Gaming UI
2025
UI Design
Digital Design
A personal project exploring the bold, expressive visual language of gaming interfaces. Inspired by Brawl Stars — one of the most visually distinctive mobile games in its category — this piece pushed into a design space rarely seen in portfolio work: loud, confident, and unapologetically fun.
The work centered on three defining qualities of gaming UI: heavy outlines that give every element a graphic, almost illustrated quality; a rich and saturated color palette that demands attention; and custom iconography built from scratch to feel native to the world rather than borrowed from a generic library. Together, these elements created a cohesive system that felt alive and characterful — a deliberate contrast to the clean, restrained interfaces that dominate most design portfolios.
UI Design
Game UI
Iconography
Visual Design
Art Direction
Summary
"Simply put, I wanted a bold and expressive portfolio and wanted to have fun designing it. In the process I learning to love the journey and approach to gaming UI"
[ Extended ]
Simply put, I wanted a bold and expressive portfolio — and I wanted to have fun designing it. Too much of the work I'd seen in design portfolios played it safe: clean grids, neutral palettes, the same handful of type choices. I wanted mine to feel different. To have a personality. To make someone smile before they'd read a single word.
Brawl Stars was the reference that unlocked it. There's a confidence to gaming UI that most digital design avoids — the heavy outlines, the saturated colour, the iconography that feels drawn rather than assembled. It doesn't apologise for taking up space. I wanted to borrow that energy and bring it into a portfolio context.
In the process I fell in love with the approach. Gaming UI has a discipline to it that isn't obvious from the outside — every element has to read instantly, at small sizes, under pressure. That constraint pushed me to design more decisively than I usually would. Clearer shapes. Stronger contrast. Iconography that worked on its own without a label.
It ended up being one of the most enjoyable projects I've worked on, and one of the most useful. Not just as a portfolio piece, but as a reminder that the best design work often starts with giving yourself permission to play.
UI Elements
Project Shot
UI Elements
Project Shots
