How to support emerging practical activities and realize the construction of meaning through cutting-edge interactive technologies represented by extended reality is one of the important issues currently faced by the design discipline. The work aims to study the virtual experience design and put forward research problems to lay the foundation for subsequent design theory innovation and practice. Theoretical research was conducted with the design theory as the main guide, integrating multidisciplinary knowledge such as philosophy, human-computer interaction, and social psychology. The concept and characteristics of virtual experience design under the background of extended reality were proposed, and the framework of virtual experience design research was constructed to analyze breakthrough points and applications. The concept of virtual experience design is expressed in the virtual-reality continuum model of virtual experience, which has two meanings:individual and social groups. By sorting out the design theories related to experience, the characteristics of virtual experience design such as time and space reconstruction, sociality, and breakthroughs in design research perspectives are summarized. The research framework of virtual experience design is constructed from three aspects:design practice objects, design methods, and design values. Based on this, the breakthrough points of design problems are proposed, including spatialized design practice objects and interactive technologies, design research methods for experience reconstruction, and design values for social connection themes. Innovative views are proposed in the research of design methods, design themes, and values, providing a reference for the systematic and in-depth study of virtual experience design.