Citadel Season 2

The Neural Control System UI is a glimpse into one of Orlick’s greatest inventions, but presents the security risk of combining human brain and tech. Extending his character and the situation (developing software under duress) into the design, we intentionally placed older, scrolling Linux-based code right alongside highly advanced visual elements.

The software acts as a bridge to the ‘Backstop’ chip that’s been installed in Citadel sleeper agents. Whilst captured by Paolo Braga he is forced to work on adapting and exploiting this technology to turn these agents into assassins capable of carrying out his agenda.

To anchor the high-octane espionage of the surviving Citadel agents, we designed a data-dense screen graphics ecosystem that conveys the kind of advanced high technology whilst being familiar for audiences. In designing the Citadel software interface we worked to preserve the visual language established in the first season by retaining the signature blue/green colour palette, but purposely reduced the visual complexity, opting for a more simplified layout.

The voice-mimicking software Mason Kane (Richard Madden) uses to adopt Paulo Braga’s voice, analyses an audio recording of Braga, as well as Kane’s voice so it can suggest the adjustment needed to create a perfect mimic.

The practical demands of live-action production heavily influenced the design of Manticore’s software UI. Rapid editing cuts and fast-paced actor performances meant that any additional complexity such as shrinking or layering footage, text, or character photos would have made it difficult for the audience to clearly read the narrative data.

The team infiltrate CIA European Headquarters in an attempt to learn more information about the hacker “Edison” and to trace Paolo Braga’s expanding neural-control network.

As a former CIA agent, the tech UI is familiar to James Hutch (Jack Reynor), but under such time pressure he needs to view and download the information as quickly as possible. Beyond the login screen, it’s cluttered with windows but familiar in style to a modern-day UI.

Striking a middle-ground between military high-tech and near-future plausible, the design for the security team tech at the G8 conference includes car scanner, and ID cross-reference scan which almost catches Citadel agent Hutch out.

As the tech lacked any prior physical reference or on-set footage to align with, our team could enjoy lots of freedom to be expressive with the design of this asset. We designed the sight with animated crosshair, and added fine line measurement readings to signal that the target had been located.