Virtual Reality (VR) technology has emerged as a powerful tool in design education, offering immersive environments and interactive features that enhance creativity and learning outcomes. Despite its potential, the integration of VR in design education remains underexplored, particularly in understanding students’ preferences and acceptance across different design phases. To address these problems, this study employs a mixed-methods approach, including workshop, semi-structured interviews and online surveys, to investigate design students’ usage patterns and acceptance of VR technology throughout the Double Diamond Design Process. Findings reveal that VR is highly effective in divergent design stages like problem discovery and ideation but faces challenges in convergent stages due to limited precision and functionality. In addition, key influencing factors such as presence, perceived interactivity, VR self-efficacy, and situated learning were analyzed to understand their impact on VR adoption. These insights contribute to a deeper understanding of VR’s role in design education and provide practical recommendations for optimizing VR tools to better align with students’ needs and the demands of design workflows.