I can't stress how important this step of the process is. For me as a contributor, for other artists in house, and for any outide resources that are called upon to lend support.
It’s about figuring out the personality of the thing you’re working on. If you don't know what your target looks like, if you don't know what you're aiming for, how can you know if you've hit it? Granted, sometimes the target will evolve or change over the course of a project, but the important thing is to recognize that and adapt.
How does that mood or combination of moods translate into an actual UI?
Well, there’s really no right way to do this. I just start searching the mood boards for colors, textures, design motifs, personality, and good old-fashioned inspiration.
And I keep looking for other inspiration beyond the mood boards, too. I tried to find examples of user interfaces at Disney Parks, signs, posters, graphic design in the parks. And then I started to think of the UI as a wrapper that envelopes the park. So what does Disney do to sort of summarize the park experience outside? What do signs around the parks look like? What do gates and entry ways into the parks look like? What common elements do you start to see? What patterns are there?
You have to start identifying those elements that can be used to create UI art, and for me that usually means starting with a basic modal dialog box.
• Served as the senior UI artist on a large-scale 3D game for Facebook
• Collaborated with UX designer to ensure cohesion between UI visuals and functionality and playability
• Worked closely with engineers to create highly optimized graphic assets
• Created animated Flash prototypes to serve as walk-throughs for various UI features
• Created animated loading screens, transitional elements, and activity indicators
• Produced various virals, ads, and marketing materials
• Worked with other teams across the organization including brand, marketing, and Imagineers to ensure consistency with existing Disney IP as well as an extremely high level of quality
Examples of Disney Dream Kingdom user interface
A huge 3-D Disney park builder that never quite saw the light of day. (Although I like to believe that some part of it was eventually reincarnated as the Disney Magic Kingdoms mobile game.)
Disney Dream Kingdom