At one point humanity had worked towards a common goal, but what they built now tears them apart. Ethos is a future fractured by belief, and in this study I break down how narrative, identity, and design bring that conflict to life.
Focus
UX/UI Design, Motion Graphics
Facilitator
Figma Board
Project challenge
The ambition behind ETHOS was never just to design an interface. It was to build a world around it.
With help from the UI PEEPS Masterclass, I set out not just to finish a game UI but to build a believable, complex system of interfaces with in-game mockups, animations, and branding. UX principles guided every decision and kept the work functional, readable, and honest. That guidance also clarified the first step. Start with context. Before I designed a single screen, I needed to build a world players could believe in. The world would give the design meaning, and the design gave the world credibility.
ETHOS ended up taking shape from familiar influences: the political grit of The Expanse, the tech layers of Star Citizen and Cyberpunk, the haunting iconography of Alien, and the stylized emotion of ’90s anime. From those roots, I shaped three factions, each with its own history, vision, and way of life.
Research / Highlights
You don’t build a world without doing your homework.
As the world of ETHOS grew, I immersed myself in how others built immersion and interaction into other interfaces. Dead Space and The Division showed the power of diegetic overlays. Star Citizen became a reference for HUD complexity, while Cyberpunk balanced strong design with customization. Alien: Isolation grounded futuristic worlds in analog design, and Dino Ignacio’s philosophy reinforced that information should feel like part of the environment, not layered on top.
My research went beyond games. I studied vehicle dashboards, VR headset home screens, and Massimo Vignelli’s approach to wayfinding. Each source reinforced the same insight: clarity doesn’t have to sacrifice complexity. The strongest designs were simple at their core yet rich in aesthetic detail.
To ground those lessons in player perspective, I turned to communities and friends. Forums, conversations, and surveys revealed a consistent theme: players wanted immersion and customization, but never at the cost of usability. Fittingly, that became the ethos of my design choices moving forward.
Design And UX solutions
To design the journey, I had to design the systems.
With the story and aesthetics defined, I turned to the systems that would carry players through the world. I mapped the experience with mind maps and flow charts, outlining how players would move through the FTUE (First Time User Experience), faction selection, character creation, and the HUD. This sequence mirrored a first-time player’s journey: introduction, identity, immersion, and finally a living interface in-game. I designed the FTUE first, knowing its foundations would somewhat shape everything that followed.
Once this was locked in, I moved into wireframing. ETHOS was always envisioned as a PC-first title, so I designed with desktop in mind. Most of the work lived in Figma at this phase, but I also would make sketches on paper to support the direction for many of my future designs. This ended up helping me anticipate the challenge of balancing lore, mechanics, and clarity before committing to digital layouts.
Invested into my ideas
V.E.L.A. // Connected. Wherever You Begin.
In ETHOS, technology defines survival. The UI needed to feel like part of a system, not a layer. That system became V.E.L.A (Virtual Engagement Link Architecture), shaped by factions over time. Framing the UI as an OS let the story come through without explanation. It made it feel like a piece of history and helped drive the lore.
Diegetic design pushed that further. HUD entry screens pull from Iron Man and Terminator, echoing AR overlays and boot sequences. Even when it breaks from that, the intent holds. It should feel like it belongs in the world.
The “Big Reveal”
ETHOS continues to shape the way I think about design as a whole.
This project proved to me that building a believable interface and building a world are often inseparable. By grounding UI in lore and making interaction part of the narrative, I created something that felt more like a living system than a collection of screens.
What I enjoyed most about this project was pushing into new territory. I taught myself parts of Unreal Engine with MetaHuman, explored deeper motion work in Adobe After Effects where Figma fell short, and even prototyped environments with 3D assets to test immersion in real time. Each step stretched my skillset and pushed me to think about UX not just as usability, but as storytelling.
ETHOS remains unfinished by design. It’s a world I’ll continue to expand, refine, and challenge myself with. And I guess that’s the point: it’s not just a case study, but a reminder that the best design work doesn’t stop at function. It shapes belief. Who knows…maybe one day it could become a reality. Until then, I’ll happily continue to build this world!
Resources:
Unreal Engine / MetaHuman
Polycam
Blender
Adobe PS / AI / After Effects / Premiere
Figma