Redesigning World of Airports

World of Airports, developed by the Czech studio Flyboys, is a highly successful mobile game with over 30 million downloads and 700,000 active players.

Our relationship with Flyboys is built on long-standing trust, familiarity, and a close collaborative approach. So when they needed an experienced partner to redesign World of Airports, they turned to us.

They were looking for someone who could align with their vision and help translate it into a functional, modern design.

Our mission was to craft a new, cleaner app-style look focused on intuitive controls, improved clarity, and a unified visual identity.

We didn’t approach this project as an external supplier. We became a design partner—deeply involved in the game's development, with full respect for the World of Airports community and philosophy.

From the very beginning, it was essential to see the game through the eyes of the player. We downloaded World of Airports and played it actively for a while. This gave us a deeper understanding of the game’s logic and its key interactions.

We complemented this initial insight with in-depth UX testing involving real users, which provided valuable feedback on the game's controls and overall intuitiveness.

Another input came from Flyboys in the form of a visual draft, outlining the desired direction of the redesign. We also drew from the feedback of the existing player community.

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Using all these insights, we compiled a list of necessary components and created a comprehensive design system that defined colors, typography, buttons, and other UI elements. At the same time, we redesigned all game elements and screens to ensure a consistent user interface throughout the game.

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In addition to component redesign, we also developed a custom set of illustrated icons for the game’s key features. Throughout the process, we worked closely with the client, refining the final design based on pilot screens.

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Our work also included UX optimization driven by feedback and user testing.

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Our role focused on the design side of the project. We delivered a complete design system and screen layouts in Figma, while the Flyboys development team handled implementation and component integration.

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Introducing UI 3.0

The result of our work is a modern, streamlined, and visually consistent user interface that meets today’s standards and makes navigation within the game easier.

UI 3.0 significantly improved in-game orientation, unified the design, and laid a strong foundation for the game’s future development and long-term sustainability.

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Design System as a Cornerstone

A key part of the project was a custom-built design system tailored specifically for World of Airports.

It includes over 170 icons, 86 original illustrations, and 96 button variations and continues to grow. This system unified the game’s visual style and established clear guidelines for future development and the addition of new features.

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Overall, players have responded positively to the redesign, even though, as with any major change, some members of the community experienced initial uncertainty.

The changes have ultimately led to better in-game navigation and a more enjoyable gaming experience.

The World of Airports redesign came with several major challenges:

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Technical constraints and element sizes‍

Throughout the project, we had to work within tight technical limitations and limited screen space. In some cases, we adapted the designs or planned solutions in collaboration with the development team to ensure smooth usability across various devices.

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Player adaptation curve‍

Significant changes to the UI required players to adjust, which initially led to mixed reviews shortly after release.

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Game complexity ‍

‍World of Airports is a time-intensive and technically complex game, which made redesign testing and user feedback collection more challenging.

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Despite these challenges, the project gave us valuable experience in large-scale game app redesigns, building an extensive design system, and optimizing UX for a complex environment.

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Redesigning World of Airports

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