Brief 7 - Peak Chocolate Day Brief - Brief

In order to maintain and practice skills in more traditional graphic design (i.e. not related to user interface design), create some concept designs for a minimalist piece of chocolate packaging. Take major inspiration from modernist, Scandinavian graphic design and architecture. 

Many user interface designers have a background in computer science or psychology, so having and maintaining a background and skillset in graphic design helps give me an advantage in industry; particularly given my personal mission and mindset is that every user interface can be made exciting without compromising on usability. 

Brief 6 - Sci-Fi FUI - Design Boards

Brief 6 - Sci-Fi FUI - Conclusion

Conclusion 

This project allowed for a new design trajectory to take place - a brief departure from a constant obsession with usability and brand alignment, and the creation of a product which only had one priority: looking appropriate and exciting enough to be a digital part of the set of a sci-film. It allowed my portfolio to diversify in order to appeal to the film and game industries, and signal my interest in that category of design. 

Though the final designs are appropriate and considered to be successful by the feedback groups they were shown to, animation would've greatly enhanced the designs by adding the excitement and realness of motion. For similar projects in the future, it would certainly be worth collaborating with an animator or motion graphics expert.

Brief 6 - Sci-FI FUI - In-Situ Mockups

Showing the product in the context or environment it would actually be displayed in allows for an assessment of its suitability and, for the sake of my portfolio, allows the viewer to more easily understand its purpose. 

Brief 6 - Sci-Fi FUI - Other Screens and Animation

I collaborated with another designer on the course for a brief moment just to bring a subtle level of motion to the FUI. With the development of more motion skills, or a longer-term collaboration, much more ambitious and exciting motion would be possible. 

Various aspect ratios were experimented with in order to assess the manoeuvrability and flexibility of the designs

Brief 6 - Sci-Fi FUI - Feedback

Negative/Improvement Feedback 

Needs context to appreciate what exactly it is (Fix: provide in-situ mockups) 

Animation would add a lot of life and realism to the design (Fix: develop motion skills in future + include limited animation for now) 

Positive Feedback 

Interesting and unique appearance (and project) because people don't often stop to appreciate FUIs 

Looks appropriate for the medium (sci-fi film) and excites those who are interested in sci-fi and games (key target audience)

Understanding the purpose of the interfaces is easy even if minor details are not meant to be understood (minimal screen time doesn't allow it) 

Looks fun! 

Brief 6 - Sci-Fi FUI - Design Development

Grids are often found in FUI design - they help create a more technical, detailed and intense appearance 

Colour can help create hierarchies and redundancy, and increase usability and urgency. But single-colour themes tend to be more common in the FUI industry. 
 

Type experiments - alternating between the crisp and modernist appearance of Helvetica and the more retro-futuristic, technical Sevastopol. Both are appropriate, just for different scenarios.

Green is often used on retro-futuristic, old-style computer graphics. 

Brief 6 - Sci-Fi FUI - Initial Ideas and Sketching

Sketching 

Sketching allows for a more fluid and unhindered exploration and development of ideas; particularly when lots of visual elements are present (such is the case). It allows for ideas to be more rapidly tested, validated and easily discarded if they don't work, without the expenditure of time necessary when creating a digital design. 

Initial Digital Phase 

The transition to digital allows for detailed elements, layering, colour and type to be applied to the concepts to allow for further visual development. It is here that it becomes clear if the idea will work or not. 

 Development >

As this concept was developed, the colour theme was reduced to fall in-line with the monochromatic research, and the type was made to be super dramatic and legible (but still including unnecessary and repetitive info, in typical FUI fashion). 

Brief 6 - Sci-Fi FUI - Research

User interfaces designed for use in sci-fi (or other forms of fiction), known as Fictional User Interfaces, often follow a similar path: they employ dramatic visuals, information overload and monotonous colour themes to convey an exciting and believable, albeit almost entirely unusable graphical user interface. Many on-screen elements, particularly the omnipresent super-small-scale written information, is duplicated to save time (with the knowledge that no one except other FUI designers will bother freeze-framing and analysing them). 

Fictional user interfaces are uniquely interesting in that, beyond basic believability and context, they don't actually have to be usable. They just need to fit into their environment and look exciting. 

It would make sense for my foray into FUIs to take cue from the monochrome, hyperbolic, super detailed designs I've been exploring. 

Brief 6 - Sci-Fi FUI - Brief

In order to appeal to the video game industry, and studios desirable to me such as Territory (who create [fictional] user interfaces for the AAA film and game industries), I need to diversify my portfolio to represent work that would appeal to that industry. My portfolio in the past has consisted primarily of relatively minimalist, highly usable user interfaces; in fiction, usability is almost irrelevant as aesthetics, context and application take priority.

Brief:

Create a set of fictional user interfaces that could be employed by the film or game industry to create a believable and exciting environment design. Prioritise aesthetics and drama over usability or realism.  

Brief 5 - RINO Live Brief - Design Boards

Brief 5 - RINO Live Brief - Additional Work

I was tasked with layout and colour choices, as well as the creation of particular iconography, for the main backpack-style supply bag. A huge number of slight variations were created during liaison with the client and his advisory team.

Iconography development gradually started to bifurcate in two directions - smooth, and angular. Though angular, hard-edged designs were visually closer to the brand, I advised that smooth-edged ones were employed because of their ease of interpretation. 

These concepts are for a large backpack-style bag that will contain large fabric pouches that can be individually removed and reinserted using velcro. White lines help to visualise where the pouches and flaps will be located.

Colour coding is used to make mission-critical items, such as food and water, immediately identifiable in a tight situation. 

The 'Light' icon was changed to be more akin to a Laser or Beacon, rather than the sun, to add urgency and a stronger visual link.

Amongst other improvements, the item list type was entirely capitalised to increase readability on the back of some consumer feedback, and the iconography was uniformly aligned to the reft rather than being dependant on the size of the pouch. This helped create a more coherent, less cluttered appearance.