Before the user interface of the new PS5 was shown, I decided to create a simple and nice looking (at least in my opinion) version of what the new Home-Screen of the PS5 should look like.
I took a lot of inspiration of modern interface design, such as the square design of tiles, but rounding their corners in order to make them look more modern. The design is very functional as well, including more info on the screen, as well as including button prompts, controller charge indicators, etc.
2 years after my concept design for the PS5 home screen (meaning now after the console and its user interface have been released), I decided to look at the concept again and create a v2 of it, taking into account more modern design trends, as well as my improved skills.
The main idea was to reduce its complexity even more and have it keep a low footprint on screen, making navigation easy for the user.
Compare v1 & v2
Since I made a design concept for a PS5 home screen before, I thought it might be interesting to check out the differences side to side.
Move the slider from left to right to compare v1 and v2.
Goals
Identity
Playstation (Sony) is a strong brand, and has certain values and styles associated with it. Since their soft rebranding during the PS4 era focused a bit more on simplicity, and clean shapes and language, I tried to use these aspects in my designs.
Usability
Users don’t want to be bothered by the user interface of a game console, but rather empowered to play (and sometimes see their achievements, etc.). Because of this, I tried to put the main focus on the games, and adapt this to the background as well, making it seem like the user is already in the game.
Simplicity
The interface should be intriguing, but not overwhelming. The information should be clearly layed out and grouped into sectors, making it easy for users to direct their focus to the section of the screen they are interested in.
Detail Inspection
The selected game/app should be slightly in focus, but not so much that it occludes the rest of the screen and covers important information. The selected game/app also has an additional highlight through the thin white outline with a faint glow effect on it.
This section should work as a quick information panel for the game. The user should be able to see the time played on the game, their trophy progress, as well as their last unlocked trophy.
The background should be dynamically changing according to the selected game/app. It might be a static image only, but more interesting would be a static image with a dynamic element (in this example, snow could be animated falling down slowly). This would make the background a lot more dynamic and a lot less static.
This top left section should be focused solely on the user. First of all, they should be able to see their profile picture and username, as well as get information on their subscription statuses (in this example, the user has subscriptions for both PS Plus and PS Now). Lastly, it should show the controller charging/battery status. For additional users, their icon should be stacked on the right of this section, also showing their controller battery status.
This section should feature some essential functionalities to interact with games, as well as with friends. The user is able to quickly check social updates (i.e., chats) with the left icon, manage their friends and groups with the middle icon, and check their overall trophy progress with the right icon.
When scrolling/moving down on a selected game, it will reveal more game information. The cover of the game should stay at the same horizontal position, and move up slightly vertically. Below the icon, the user should have multiple menu options they can select.
Quick progress information on trophies of the selected game in the form of a progress bar, as well as a quick overview of the unlocked trophies.
Thorough list of the trophies. On top of the list, the user should be able to see the last trophy they unlocked, and below, see a list of all unlocked trophies, with the still locked trophies coming below it.
Quick navigation row (tabs) in order to switch between relevant content categories.
Hot/Featured section, with bigger tiles (2×1) in order to highlight relevant games available for purchase.
Another section of content – in this exmaple games available for preorder. The user will be able to scroll down in order to view more items in this list.
This top left section should be focused solely on the user. First of all, they should be able to see their profile picture and username, as well as get information on their subscription statuses (in this example, the user has subscriptions for both PS Plus and PS Now). Lastly, it should show the controller charging/battery status. For additional users, their icon should be stacked on the right of this section, also showing their controller battery status.
