Aalto University's Virtual Tour

When one of Europe’s most respected universities decided to bring its campus experience online, the assignment was never going to be ordinary.

This was not about stitching together panoramic photos and calling it a virtual tour.

The ambition was far greater.

The goal was to create an immersive digital experience capable of communicating atmosphere, architecture, innovation, and identity to people anywhere in the world.

Together with Estonian virtual tour producer TUUR, Xfiner (formerly Bitfiner) designed the UX/UI for Aalto University’s virtual campus experience across desktop, mobile, and VR platforms.

At the time, Aalto University ranked among the very best in the world for arts and design, reaching #6 globally and #3 in Europe.

The experience needed to reflect that standard in every interaction.

The challenge

Aalto University is known for something difficult to replicate digitally: atmosphere.

The campus in Espoo combines modern Nordic architecture, green outdoor environments, multifunctional spaces, and a culture where science, art, technology, and business intersect naturally.

For prospective students, exchange students, researchers, and faculty members, physically visiting the campus often played a major role in understanding the university itself.

But many people simply could not travel.

Financial limitations, international restrictions, and time constraints created a growing need for a digital alternative that still felt immersive, emotional, and credible.

The university needed more than a functional interface.

It needed a digital campus experience worthy of its global reputation.

Designing an experience, not just a tour

TUUR won the tender to produce the experience and partnered with Xfiner’s UX/UI team to shape the interface and interaction layer.

The project evolved through multiple design iterations, user testing phases, and close collaboration between teams across Estonia and Finland.

Even under tight travel restrictions, the experience continued to be refined until every interaction felt natural across devices.

The final platform was carefully optimized for:

• Desktop users
• Mobile devices
• VR headsets, including Oculus Quest

Every element was treated as part of one connected immersive system:

• 360° photography
• Spherical video environments
• Audio systems
• Interactive navigation
• Motion design
• Information architecture
• Responsive interface behavior

The result feels less like browsing a website and more like stepping into a living campus.

Building immersion through interaction

Several custom features elevated the experience far beyond a traditional virtual tour.

Users could freely explore the campus through:

• 44 spherical 360° panoramas
• 3 spherical 360° videos
• Interactive hotspots supporting text, links, photos, and videos
• A minimap system for orientation
• Thematic guided tours within the larger campus environment

This allowed visitors to either explore independently or follow curated journeys through specific university themes and locations.

Designing for virtual reality

The project also included full VR optimization.

Designing interfaces for virtual reality introduces an entirely different set of UX challenges compared to traditional web experiences.

Interactions needed to remain intuitive while avoiding visual overload, navigation fatigue, and spatial confusion.

The VR experience was carefully refined to ensure users could remain immersed without friction across headset-based navigation environments.

Preserving a globally recognized visual identity

Because Aalto University already possessed a highly respected international visual identity, consistency across the digital experience became critical.

The interface was designed to align closely with the university’s existing CVI while still feeling lightweight, modern, and immersive.

Separate interface optimizations were also developed for smaller mobile devices to maintain strong usability regardless of screen size.

Built for the future

The platform architecture was designed with long-term scalability in mind.

The technical structure allowed future updates, additional languages, and expanded content without requiring the experience to be rebuilt from scratch.

Detailed custom Google Analytics event tracking was also implemented to better understand how users interacted with the experience across devices and environments.

Recognition across Europe

The project received strong international recognition and multiple design awards, including:

• European Design Award Silver
• Kuldmuna Gold
• Recognition through ADC Europe listings

For Xfiner, the project became one of the clearest examples of how thoughtful UX/UI design can transform complex digital systems into something emotional, memorable, and deeply engaging.

A personal milestone behind the project

For Lauri, the lead designer behind the experience, the project carried an unexpected personal meaning.

Roughly 15 years earlier, he had been rejected from a local art and design school in Estonia.

Four years later, after graduating in environmental sciences and working in sales and marketing, he returned to the creative industry through persistence, experimentation, and self-learning. In 2016, Bitfiner was founded.

Years later, designing a virtual campus experience for one of the world’s leading universities in arts and design became one of the defining milestones of that journey.

A reminder that careers are rarely linear, and that persistence often matters more than perfect beginnings.

Project team

The Aalto University virtual campus experience was created through collaboration between multiple specialists and partners.

Core contributors included:

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

The outcome

The final experience allowed users worldwide to explore Aalto University remotely through an immersive digital campus environment functioning across desktop, mobile, and VR platforms.

More importantly, it succeeded in translating the university’s atmosphere, architectural identity, and cultural character into digital form without losing the emotional quality that makes physical campuses memorable in the first place.

Services involved

• UX/UI Design
• 2D/3D Design
• Video Production
• VR Experience Design
• Interactive Experience Design

Related links

For related context, see Talk to us, tuur.ee, adceurope.org, arhiiv.kuldmuna.ee (aalto university), European Design Award Silver, virtualtour.aalto.fi, www.aalto.fi (en), www.aalto.fi (aalto universitys art design now ranked 6th in the world), www.tuur.ee, AI-powered internal tools and automation, ICP-led web design, Xfiner showcase, and Xfiner.