Nicolas Lopardo Turns Maps, HUDs, Data Systems, and Glowing Screens Into the Invisible Architecture of Modern Science-Fiction Cinema

Nicolas Lopardo is a Toronto-based graphic, brand, and interface designer whose work helps define the visual language of modern blockbusters and AAA games. He specializes in FUI — fictional user interfaces — the screens, HUDs, command systems, maps, and data visualizations that make invented technologies feel believable on film. His credits include Avatar: The Way of Water, Avatar: Fire and Ash, Top Gun: Maverick, Avengers: Endgame, Ad Astra, Black Adam, Mile 22, and the Call of Duty franchise.

Lopardo’s work is often visible for only a few seconds at a time, yet it plays an essential role in world-building. A screen on a military aircraft, a laboratory console, a holographic map, or a mission-control interface has to communicate story information instantly while seeming like it belongs to an advanced but coherent technological universe. His designs sit at the intersection of graphic design, motion design, typography, information architecture, VFX, and cinematic storytelling.

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