Territory Studio (Prometheus, Guardians of the Galaxy) have released this UI Reel showcasing their recent work on Jupiter Ascending.

There's also an insightful interview with Territory's Founder and Creative Director, David Sheldon Hicks, over at The Creators Project.

Overall the UI feels very elegant. There's a good mix of structure and organic elements. As a result the design looks sophisticated, and only slightly technical, as necessary to navigate through space, but also very natural and pleasing to look at.

This has much to do with the key element in the designs, which are these vibrant, flowing isometric lines that are said to be inspired by weather maps. As with weather maps, I love how the movement and arrangement of these lines are able to communicate how invisible forces are moving. This obviously fits in perfectly with the task of visualising cloaked spaceships and wormholes. As with topography, it's fascinating how people can get so much information from just the formation of a series of lines. It's a really unique (and visually appealing) way of communicating data. Not only is it visually appealing, but it could actually be a more efficient way of consuming spatial information than a set of data readouts.

What was also interesting about this project was that the visuals were projected onto the glass panels within the set, rather than integrated during post-production. This has become more common nowadays, with company's like Compuhire, who worked on this project. This allowed the UI design to be incorporated into the set in real time, and adjusted on the fly. As a result, the director has more control over the whole shot, and have the consideration for the UI within the context of the shot, rather than afterwards. Oooii also made use of interactive playback graphics for Star Trek and Star Trek: Into Darkness.

Check it out!

Check out the Jupiter Ascending UI on Territory Studio's site

Check out the interview with David Sheldon Hicks over at The Creators Project