There is a lot of potential for design within mobile games and games in general. Having UI designers as a specific field for games is relatively new. In former years artist would do the visual aesthetics for the UI. Now UI game design is becoming more of a specialized field and companies are scraping the bottom of the barrel trying to find talent for their games.

There are so many gaming companies. A lot fail, but a lot will do quite well. But the opportunity to improve design skills at a gaming company will make you very valuable for the next opportunity.

Okay, so a lot of game UI is ugly.  A lot of gaming companies don’t care about the aesthetic of the UI as long as the UX functions well. Which, I can totally understand. But if a user is pleased visually their experience will improve greatly, making them want to come back. No one wants to stare at ugly graphics.

I didn’t intend to be a UI game designer. It just kind of happened. But the important part was that I was open to the opportunity. Looking at what was required for a game UI designer seemed to fit me well. It just felt and seemed right for more. Sometimes going with that gut instinct really does follow through to be a good choice. For me, it was.

The opportunities I see in game UI design, is the ability to have an affect aesthetically. My goal is a raise the bar higher and higher for game UI. Games can and are beautiful. Sometimes its not always easy to come by, but it’s becoming more respected and understood that it makes the entire game feel as one piece.

Plus the fun part of designing icons, laying out cool animations for menus, and all the other fun and creative things that go into building a game. Game UI should also feel like a game. Everything should be interactive, exciting and leave the player feeling like they are fully emerged in the experience. Game UX and UI should make the player feel like they have control of the flow of navigation. The more a player feels like they own the experience the more they will come back and take more ownership.

Making UX mistakes is always a good way to learn too. Sometimes what I think works doesn’t work for the user. But sometimes all there is go by is by testing! Test, test, test and test some more. I love getting feedback, opinions and trying to solve complicated questions that UX will hold. Then solving that problem and making it look visually pleasing. What awesome challenges that are encountered when being a UI game designer.

So if you’ve ever wondered why game UI? Well, these are some simple reasons.

• Freedom in aesthetics
• Creativity in icon design
• Ability to improve user experience
• Watching a game come to life
• Working with a large team
• Using illustrator as a primary tool
• The freedom and ability to grow as a designer
• The feeling of accomplishment when solving a large problem

Despite my blog being about design and fashion, I also try to merge in my personal life sometimes. Lately I have had a lot of things I want to get on my mental “To Do” list. But haven’t done anything concrete about it. I figure if I write about it, post it online and make myself accountable, it will happen a lot of faster. Plus, it’s always great to have goals. So, here are mine!

• Buy a sewing machine
• Learn how to sew a dress
• Run the SF half Marathon – 13.2 miles
• Focus less on freelance and more on music
• Release my fashion app in the App Store

I used to sew a lot in high school. I would modify my clothes often and miss how relaxing it was. I think its good to have a sewing machine in general, but want to know how to use it for more complicated patterns.

I’m running the SF half marathon in July, I am so excited. Finally a big race that will be a huge check in my list.

I love freelance, I have been fortunate to have great clients. Although I think that it’s  time to focus less on working for others and get some of my own personal things accomplished. I’ll be my own client for once!

My fashion app has been in development for about 3 months now. Still a lot of UI and engineering to be done but it’s nice that it’s finally an actual usable app on a device. There is a lot more to go, but I just need to get it done.

What are your goals for the next 6 months? I think it’s great to set both short and long term goals. It keeps life interesting and makes me even more motivated.

Even though some designs don’t always get pushed to a final project there are always great pieces that can go into my portfolio. Tiny Village did a feature for dinosaurs where each dino is attatched to a certain habitat. So above is a Air, Tundra, Forest and Desert. This was a fun project and I enjoyed spending time to make a lot of icons that were different! The feature is in the game and you should all check it out!

Spring, my favorite time of year. I was tickled to find out that the spring colors were some of my favorites. Pastels of purple, pinks and mint greens. I have quite an extensive purse hobby. During my midnight window shopping on my iPad, I came across these adorable and lovely colored spring bags.

1. Tory Burch - Robinson Mini Satchel | This is such a pretty pink! It’s almost a nude color, which means it  will be very versatile to any wardrobe.

2. Reed Krakoff  - ‘Boxer’ Leather Satchel | Such a happy light lime green. It kind of reminds me of a Birkin shape but not too close. The sweet little belt that goes around it makes it look sophisticated. Great for adding color to your early morning commute bag.

3.  Valentina - Satchel | It’s sad that right now this purse is sold out. Although I am determined to find it somewhere threaded inside the web. The light green almost sage color is so pretty. Although it also comes in a few other colors that really compliment the style of bag well.

4.  Marc Jacobs - Classic Q Baby Aidan | Bowling bag shape, this is a great everyday bag. The color will go with a lot of different outfits and the body strap allows you to swing it over your shoulder or cross body and walk around the city hands free.

Having a speech bubble in your “Know how to do” library is always a good thing. This is a short tutorial to show you some tricks to creating one quick, but not dirty. You’ll end up with a clean and polished vector speech bubble that you can use for a lot of different purposes. Enjoy!

Level: Intermediate

If you have benefited from this tutorial in anyway, please feel to leave a comment! It’s always great to get to know you and also receive feedback.