Ice Age Life / iOS
A complex world, within reach.
How can a rich simulation remain understandable one decision at a time?
My role: Interface design, implementation & icon art direction
Design decision 1
A complex world, within reach.
Characters, resources and consequences compete for attention. The interface gives the current situation a clear narrative hierarchy.
The design challenge
Keep a systemic world expressive without making every screen feel like a dashboard.
Design decision 2
Reveal the system through choices.
The local map, character and band each answer a different question. Distinct views let detail appear in context.
Group by player intent
Separate places, people and the current moment into recognizable views.
Make hierarchy do the work
Headings and grouped actions give dense information a reading order.
Design decision 3
Many icons. One visual world.
Generated icon assets were directed through a shared style and a rejection process. Cohesion was an art-direction responsibility.
Direct, select, reject
The craft is in defining the visual rules and choosing assets that hold together. These icons were not all hand-drawn.
Next research question
Which symbols are recognizable without reading their labels?
