How to design immersive experiences - case The Magical Forest
Heininen, Minka (2025)
2025
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2025052113920
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2025052113920
Tiivistelmä
This thesis was commissioned to support the development of The Magical Forest, an immersive, mythologically inspired experience rooted in Finnish nature and animism. The work responds to a growing need to better understand how immersive experiences are designed; particularly those that rely not on digital technologies, but on spatial, sensory, emotional, and narrative depth. The aim of this thesis is to explore how immersive experiences can be purposefully and coherently designed, and to provide both a theoretical model and a practical design framework to support future creators of immersive environments.
The study brings together a wide body of research from the fields of experiences, immersive experiences, and storytelling. The theoretical foundation is built around a five-layer model that integrates core concepts from business as theatre, the experiencescape, experience elements, immersion elements, and storytelling. This model is then translated into a five-phase design framework guiding the creation of immersive experiences, from framing the experience to embedding storytelling.
The research followed a qualitative case study approach. Nine semi-structured expert interviews were conducted with professionals across disciplines of the thesis. Thematic analysis was guided by the proposed models and used to refine and validate the framework. The thesis also includes contextual analysis of Finnish mythology and the experiential market landscape. These layers inform the concept development of The Magical Forest and ensure cultural, emotional, and narrative relevance.
The results suggest that immersive experiences are created through a careful interplay of physical environment, emotional pacing, symbolic storytelling, and participant agency. The findings show that while immersive experiences are often associated with digital media, analogue, sensory, and mythologically grounded approaches are equally powerful. The thesis makes an original contribution by integrating overlapping and often fragmented areas of research into a unified framework that is conceptually grounded, thematically rich, and practically usable.
The final output includes a practical handbook structured around the five-phase framework and enriched with expert insights, mythological references, and concrete examples. Together, they offer designers, producers, and storytellers a new lens for shaping emotionally resonant and meaningful immersive experiences.
The study brings together a wide body of research from the fields of experiences, immersive experiences, and storytelling. The theoretical foundation is built around a five-layer model that integrates core concepts from business as theatre, the experiencescape, experience elements, immersion elements, and storytelling. This model is then translated into a five-phase design framework guiding the creation of immersive experiences, from framing the experience to embedding storytelling.
The research followed a qualitative case study approach. Nine semi-structured expert interviews were conducted with professionals across disciplines of the thesis. Thematic analysis was guided by the proposed models and used to refine and validate the framework. The thesis also includes contextual analysis of Finnish mythology and the experiential market landscape. These layers inform the concept development of The Magical Forest and ensure cultural, emotional, and narrative relevance.
The results suggest that immersive experiences are created through a careful interplay of physical environment, emotional pacing, symbolic storytelling, and participant agency. The findings show that while immersive experiences are often associated with digital media, analogue, sensory, and mythologically grounded approaches are equally powerful. The thesis makes an original contribution by integrating overlapping and often fragmented areas of research into a unified framework that is conceptually grounded, thematically rich, and practically usable.
The final output includes a practical handbook structured around the five-phase framework and enriched with expert insights, mythological references, and concrete examples. Together, they offer designers, producers, and storytellers a new lens for shaping emotionally resonant and meaningful immersive experiences.