Design by Lizz

My role:

UI Designer & Illustrator - Freelance

Timeframe:

2021 - 2022

My Client:

Mirrorscape

My Challenge:

I was tasked with creating engaging UI icons that were reminiscent of hand painted miniatures and the imaginative world of table-top roleplaying games. In addition to UI, I was also to create a treasure trove of illustrated and vector assets to propel a Kickstarter campagin as well as creating a logo that looks to encapsulate magic itself.

Crafting a magical UI

Familiar iconography.

Keeping true to the illustrated history of gaming

When taking such a classic system and bringing it into the world of technology, it’s very important to not lose the elements that tie it to such strong nostalgia. The goal with each of these icons was to emulate the look of a painted miniature (a core recognizable element of this play style), a sight that so many players find familiar.

This was accomplished by:

Utilization of stock examples & textures as a reference and building upon that with a custom art style.

Pulling inspirations from table-top and video game history for imagery created to ensure these icons were familiar.

An easily recognizable logo that helps users visualize their goals.

Using “digital painting” as a tool to encapsulate the hand-painted look while maintaining quality at high resolutions to ensure scalability.

Conjuring a logo that mystifies

A logo that speaks to the genre.

Being a new brand emerging into the augmented reality marketplace, ARcana needed a logo that not only tied back to the familiar tabletop games we know and love but also conveyed the immersion that AR brings to the table.

Elements that were used to accomplish this:

Utilizing “language runes” that echo the lore found in tabletop fantasy games.

3-dimensional shapes that bring the logo to life while maintaining its scalability.

“Battle damage” on the metallic parts of the logo to convey a sense of adventure.

A “mage’s circle” surrounding a d20 to call back to the popular fantasy role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons

Kickstarter assets that convert

Illustrated plug & play elements.

As with all things gaming, in order to get off the ground you need to acquire funding first and foremost. This is where Kickstarter© comes in. In order to have a successful Kickstarter campaign, you need to excite and immerse your potential supporters without having a finished product.

This was accomplished by:

Illustrated “torn” page backgrounds to simulate the reading of a powerful wizard’s scroll.

“Metallic” containers and content frames that shine like armor or treasure.

Drawn map elements that communicate feelings of adventure.

All elements created with the client in mind: Every element was created to be used independently, or linked visually to others in a plug-and-play friendly format to allow endless client customization and independence.

*ARcana’s Kickstarter was funded in less than 8 hours after launch, receiving a grand total of $418,091 and hitting all of their stretch goals

See the ARcana Kickstarter

In conclusion

ARcana fully funded and launched.

ARcana captured the attention and excitement of table-top gamers everywhere. Their AR platform removed barriers like never before: players could connect from all over the world, games could be played without having to purchase costly physical maps or minatures,

My role:

UI Designer & Illustrator - Freelance

My Client:

Mirrorscape

Timeframe:

2021 - 2022

My Challenge:

I was tasked with creating engaging UI icons that were reminiscent of hand painted miniatures and the imaginative world of table-top roleplaying games. In addition to UI, I was also to create a treasure trove of illustrated and vector assets to propel a Kickstarter campagin as well as creating a logo that looks to encapsulate magic itself.

Crafting a magical UI

Familiar iconography.

Keeping true to the illustrated history of gaming

When taking such a classic system and bringing it into the world of technology, it’s very important to not lose the elements that tie it to such strong nostalgia. The goal with each of these icons was to emulate the look of a painted miniature (a core recognizable element of this play style), a sight that so many players find familiar.

This was accomplished by:

Utilization of stock examples & textures as a reference and building upon that with a custom art style.

Pulling inspirations from table-top and video game history for imagery created to ensure these icons were familiar.

An easily recognizable logo that helps users visualize their goals.

Using “digital painting” as a tool to encapsulate the hand-painted look while maintaining quality at high resolutions to ensure scalability.

Conjuring a logo that mystifies

A logo that speaks to the genre.

Being a new brand emerging into the augmented reality marketplace, ARcana needed a logo that not only tied back to the familiar tabletop games we know and love but also conveyed the immersion that AR brings to the table.

Elements that were used to accomplish this:

Utilizing “language runes” that echo the lore found in tabletop fantasy games.

3-dimensional shapes that bring the logo to life while maintaining its scalability.

“Battle damage” on the metallic parts of the logo to convey a sense of adventure.

A “mage’s circle” surrounding a d20 to call back to the popular fantasy role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons

Kickstarter assets that convert

Illustrated plug & play elements.

As with all things gaming, in order to get off the ground you need to acquire funding first and foremost. This is where Kickstarter© comes in. In order to have a successful Kickstarter campaign, you need to excite and immerse your potential supporters without having a finished product.

This was accomplished by:

Illustrated “torn” page backgrounds to simulate the reading of a powerful wizard’s scroll.

“Metallic” containers and text frames that shine like armor or treasure.

Digitally drawn drawn map elements that simulate navigating a roleplaying campaign.

All elements created with the client in mind: Every element was created to be used independently, or linked visually to others in a plug-and-play friendly format to allow endless client customization and independence.

*ARcana’s Kickstarter was funded in less than 8 hours after launch, receiving a grand total of $418,091 and hitting all of their stretch goals

See the ARcana Kickstarter

In conclusion

ARcana fully funded and launched.

ARcana captured the attention and excitement of table-top gamers everywhere. Their AR platform removed barriers like never before: players could connect from all over the world, games could be played without having to purchase costly physical maps or minatures,

Case Studies

Past Work

Creative Art

Recommendations

My role:

UI Designer & Illustrator - Freelance

My Client:

Mirrorscape

Timeframe:

2021 - 2022

My Challenge:

I was tasked with creating engaging UI icons that were reminiscent of hand painted miniatures and the imaginative world of table-top roleplaying games. In addition to UI, I was also to create a treasure trove of illustrated and vector assets to propel a Kickstarter campaign to success. Lastly, my client needed a logo that looked to encapsulate magic itself.

Crafting a magical UI

Familiar iconography.

Keeping true to the illustrated history of gaming

When taking such a classic system and bringing it into the world of technology, it’s very important to not lose the elements that tie it to such strong nostalgia. The goal with each of these icons was to emulate the look of a painted miniature (a core recognizable element of this play style), a sight that so many players find familiar.

This was accomplished by:

Utilization of stock examples & textures as a reference and building upon that with a custom art style.

Pulling inspirations from table-top and video game history for imagery created to ensure these icons were familiar.

An easily recognizable logo that helps users visualize their goals.

Using “digital painting” as a tool to encapsulate the hand-painted look while maintaining quality at high resolutions to ensure scalability.

Conjuring a logo that mystifies

A logo that speaks to the genre.

Being a new brand emerging into the augmented reality marketplace, ARcana needed a logo that not only tied back to the familiar tabletop games we know and love but also conveyed the immersion that AR brings to the table.

Elements that were used to accomplish this:

Utilizing “language runes” that echo the lore found in tabletop fantasy games.

3-dimensional shapes that bring the logo to life while maintaining its scalability.

“Battle damage” on the metallic parts of the logo to convey a sense of adventure.

A “mage’s circle” surrounding a d20 to call back to the popular fantasy role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons

Kickstarter assets that convert

Illustrated plug & play elements.

As with all things gaming, in order to get off the ground you need to acquire funding first and foremost. This is where Kickstarter© comes in. In order to have a successful Kickstarter campaign, you need to excite and immerse your potential supporters without having a finished product.

This was accomplished by:

Illustrated “torn” page backgrounds to simulate the reading of a powerful wizard’s scroll.

“Metallic” containers and content frames that shine like armor or treasure.

Drawn map elements that communicate feelings of adventure.

All elements created with the client in mind: Every element was created to be used independently, or linked visually to others in a plug-and-play friendly format to allow endless client customization and independence.

*ARcana’s Kickstarter was funded in less than 8 hours after launch, receiving a grand total of $418,091 and hitting all of their stretch goals

See the ARcana Kickstarter

In conclusion

ARcana fully funded and launched.

ARcana captured the attention and excitement of table-top gamers everywhere through beautiful imagery and their novel mission. Their AR platform removed barriers like never before: players could connect from all over the world, games could be played without having to purchase costly physical maps or miniatures, and it made table-top gaming more accessible to players of all ability levels.

Mirrorscapes ARcana has released on both the iOS and Android app store under the title “Mirrorscape: 3D RPG Map Maker”