Aalto University's Virtual Tour

Short answer: Xfiner (formerly Bitfiner), together with TUUR, designed the UX/UI for Aalto University's virtual campus experience so people can explore the university across desktop, mobile, and VR.

Story in short

Aalto University is a community of bold thinkers, where science and art meet technology and business. Founded in 2010 through the merger of three leading Finnish universities, Aalto has become a forerunner in key areas.

In Arts & Design, Aalto University was ranked number 7 in the world in QS Rankings 2020, and later reached number 6 globally.

This is the story behind the creation of a virtual campus experience for this prestigious university.

The challenge

Aalto's campus in Espoo, Finland is known for lush green areas, refreshing nature, architecture, and multifunctional facilities. The university needed a custom 360° virtual campus tour so prospective students, exchange students, and faculty could experience campus atmosphere in an immersive and interactive way from anywhere.

This was especially important for people who could not visit campus due to time, financial, or travel constraints. Because of Aalto University's strong reputation and visual identity, it was essential that the tour reflected and enhanced the brand.

How the project came together

Estonian virtual tour producer TUUR won the tender to deliver the experience and collaborated with Bitfiner's UX/UI team. The collaboration built on strong synergy from earlier projects.

After several months, trips to Finland on tight restrictions, UX/UI iterations, and user tests, the tour was ready to wow audiences on mobile devices, VR headsets, and desktop.

Every detail, from 360° photos and videos to audio, text, intro animation, visual style, graphical elements, and interactions, received careful attention from all project parties.

Recognition and feedback

This project won the European Design Award Silver, Kuldmuna (Golden Egg) design contest Gold (also listed on ADC Europe), and has received great feedback globally.

Standout features include

 
• Custom intro animation in SVG format with deeper meaning
 
• 3D-generated overview map at the start of the tour
 
• 44 spherical 360° panoramas
 
• 3 spherical 360° videos
 
• Information hotspots with support for text, links, videos, and photos
 
• Mini map in the bottom-left corner for current building or area
 
• VR mode for headsets such as Oculus Quest
 
• User interface aligned with Aalto University CVI
 
• Separate UI optimized for smaller mobile devices
 
• Audio guide system for the main tour and each thematic tour
 
• Thematic Tours feature for guided sub-tours within one larger campus tour
 
• Code and structure optimized for future updates, including languages and additional tour content
 
• Detailed custom Google Analytics event tracking

Personal note from the project journey

Going back around 15 years, Lauri, the lead designer of the Aalto University virtual campus tour, could not have imagined designing a virtual campus experience for a prestigious university in Finland after being rejected from a local art and design school in Estonia.

Four years later he graduated with a Bachelor's degree in environmental sciences, worked in sales and marketing, and returned to his creative path in 2016 by founding Bitfiner and learning through trial and error.

Today, together with trusted team members and partners across projects in 20+ countries, this Aalto collaboration stands out as one of the highlights of his career.

Dedication, passion, and perseverance matter. We hope this project inspires designers and future designers who can relate.

Project team

Aalto University virtual tour was created by:

 
• Photography and project lead: Lauri Veerde, TUUR
 
• Client-side project lead: Anastasia McAvennie
 
• Design: Xfiner
 
• Code: Andrey S.

Questions & Answers

What did Xfiner deliver in this project?

Xfiner (formerly Bitfiner) delivered UX/UI design in collaboration with TUUR to shape a virtual campus experience aligned with Aalto University's brand.

What recognition has this project received?

The project received European Design Award Silver and Kuldmuna (Golden Egg) design contest Gold, and has received great feedback globally.

How can users experience the tour?

The tour is designed for desktop, mobile devices, and VR headsets so users can explore the campus across platforms.