Good game UI design works best when it is invisible: the player thinks about the game, not the menu. The HUD, inventory and menus are the game's real interface; they must let you read how much health you have left, whether your next ability is ready, or which item you have equipped in less than a second. In this article I walk through the principles of building a readable HUD, a tidy inventory and an intuitive menu layout, using practices proven over and over in playtesting.
The HUD's job: convey information without tiring the eye
The HUD (Heads-Up Display) is the layer the player sees constantly, so it needs the strictest discipline. The core rule: for every element that stays permanently on screen, you must be able to explain why it is there. If you cannot, remove it. When designing a HUD I split information into three priority groups:
- Vital (always visible): health, mana/energy, minimap or objective marker.
- Contextual (appears when needed): damage numbers, interaction prompts, quest updates.
- On demand (opened by a menu/key): inventory, character screen, map.
Place vital information in the corners of the screen and in fixed spots the player knows by muscle memory. In MMOs and action games the health bar usually sits at the top left or bottom center, because players memorize where to look. Randomly shifting its position during play is the most expensive readability mistake you can make.
Readability: contrast, size and distance
The readability of a HUD element depends on three things: its contrast against the background, its size, and the player's distance from the screen. Game backgrounds change constantly, so adding a subtle drop shadow, an outline, or a semi-transparent backing to text and icons guarantees they stay readable against a bright sky and in a dark cave alike.
/* A simple technique that keeps HUD text legible on any background */
.hud-label {
color: #fff;
font-weight: 600;
text-shadow: 0 1px 2px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9);
/* alternative: a semi-transparent backing behind icon/text */
background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.35);
padding: 2px 6px;
border-radius: 4px;
}Color should never carry information on its own. Roughly 8% of players are color blind, so the "red = enemy, green = ally" rule fails for them. Always pair color with an icon shape, a symbol or a position cue. If an ability is on cooldown, fading its color is not enough; add a sweeping grey overlay or the remaining seconds on top of it.
Inventory: grid, grouping and fast scanning
The inventory is one of the menus players spend the most time in, so it has to be fast to scan. A grid layout is the right starting point for almost every genre, because the eye scans evenly spaced squares very quickly. When designing one I watch for:
- Consistent cell size: every item should sit in a box of the same size; varying sizes (like Diablo-style multi-cell items) add a Tetris feel but increase scanning cost, so it must be a deliberate choice.
- Rarity coding: show item rarity with both a frame color and a glow behind the icon; do not rely on color alone.
- Sorting and filtering: one-key sorting by type/value/newness is the most-wanted feature in a crowded inventory.
- Tooltip: show a stat comparison on hover — a green arrow if the new item beats the equipped one, a red arrow if it is worse.
There is an extra rule for mobile and gamepad: with no cursor, navigating the grid with the directional pad has to make sense. Highlight the selected cell with a clear frame, and don't let focus "wrap" unexpectedly at the edges — pressing right again at the right edge should stay put, or you should set up a deliberate loop.
Menu layout: hierarchy and navigation
Menus are the game's skeleton. A good menu hierarchy lets the player reach anything they are looking for in at most two or three steps. The main menu should be short: more than five or six items such as Play, Continue, Settings, Quit creates decision fatigue. As you go deeper, I stick to these principles:
- Positional consistency: "Back" should always be in the same place and on the same button (usually B/Circle on a gamepad).
- Visible state: the player should always see which tab they are on and where they came from; highlight the active tab clearly.
- Instant feedback: every click/selection should answer with a small sound, glow or motion — a silent menu feels "broken".
Treat the settings menu with special care: resolution, audio, controls and accessibility options should be split into logical groups and previewable as you change them. Keep the "Apply" and "Reset" buttons visible at all times.
Feedback and "juice": making the interface feel alive
It is not enough for the interface to work correctly; it also has to feel right. What designers call "juice" is making every interaction satisfying with small animations and sounds. A button shrinking slightly and springing back when pressed, a health bar leaving a brief "ghost" bar as it drains, an inventory cell flashing when an item is picked up — all of these tell the player "yes, your action registered".
But beware the overkill trap. Putting a half-second animation on every transition kills the flow in a fast-paced game. A good measure: information-bearing transitions should run between 80–200 ms, and no animation that makes the player wait should be unskippable. Always leave a "skip animation / fast transition" path in menus.
Accessibility: reaching more players
Accessibility is not an "extra"; it is a natural part of good UI design. A few low-cost, high-return measures:
- Scalable UI/font size: let the player enlarge HUD and menu text.
- Color-blind-friendly palettes: back up information with shape and position too.
- Subtitles and visual sound cues: show important sounds on screen as well.
- Remappable controls: everyone's hands and hardware are different.
These measures exclude no one and also raise comfort for "typical" players — being able to enlarge small text helps everybody.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much information should a HUD show?
The least permanent information possible. Test every element with the question "what does the player lose without this?" If the answer is "not much", make that element contextual (appearing only when needed) or move it into a menu. Everything non-vital tires the screen.
Which tool should I design my game UI in?
For layout, flow and visual exploration, Figma is enough for most teams; you can build a UI kit with components and variables. You then port the design into the engine's UI system (Unity UI Toolkit/uGUI, Unreal UMG or your own engine). The tool is secondary; the principles don't change.
How does the same UI work for both keyboard and gamepad?
Plan for both input methods early. Think about cursor-based free selection alongside focus-based (highlight-moving) navigation together; give every interactable element a clear focus state and make sure it can be traversed in a sensible order with a gamepad.
Need a readable HUD and tidy menus for your game? I can build your HUD, inventory and menu flow from scratch, or rework your existing interface for a better player experience. Get in touch and let's talk about your project.