Even though the City has been slimmed down in NBA 2K26, vehicles are still in the game, and go-karts are still the fastest way to get around. You only start out with a skateboard in NBA 2K26, but you'll be able to work your way up to a go-kart in no time.

By TREVOR HOGGImages courtesy of Sony Pictures Entertainment.Taking the zombie genre by storm was 28 Days Later,, which was followed by 28 Weeks Later and now a trilogy of new installments starting with 28 Years Later. As humanity moves further way from the initial days of the infection and resorts to more primeval ways, nature has gradually been reclaiming the world. Contributing to the gritty realism sought by filmmaker Danny Boyle was Sam Conway, who worked for his father, Richard Conway, as a special effects technician on the original movie and its sequel. The first one was close to contemporary times, so we did the explosion at the petrol station, states Special Effects Supervisor Sam Conway. But because this one is set 28 years later, that sort of thing doesnt exist anymore. Its all deteriorated, so this became more back to basics, like bows and arrows. The buzz word to describe Danny Boyle is visceral. What Danny was getting at was violent, in-your-face, fast-paced, aggressive, gory and dirty. When you see him pacing the scene before anyone turns up, you can get into his mind. Hes always one step away from shouting and swearing out loud. Danny has that kind of energy about him. Hes a lovely bloke.Every time we turned up on set, sure enough, it would be, Ignore that storyboard. Were going to be doing it this way. Thats challenging in itself because with storyboards you normally look at and go, Ive got a blind spot there. Excellent. But when youve got 14 iPhones on set 360 degrees, you cant hide anywhere. No one can hide! The storyboards got the movie going. We didnt have any previs. There were lots of tests with stand-ins to make sure that we knew what we were doing on the shoot days.Sam Conway, Special Effects SupervisorAs many as 15 iPhone 15 Pro Max cameras were used at one time, meaning that there was nowhere to hide the special effects rigs. (Photo: Miya Mizuno)What has not changed are the Infected, with the disease being transmitted through the blood. Any gory moment will end up with someone becoming infected, Conway remarks. We still have the telltale signs of the transition, which are the eyes going red and the vomit. A partnership ensued with [Co-founder/Visual Effects Supervisor] Adam Goscoyne and Union VFX, which was responsible for the visual effects work. After 28 years, the Infected have lost all of their clothes but are still running around. When they do get taken out by an arrow, you have to hide the device somewhere, and visual effects was perfect for us. There were lots of blood effects. We had remotes for the squibs, and visual effects stepped up for the removal of bits and pieces. It was complex as well. There are almost 360 degrees shots where you cant hide anything. It has to be there. Clean-up after each take was not crucial. Conway notes, The whole place was a mess anyway! We got away with quite a lot of places. You go into an abandoned house and theres mold and muck everywhere. Then youve got the Infected who are covered with feces and all sorts of stuff. When we do a hit, the blood would go everywhere, which was exactly what Danny wanted. You cant do blood elements because they wont land on the surfaces they need to hit.A 60-foot camera crane swung the full length of the water tank during the causeway chase sequence. (Photo: Miya Mizuno)Blood and gore were the primary contributions of the special effects team. Thats why the visceral thing comes back into it, Conway states. It also centers around the infection being blood-oriented. It has to be gory and violent. You bring out the old tricks that you know will work, like syringes, turkey basters, pipes, pressure vessels or balloons. You have to try to work out whats the best application. There are some interesting setups. Also, when youre on a shoot and only have a couple of minutes to rig something up, we spent our time literally coming up with things you place in someones hand and go, All you have to do is stab that person and there will be blood everywhere. When youre out in the elements, you cant have too much that will potentially break or not work, so the simpler the better. The blood was produced by Maekup, established by David Stoneman. David Stoneman is a wizard. If you give him this complicated thing that has to be blood, but also has to go into a river and meet all these regulations, hes the type of bloke whod turn around and say, I can make something work for you. The blood doesnt stain, you could mix it with water and it still looks nice. More blood was used during testing than on set. We would probably go through eight or nine gallons for some of the blood gags, which is expensive, then only use a couple of gallons on set.If you give [David Stoneman] this complicated thing that has to be blood, but also has to go into a river and meet all these regulations, hes the type of bloke whod turn around and say, I can make something work for you. The blood doesnt stain, you could mix it with water and it still looks nice. We would probably go through eight or nine gallons for some of the blood gags, which is expensive, then only use a couple of gallons on set.Sam Conway, Special Effects SupervisorDirector Danny Boyle talks with Aaron Taylor-Johnson surrounded by the wilderness, which is a character in its own right. (Photo: Miya Mizuno)The color of the blood was determined by the previous films. Its still the same type of blood, Conway notes. The only time we played with the color of the blood on these particular films was 28 Weeks Later where they shot day-for-night and wanted to take out purple and add purple in afterwards to make it darker. The blood was pink when we started playing around with that one. Storyboards provided a rough idea for shots. Every time we turned up on set, sure enough, it would be, Ignore that storyboard. Were going to be doing it this way. Thats challenging in itself because with storyboards you normally look at and go, Ive got a blind spot there. Excellent. But when youve got 14 iPhones on set 360 degrees, you cant hide anywhere. No one can hide! The storyboards got the movie going. We didnt have any previs. There were lots of tests with stand-ins to make sure that we knew what we were doing on the shoot days.Stunts, led by Julian Spencer, and special effects enjoyed a good relationship. Ive worked with Julian Spencer for many years, Conway states. Weve cut our teeth on the same jobs. Its always good to work with somebody you know. Were old friends. Stuntvis was important. A number of the weapons were made from whatever they could find. Anytime a new weapon would appear, we would try to work out how to make that into a blood gag or rig. There are lots of ways to kill the Infected or anybody for that matter. When watching the stunt rehearsals, you get a feel for, Theres going to be a lot of blood coming out of that. The makeshift weapons created by the props department had to be modified. Conway explains, We had to lose some of the parts of those weapons, which visual effects would then add back in post simply because to get a blood effect, sometimes those bits got in the way. Theyre so skinny and difficult to do anything with, youre better off losing them and concentrate on the larger parts of the weapons.Given that the Infected are nude, visual effects needed to paint out the squibs placed on their bodies. (Photo: Miya Mizuno)The weapons are makeshift, created from scraps, with bows and arrows prominent. (Photo: Miya Mizuno)Footage was shot with the iPhone 15 Pro Max, which is great at capturing details, especially the particulates in the air. Anthony Dod Mantle [Cinematographer] loves all of that and picking out all these interesting textures in the air, Conway observes. We did quite a lot of atmospherics and water in the air for 28 Years Later, but not so much for 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, which was digital as well, but not iPhones. They were concentrating on the shot while we were adding smoke. I rushed out to get an iPhone 15 Pro Max to make sure I had the same apps that Anthony was using, but I could never work it out because its too much for one person to figure out. I have enough on my plate besides worrying about how the phone works and setting the shutter rate. It was definitely hard. The iPhones still have a big lens coming off it and the dolly, but when they started to put 14 or 15 out on set it was tricky because you didnt know where it was safe.Weather was not a major issue, but the tide did impact principal photography. We were on an island that had a causeway, which is something you could drive across, but its tidal, Conway reveals. When the tide comes in, you cant drive across it, so youre trapped on the island. You had to have a lot of forward thinking and timing with the tide. The low-key production did not spend much time on big gimbals. What we did have was a collapsing building moment. It begins in the attic. To try to sell the fact that the building was going to collapse, I made the whole chimney stack vibrate and had breakaway bricks coming off that and a few tip tanks. It looked like the chimney was going to collapse, and I fired a load of air mortars, dust and bricks to chase them out of the house. 28 Years Later wasnt a massive gimbal film but needed some stuff to sell it.Given that the buildings are dilapidated, there were no worries about having to clean up after each take when it came to blood gags. (Photo: Miya Mizuno)It also centers around the infection being blood-oriented. It has to be gory and violent. You bring out the old tricks that you know will work, like syringes, turkey basters, pipes, pressure vessels or balloons. You have to try to work out whats the best application. When youre on a shoot and only have a couple of minutes to rig something up, we spent our time literally coming up with things you place in someones hand and go, All you have to do is stab that person and there will be blood everywhere. When youre out in the elements, you cant have too much that will potentially break or not work, so the simpler the better.Sam Conway, Special Effects SupervisorThe causeway is pivotal to the story. The art department and construction created a 200-foot-long, 40- to 50-foot-wide tank, which was probably nine inches deep, Conway explains. Theyre getting chased across the causeway as the tide is coming in. We had to make that look like a natural sea with the turbulence and waves in a small tank. It was hard to do. That was done at a big warehouse, which was used as an emergency hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic. It had a lovely flat floor, so they could build a perfectly controlled tank. They wanted to do this shot where they run from one end to the other and a 60-foot camera crane is swinging the full length. That was challenging for everybody and difficult to create atmosphere all the way along the 200 feet. A great takeaway were the arrow hits. The arrow hits were good because we came up with an interesting and safe way of doing things that did not involve tanks and pipes, and literally a balloon and small squib.The Infected still transmit their disease through blood, so the primary contributions of the special effects team were the blood and gore. (Photo: Miya Mizuno)A major story point is the causeway that connects the island to the mainland, which was a combination of location and studio work. (Photo: Miya Mizuno)Dr. Kelson, portrayed by Ralph Fiennes, is attempting to survive a world that has become more primitive. (Photo: Miya Mizuno)There were minimal fire effects, as the Infected are drawn to the flames. (Photo: Miya Mizuno)Weapons were digitally altered to allow for the desired blood gags. (Photo: Miya Mizuno)Atmospherics like smoke were important, and the iPhone 15 Pro Max was great at capturing the particulate in the air. (Photo: Miya Mizuno)Given the poor state of the buildings, they could be as perilous as the Infected. (Photo: Miya Mizuno)Nothing had to be significantly altered when it came to the workflow and methodology. Most of the stuff either came to us in a mold or came to us so we mold it ourselves and make rigs to fit inside, Conway states. There was no 3D printing or scanning involved from our side of things. We didnt have the time for that setup. As soon as the reference was okayed, we molded it and did what needed to be done. Or props would give us the software, and wed bastardize that. In special effects, were forever reinventing things because theres always a better way of doing it. You have to explore ways. We spent a lot of time getting squibs on the heads working safely and came up with a nice way of doing it. It involves a couple of plates, a few magnets and a couple of party balloons. Thats as far as Im going to go with that one!Watch a fascinating behind-the-scenes featurette on the making of 28 Years Later with director Danny Boyle and Cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle. Click here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXZiTCup1kE

This past week players snuck through Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater and shared memorable moments using #PSshare #PSBlog. Here are this weeks highlights:Michael_Jambor shares a detailed close-up of Snakes faceAreeLyBadPun shares a faceoff with a crocodilegeorgie_1986_ shares a sharp-looking scientistcrisg_art shares Snake ready for the huntmungui_zero shares tactical tree actionTakaSanGames shares a delicious mealSearch #PSshare #PSBlog on Twitter or Instagram to see more entries to this weeks theme, or be inspired by other great games featuring Photo Mode. As for next weekShare of the Week will be taking a short break! Check back in a few weeks when we focus our lens on Fall games.

Sometimes, you just want something comforting and familiar. Thats as true for video games as it is for mac n cheese and chicken soup. But when youre an accomplished game developer like Final Fantasy Tactics remake director Kazutoyo Maehiro, you love the deep cuts as much as the tried-and-true classics.

Having covered the developmental history and legacy of TV in Part 1, lets now delve into more practical matters. As a quick reminder, the 10-foot experience and its reliance on the six core buttons of any remote form the basis of our efforts, and as youll see, most principles outlined simply reinforce the unshakeable foundations.In this article, well sift through the systems, account for layout constraints, and distill the guidelines to understand the essence of TV interfaces. Once weve collected all the main ingredients, well see what we can do to elevate these inherently simplistic experiences.Lets dig in, and lets get practical!The SystemsWhen it comes to hardware, TVs and set-top boxes are usually a few generations behind phones and computers. Their components are made to run lightweight systems optimised for viewing, energy efficiency, and longevity. Yet even within these constraints, different platforms offer varying performance profiles, conventions, and price points.Some notable platforms/systems of today are:Roku, the most affordable and popular, but severely bottlenecked by weak hardware. WebOS, most common on LG devices, relies on web standards and runs well on modest hardware.Android TV, considered very flexible and customisable, but relatively demanding hardware-wise.Amazon Fire, based on Android but with a separate ecosystem. It offers great smooth performance, but is slightly more limited than stock Android.tvOS, by Apple, offering a high-end experience followed by a high-end price with extremely low customizability.Despite their differences, all of the platforms above share something in common, and by now youve probably guessed that it has to do with the remote. Lets take a closer look:If these remotes were stripped down to just the D-pad, OK, and BACK buttons, they would still be capable of successfully navigating any TV interface. It is this shared control scheme that allows for the agnostic approach of this article with broadly applicable guidelines, regardless of the manufacturer. Having already discussed the TV remote in detail in Part 1, lets turn to the second part of the equation: the TV screen, its layout, and the fundamental building blocks of TV-bound experiences.TV Design FundamentalsThe ScreenWith almost one hundred years of legacy, TV has accumulated quite some baggage. One recurring topic in modern articles on TV design is the concept of overscan a legacy concept from the era of cathode ray tube (CRT) screens. Back then, the lack of standards in production meant that television sets would often crop the projected image at its edges. To address this inconsistency, broadcasters created guidelines to keep important content from being cut off.While overscan gets mentioned occasionally, we should call it what it really is a thing of the past. Modern panels display content with greater precision, making thinking in terms of title and action safe areas rather archaic. Today, we can simply consider the margins and get the same results.Google calls for a 5% margin layout and Apple advises a 60-point margin top and bottom, and 80 points on the sides in their Layout guidelines. The standard is not exactly clear, but the takeaway is simple: leave some breathing room between screen edge and content, like you would in any thoughtful layout.Having left some baggage behind, we can start considering what to put within and outside the defined bounds.The LayoutConsidering the device is made for content consumption, streaming apps such as Netflix naturally come to mind. Broadly speaking, all these interfaces share a common layout structure where a vast collection of content is laid out in a simple grid.These horizontally scrolling groups (sometimes referred to as shelves) resemble rows of a bookcase. Typically, theyll contain dozens of items that dont fit into the initial fold, so well make sure the last visible item peeks from the edge, subtly indicating to the viewer theres more content available if they continue scrolling.If we were to define a standard 12-column layout grid, with a 2-column-wide item, wed end up with something like this:As you can see, the last item falls outside the safe zone. Tip: A useful trick I discovered when designing TV interfaces was to utilise an odd number of columns. This allows the last item to fall within the defined margins and be more prominent while having little effect on the entire layout. Weve concluded that overscan is not a prominent issue these days, yet an additional column in the layout helps completely circumvent it. Food for thought!TypographyTV design requires us to practice restraint, and this becomes very apparent when working with type. All good typography practices apply to TV design too, but Id like to point out two specific takeaways.First, accounting for the distance, everything (including type) needs to scale up. Where 1618px might suffice for web baseline text, 24px should be your starting point on TV, with the rest of the scale increasing proportionally. Typography can become especially tricky in 10-ft experiences. When in doubt, go larger. Molly Lafferty (Marvel Blog)With that in mind, the second piece of advice would be to start with a small 56 size scale and adjust if necessary. The simplicity of a TV experience can, and should, be reflected in the typography itself, and while small, such a scale will do all the heavy lifting if set correctly.What you see in the example above is a scale I reduced from Google and Apple guidelines, with a few size adjustments. Simple as it is, this scale served me well for years, and I have no doubt it could do the same for you.FreebieIf youd like to use my basic reduced type scale Figma design file for kicking off your own TV project, feel free to do so! ColorImagine watching TV at night with the device being the only source of light in the room. You open up the app drawer and select a new streaming app; it loads into a pretty splash screen, and bam! a bright interface opens up, which, amplified by the dark surroundings, blinds you for a fraction of a second. That right there is our main consideration when using color on TV.Built for cinematic experiences and often used in dimly lit environments, TVs lend themselves perfectly to darker and more subdued interfaces. Bright colours, especially pure white (#ffffff), will translate to maximum luminance and may be straining on the eyes. As a general principle, you should rely on a more muted color palette. Slightly tinting brighter elements with your brand color, or undertones of yellow to imitate natural light, will produce less visually unsettling results.Finally, without a pointer or touch capabilities, its crucial to clearly highlight interactive elements. While using bright colors as backdrops may be overwhelming, using them sparingly to highlight element states in a highly contrasting way will work perfectly.A focus state is the underlying principle of TV navigation. Most commonly, it relies on creating high contrast between the focused and unfocused elements. (Large preview)This highlighting of UI elements is what TV leans on heavily and it is what well discuss next.FocusIn Part 1, we have covered how interacting through a remote implies a certain detachment from the interface, mandating reliance on a focus state to carry the burden of TV interaction. This is done by visually accenting elements to anchor the users eyes and map any subsequent movement within the interface.If you have ever written HTML/CSS, you might recall the use of the :focus CSS pseudo-class. While its primarily an accessibility feature on the web, its the core of interaction on TV, with more flexibility added in the form of two additional directions thanks to a dedicated D-pad.Focus StylesThere are a few standard ways to style a focus state. Firstly, theres scaling enlarging the focused element, which creates the illusion of depth by moving it closer to the viewer.Example of scaling elements on focus. This is especially common in cases where only images are used for focusable elements. (Large preview)Another common approach is to invert background and text colors.Color inversion on focus, common for highlighting cards. (Large preview)Finally, a border may be added around the highlighted element.Example of border highlights on focus. (Large preview)These styles, used independently or in various combinations, appear in all TV interfaces. While execution may be constrained by the specific system, the purpose remains the same: clear and intuitive feedback, even from across the room.The three basic styles can be combined to produce more focus state variants. (Large preview)Having set the foundations of interaction, layout, and movement, we can start building on top of them. The next chapter will cover the most common elements of a TV interface, their variations, and a few tips and tricks for button-bound navigation.Common TV UI ComponentsNowadays, the core user journey on television revolves around browsing (or searching through) a content library, selecting an item, and opening a dedicated screen to watch or listen.This translates into a few fundamental screens:Library (or Home) for content browsing,Search for specific queries, andA player screen focused on content playback.These screens are built with a handful of components optimized for the 10-foot experience, and while they are often found on other platforms too, its worth examining how they differ on TV.MenusAppearing as a horizontal bar along the top edge of the screen, or as a vertical sidebar, the menu helps move between the different screens of an app. While its orientation mostly depends on the specific system, it does seem TV favors the side menu a bit more.Both menu types share a common issue: the farther the user navigates away from the menu (vertically, toward the bottom for top-bars; and horizontally, toward the right for sidebars), the more button presses are required to get back to it. Fortunately, usually a Back button shortcut is added to allow for immediate menu focus, which greatly improves usability.16:9 posters abide by the same principles but with a horizontal orientation. They are often paired with text labels, which effectively turn them into cards, commonly seen on platforms like YouTube. In the absence of dedicated poster art, they show stills or playback from the videos, matching the aspect ratio of the media itself.1:1 posters are often found in music apps like Spotify, their shape reminiscent of album art and vinyl sleeves. These squares often get used in other instances, like representing channel links or profile tiles, giving more visual variety to the interface.All of the above can co-exist within a single app, allowing for richer interfaces and breaking up otherwise uniform content libraries. And speaking of breaking up content, lets see what we can do with spotlights!SpotlightsTypically taking up the entire width of the screen, these eye-catching components will highlight a new feature or a promoted piece of media. In a sea of uniform shelves, they can be placed strategically to introduce aesthetic diversity and disrupt the monotony.A spotlight can be a focusable element by itself, or it could expose several actions thanks to its generous space. In my ventures into TV design, I relied on a few different spotlight sizes, which allowed me to place multiples into a single row, all with the purpose of highlighting different aspects of the app, without breaking the form to which viewers were used.Posters, cards, and spotlights shape the bulk of the visual experience and content presentation, but viewers still need a way to find specific titles. Lets see how search and input are handled on TV.Search And Entering TextManually browsing through content libraries can yield results, but having the ability to search will speed things up though not without some hiccups.TVs allow for text input in the form of on-screen keyboards, similar to the ones found in modern smartphones. However, inputting text with a remote control is quite inefficient given the restrictiveness of its control scheme. For example, typing hey there on a mobile keyboard requires 9 keystrokes, but about 38 on a TV (!) due to the movement between characters and their selection. Typing with a D-pad may be an arduous task, but at the same time, having the ability to search is unquestionably useful.Luckily for us, keyboards are accounted for in all systems and usually come in two varieties. Weve got the grid layouts used by most platforms and a horizontal layout in support of the touch-enabled and gesture-based controls on tvOS. Swiping between characters is significantly faster, but this is yet another pattern that can only be enhanced, not replaced.Modernization has made things significantly easier, with search autocomplete suggestions, device pairing, voice controls, and remotes with physical keyboards, but on-screen keyboards will likely remain a necessary fallback for quite a while. And no matter how cumbersome this fallback may be, we as designers need to consider it when building for TV.Players And Progress BarsWhile all the different sections of a TV app serve a purpose, the Player takes center stage. Its where all the roads eventually lead to, and where viewers will spend the most time. Its also one of the rare instances where focus gets lost, allowing for the interface to get out of the way of enjoying a piece of content.Arguably, players are the most complex features of TV apps, compacting all the different functionalities into a single screen. Take YouTube, for example, its player doesnt just handle expected playback controls but also supports content browsing, searching, reading comments, reacting, and navigating to channels, all within a single screen.Compared to YouTube, Netflix offers a very lightweight experience guided by the nature of the app. Still, every player has a basic set of controls, the foundation of which is the progress bar.The progress bar UI element serves as a visual indicator for content duration. During interaction, focus doesnt get placed on the bar itself, but on a movable knob known as the scrubber. It is by moving the scrubber left and right, or stopping it in its tracks, that we can control playback. Another indirect method of invoking the progress bar is with the good old Play and Pause buttons. Rooted in the mechanical era of tape players, the universally understood triangle and two vertical bars are as integral to the TV legacy as the D-pad. No matter how minimalist and sleek the modern player interface may be, these symbols remain a staple of the viewing experience.The presence of a scrubber may also indicate the type of content. Video on demand allows for the full set of playback controls, while live streams (unless DVR is involved) will do away with the scrubber since viewers wont be able to rewind or fast-forward.Earlier iterations of progress bars often came bundled with a set of playback control buttons, but as viewers got used to the tools available, these controls often got consolidated into the progress bar and scrubber themselves.Bringing It All TogetherWith the building blocks out of the box, weve got everything necessary for a basic but functional TV app. Just as the six core buttons make remote navigation possible, the components and principles outlined above help guide purposeful TV design. The more context you bring, the more youll be able to expand and combine these basic principles, creating an experience unique to your needs. Before we wrap things up, Id like to share a few tips and tricks I discovered along the way tips and tricks which I wish I had known from the start. Regardless of how simple or complex your idea may be, these may serve you as useful tools to help add depth, polish, and finesse to any TV experience.Thinking Beyond The BasicsLike any platform, TV has a set of constraints that we abide by when designing. But sometimes these norms are applied without question, making the already limited capabilities feel even more restraining. Below are a handful of less obvious ideas that can help you design more thoughtfully and flexibly for the big screen.Long PressMost modern remotes support press-and-hold gestures as a subtle way to enhance the functionality, especially on remotes with fewer buttons available.For example, holding directional buttons when browsing content speeds up scrolling, while holding Left/Right during playback speeds up timeline seeking. In many apps, a single press of the OK button opens a video, but holding it for longer opens a contextual menu with additional actions.With limited input, context becomes a powerful tool. It not only declutters the interface to allow for more focus on specific tasks, but also enables the same set of buttons to trigger different actions based on the viewers location within an app.Another great example is YouTubes scrubber interaction. Once the scrubber is moved, every other UI element fades. This cleans up the viewers working area, so to speak, narrowing the interface to a single task. In this state and only in this state pressing Up one more time moves away from scrubbing and into browsing by chapter.This is such an elegant example of expanding restraint, and adding more only when necessary. I hope it inspires similar interactions in your TV app designs.Efficient Movement On TVAt its best, every action on TV costs at least one click. Theres no such thing as aimless cursor movement if you want to move, you must press a button. Weve seen how cumbersome it can be inside a keyboard, but theres also something we can learn about efficient movement in these restrained circumstances.Going back to the Homescreen, we can note that vertical and horizontal movement serve two distinct roles. Vertical movement switches between groups, while horizontal movement switches items within these groups. No matter how far youve gone inside a group, a single vertical click will move you into another.Every step on TV costs an action, so we might as well optimize movement. (Large preview)This subtle difference two axes with separate roles is the most efficient way of moving in a TV interface. Reversing the pattern: horizontal to switch groups, and vertical to drill down, will work like a charm as long as you keep the role of each axis well defined.Properly applied in a vertical layout, the principles of optimal movement remain the same. (Large preview)Quietly brilliant and easy to overlook, this pattern powers almost every step of the TV experience. Remember it, and use it well.Thinking Beyond JPGsAfter covering in detail many of the technicalities, lets finish with some visual polish. Most TV interfaces are driven by tightly packed rows of cover and poster art. While often beautifully designed, this type of content and layouts leave little room for visual flair. For years, the flat JPG, with its small file size, has been a go-to format, though contemporary alternatives like WebP are slowly taking its place. Meanwhile, we can rely on the tried and tested PNG to give a bit more shine to our TV interfaces. The simple fact that it supports transparency can help the often-rigid UIs feel more sophisticated. Used strategically and paired with simple focus effects such as background color changes, PNGs can bring subtle moments of delight to the interface. Having a transparent background blends well with surface color changes common in TV interfaces. (Large preview)And dont forget, transparency doesnt have to mean that there shouldn't be any background at all. (Large preview)Moreover, if transformations like scaling and rotating are supported, you can really make those rectangular shapes come alive with layering multiple assets. Combining multiple images along with a background color change can liven up certain sections. (Large preview)As you probably understand by now, these little touches of finesse dont go out of bounds of possibility. They simply find more room to breathe within it. But with such limited capabilities, its best to learn all the different tricks that can help make your TV experiences stand out.Closing ThoughtsRooted in legacy, with a limited control scheme and a rather shallow interface, TV design reminds us to do the best with what we have at our disposal. The restraints I outlined are not meant to induce claustrophobia and make you feel limited in your design choices, but rather to serve you as guides. It is by accepting that fact that we can find freedom and new avenues to explore.This two-part series of articles, just like my experience designing for TV, was not about reinventing the wheel with radical ideas. It was about understanding its nuances and contributing to whats already there with my personal touch.If you find yourself working in this design field, I hope my guide will serve as a warm welcome and will help you do your finest work. And if you have any questions, do leave a comment, and I will do my best to reply and help.Good luck!Further ReadingDesign for TV, by Android DevelopersGreat TV design is all about putting content front and center. It's about creating an interface that's easier to use and navigate, even from a distance. It's about making it easier to find the content you love, and to enjoy it in the best possible quality.TV Guidelines: A quick kick-off on designing for Television Experiences, by Andrea PachecoJust like designing a mobile app, designing a TV application can be a fun and complex thing to do, due to the numerous guidelines and best practices to follow. Below, I have listed the main best practices to keep in mind when designing an app for a 10-foot screen.Designing for Television TV Ui design, by Molly LaffertyWere no longer limited to a remote and cable box to control our TVs; were using Smart TVs, or streaming from set-top boxes like Roku and Apple TV, or using video game consoles like Xbox and PlayStation. And each of these devices allows a user interface thats much more powerful than your old-fashioned on-screen guide.Rethinking User Interface Design for the TV Platform, by Pascal PotvinDesigning for television has become part of the continuum of devices that require a rethink of how we approach user interfaces and user experiences.Typography for TV, by Android DevelopersAs television screens are typically viewed from a distance, interfaces that use larger typography are more legible and comfortable for users. TV Design's default type scale includes contrasting and flexible type styles to support a wide range of use cases.Typography, by Apple Developer docsYour typographic choices can help you display legible text, convey an information hierarchy, communicate important content, and express your brand or style.Color on TV, by Android DevelopersColor on TV design can inspire, set the mood, and even drive users to make decisions. It's a powerful and tangible element that users notice first. As a rich way to connect with a wide audience, it's no wonder color is an important step in crafting a high-quality TV interface.Designing for Television TV UI Design, by Molly Lafferty (Marvel Blog)Today, were no longer limited to a remote and cable box to control our TVs; were using Smart TVs, or streaming from set-top boxes like Roku and Apple TV, or using video game consoles like Xbox and PlayStation. And each of these devices allows a user interface thats much more powerful than your old-fashioned on-screen guide.

Architect and designer Mario Bellini was a titan within the industry, his enduring influence in Italian furniture and design unquantifiable. Receiving the Golden Compass Award eight times, 25 of his works are in the permanent design collection of the MoMA, which dedicated a personal retrospective to him in 1987. The Amanta Sofa, now produced by HAY about 60 years later, marks the first Italian reissue for the brand along with a materiality refresh, the colors are just right for 2025. From the beginning, Mette and I insisted that HAY should be an international brand, not just Danish, says HAY cofounder Rolf Hay. The Italian design of this period has had a huge impact on the way we look at design today. With one-seater, two-seater, three-seater, and four-seater options, this modular lounger, originally designed in 1966, stays mod, in more ways than one.Inspired by the structural logic of the Barcelona Chair by Mies van der Rohe, the modular system is designed around the floating cushions that fit neatly into the provided shell, intuitive and thoughtful. The low-slung silhouette of the Amanta collection was revolutionary for its time, relaxed pitch and supportive, yet plushy seating marking a newer, more laid-back approach to furniture. Modular units spoke to a flexibility in arrangement, the first of its kind to do so.Material interaction is interesting here, a channel running down the back of the sofa, giving the Amanta visual interest wherever it happens to be seen. A plush back invites us to stay, and the impermanence of position allows us to go a respectful and endearing take on seating, one that contemporary designers would do well to note.The color palette speaks to the timelessness of the collection, contrasting accents with upholstery, creating a lovely conversation. Bold, technical, and beautiful, Italian design of this era was highly humanist, a yearning for not necessarily the finer things in life, but the good, lasting ones. A lake blue, emerald green, and blush mauve suggest optimism, ushering in a more expansive notion of what sofas could be. The shell cradles the upholstered portion, holding its vertices partially the softness extends outward, supported by its metal counterparts, both stronger together than apart.Lastly, this refresh doesnt solely exist on the surface HAY dove deep into the materiality of the Amanta Sofa, discarding the metal for 99% post-consumer plastic. Even better, the foam is 94% biomass balance foam, ensuring a plushy yet supportive seat for years to come.To learn more about the Amanta Sofa by Mario Bellini for HAY, please visit hay.com.Photography courtesy of HAY.