to allow computers to understand and interact with physical space. Here, the space itself is the UI. 

Key features of UX spatial computing: 

  • Digital objects have position, size, and depth. 
  • Gesture, gaze, voice, and proximity-based interactions.  
  • Multitasking is no longer limited to a single screen. 

This approach is changing the way we work, learn, and collaborate, for example a virtual workspace where digital screens “float” around the user. 

  • The Future of UX: Invisible, Natural, and Contextual 

The UX Beyond Screen leads to an experience that: 

  • Invisible: the interface doesn’t feel like a “tool” 
  • Natural: interactions resemble everyday human behavior 
  • Contextual: the system understands the situation and needs of the user 

The role of UX designers has also evolved not only to design screens, but to design experiences in space and time.