Computer interfaces in the real world are, generally, frustrating, boring, and at best functional. No one has great joy in using Google Chrome, and everyone is always mad at whatever update Twitter is rolling out. But in sci-fi? In science fiction, user interfaces aren’t just useful. They’re the coolest shit imaginable.
It’s a slow day today, so let’s indulge in one of my favorite hobbies: admiring the amazing user interfaces designers, animators, and CG artists come up with for science fiction properties. Fortunately, there are some fantastic resources online dedicated to archiving and showcasing these often-overlooked bits of design.
For instance, Kit FUI (FUI stands for Fictional Universe Interfaces), though it seems to not have updated since 2015 or so, has an extensive archive of UI design from movies, TV shows, and video games.
From Kit FUI, I really love these computer screens from Caprica. They have a ‘90s-core TV sci-fi vibe, and actually look a little bit functional, which is always a nice touch.
Another delightful archive comes from the internet’s home of incredibly specific image archives, tumblr. Science Fiction Interfaces, which also hasn’t been updated in a good long while, run by nnkd, has some incredibly high-resolution images of interfaces from all sorts of things.
I’m especially partial to these from Halo Wars 2. Halo has great designs for its ships and general world, and this UI work by GMUNK and Toros Köse absolutely does it justice.
But the absolute best resource for sci-fi interfaces I’ve found online is this, a blog post published in 2015 by Luis Landero, full of .gifs of UIs from Neon Genesis Evangelion. Friends? Evangelion had some of the best interfaces of all time.
Just look at this.
This is so good my AT field is dissolving. I am at peace.