HALLOWEEN ON THE UI

Design and Design Direction

Halloween makeover for Sky Glass. I’ve designed many merchandising campaigns and collections for the Sky UI over the years.
Some were spookier than others. If there’s anything I’ve learned from designing them its this: make them fun and playful, impactful and scary. But not too scary. The creative needs to merchandise to many people, young and not so young. Some want to be scared, some spooked; kids might just want a slight scare, just to feel the cozy spooky warmth of Halloween as the fun candy bonanza that it is, no the chills. Make it fun! And make it call out the brand identity. It’s as much a brand exercise as it is a way for people to find their favourite movie on a scary Halloween night. Showing spooky movies on the UI is a blend of a wink and a nod to the brand you’re designing for and a place to help the viewer feel “this is the show I want to watch right now” and follow through.

Picture this: You switch on your Sky Glass TV for a cozy night in, only to be greeted by a friendly but spooky UI which politely suggests “NOPE” in the same friendly tone as your usual, ever-so-chipper interface. That’s the vibe we’re going for – a design that’s spooky but not heart-attack-inducing, fun but never childish, seamlessly blending horror with humor, much like the Halloween movie line-up on offer.

What about channel brands? I think you know the answer! Follow the look and feel but make it sophisticated and immediately accessible. Impact is king. Here for Sky Cinema the brand particles are still enveloping the content and a misty fog surrounds the creative. It creates suspense and intigue but everything is very clear. You know exactly what you’re seeing. You still get the spooky look and feel but you’re not sacrificing the impact of the films in the collection or the channel brand.

Sometimes its just about subtlety. Bringing to focus the Sky spectrum by mildly weaving it into the background colours. Less is more. The focus is on the films and TV shows. The colors are still the rainbow or prism spectrum – from purples and oranges, eerie greens, and midnight blues.

Imagine the home page in a haunted mansion. There’s a digital creak as the “door” swings open, revealing film options for both thrill-seekers and family audiences. Our UI has no cobweb shortages, but no need for fumigators – think elegant spiderweb motifs, not those from your aunt’s attic. For families, there’s a friendly pumpkin guiding them to safe scares, while for adults, a more sinister shadow lingers, nudging them toward the post-watershed lineup. The mansion invites you in, but as you hover over selections, creepy whispers like “Halloween Kills” or “Scream” float up from the dark.

Imagine the interior of a haunted mansion, and your favourite films and TV shows.

Fright Night is the interior of a haunted house, candelabra and skulls for ambience on the mantel of a spooky fireplace.

For Sky Store the lighting could be more theatrical. With overhead spotlights and a mysterious mist. Pre-watershed can show family oriented movies, post-watershed scarier adult fare, characterised in the UI with an orange pumpking coloured finish on the title art. Green and orange always perennial Halloween colours.

The trick to making a Halloween creative for UI merchandising design is a mixture of playfulness, a good dose of spookiness and a nod and a wink to the brand you’re representing. It needs to feel true to the world and the tone of voice. Have fun with it and make sure the creative is simple and impactful.