Immersion is a state of being in which mental focus is so intense that the individual loses a sense of reality; examples of immersive activities include playing games and reading. Working on tasks can also be immersive, resulting in feelings of joy or/and satisfaction. Immersion occurs when perceptual and cognitive systems are challenged just enough to align with capacity (people become bored when these systems are not challenged enough, but get frustrated when they are challenged too much). To incorporate immersion in activities and environment requires people’s participation over time. To achieve immersion, it is important to provide the right balance of control, stimuli, and distraction from the real world.
Source: Universal Principles of Design: Immersion
Example 1 (original source) – Universal Principles of Design: Immersion
Example 2 (online source) – Welcome to Pandora, avatars are included
Example 3 (real life) – The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Universal Studios Hollywood
I think your examples do an excellent job of communicating the strategy of immersion. Creating the all-inclusive experiences that make a person feel like they are part of the actual world is complex and the best examples of this are spaces like theme parks that allow designers to create an entire world for the people attending their space. In contemplating this concept, other obvious examples come to mind such as Disneyland or the Studio Ghibli Museum, but another interesting, less obvious example I can think of is The Last Bookstore in Los Angeles. The whimsical book sculptures, tunnels and displays, books wall to wall and ceiling to floor, books displayed as art and books forming the counters and shelves, creates an immersion experience for people who take a trip there. It feels almost like a sort of theme park or museum rather than just a book store because of the way that the space has been used and created to form the experience. http://lastbookstorela.com/
Great point Mia. The Last Bookstore in Los Angeles is a great example of less obvious Immersion. I love that book store, and I do lose a sense of the real world while I am there. Another less obvious type of immersion happens while reading an interesting novel. When you’re very into it, you start having specific pictures/scenery painted in your mind, and developing the idea of character’s voice, etc.. Other people can’t experience this, but what happens in your mind can be an Immersion.