Using a Figjam board, I started working on a companion app for Shadows and Secrets, a Victorian-era detective game. This app will deepen player immersion with a themed UI that matches the game’s mystery-driven narrative and Victorian-England aesthetic, while allowing players to keep tabs on their story progression.

I started by defining the core goal: to create a simple, intuitive interface that feels like an extension of the game world, like flipping through an old case file or reading a mysterious letter. This was the guiding principle for all my design and interaction decisions.

During competitor research, I strongly reference games like Sherlock Holmes: Crimes & Punishments and apps like The Mass Effect Datapad. These showed how minimal, immersive interfaces can enhance narrative without overwhelming the player. I also try to keep buttons to the left of the screen for accessibility, and noted how UI tone and layout affect player immersion and clarity.

My mood board presents Victorian architecture, parchment textures, ink blotches, calligraphy, and rich muted colour palettes – burnished golds, antique reds, and deep browns. I also explored opposite colour palettes – deep greens and inky, murky blues. The warmer colour palette feels closer to the original concept of parchment, however, the cooler palette feels more mysterious. I decided to stick with the warmer palette in the end. I also gathered style inspiration from Pinterest, referencing historical ephemera to guide flourishes like ornate borders and letterpress-style UI elements.

User personas are for two target groups: mystery game enthusiasts who love lore and detective work, and casual players looking for light narrative interaction. This helped inform my decisions about clarity, thematic consistency, and accessibility.

Overall, this design research phase established a strong conceptual and visual foundation for me. It ensured that every design choice—from colour to layout—enhances not only usability but also the storytelling of Shadows and Secrets.