Aerospace HUD · A layered targeting system, built frame by frame

Somewhere between the clouds and whatever comes next, a system wakes. Concentric rings materialize from nothing. Data resolves at the edges. A reticle finds its center. The target is already there before the acquisition is confirmed.

Aerospace HUD is a motion design exercise in information architecture and threat geometry. Each frame was constructed as a discrete state: dormant, boot, loading, active, alert, critical. The design language draws from real avionics aesthetics — dashed bounding brackets, hexagonal sensor housings, cascading status lines, a targeting bloom that moves from neutral to thermal red as lock progresses. No transitions were assumed. Every layer was built to hold independently before compositing into sequence.

The HUD overlay was designed entirely in Adobe Illustrator, animated and staged in After Effects, with final compositing in Photoshop. No AI generation. No stock overlays. Every element drawn from scratch.

 Adobe Illustrator · After Effects · Photoshop