A guide on everything to do with app icons, this page educates users on app icon attributes, sizes, notifications, and how to embrace app design simplicity. A useful guide to read before starting your app logo design.
A UI/UX Design Glossary, explaining terms in the field of UI design. This blog post focuses more specifically on navigation elements such as buttons, menus, switches etc. A vey useful resource for any App Designer.
From the feedback given I attempted to make changes, however could only make minor changes in regards to certain content. I tried different logo colours and gradients but none really worked as well as the original, i wanted to stick to a cooler colour palette as warm colours could be seen as “debt” or “hardship” when it comes to a wallet app. So i took the feedback and had a second look at my XD screens and decided to change the background as it wasn’t working well and wasn’t standing out but rather being lost, as well as the content above it.
A student is going out to the shops with her friends. She pulls out her wallet when she’s ready to pay for the items but her wallet is messy and she can’t find the stores membership card. She then opens her organised wallet app on her phone, clicks on the shopping category and scrolls down the list to locate that shops membership card. She then pays for the items and is given a paper receipt, later that day she uses the same app, she holds her paper receipt, opens the app and she clicks on the plus icon and chooses “add receipt” to scan the receipt and store the digital receipt on the app.
Through-out the years as technology has become more advanced. Designers and developers have had to adapt to these evolutions and future trends. The tools that are used to create the app are more advanced than ever and the layout, design, and function of an app has become more evolved in today’s society. There is a lot of demand for apps that make everyday life easier in some aspects. Whilst there have been new technological advances, there have also been new terminologies created and brand new career titles to facilitate designing mobile apps, but in its essence, the design process remains the same.
Before you start thinking of a design or even drawing up a wireframe, you start with an idea. Anyone can come up with an idea, it could be a designer or perhaps a client, but ideas always come first. Having an idea evolve from the ground up can be more effective for the final result as you can come up with better ideas for it as you progress. As a designer, you want to generate your ideas, challenge them, then revise them.
When going through this process you need to ask yourself these questions.
· Is this idea financially viable?
· Is this idea technically feasible?
· Is someone else already doing this?
· Could this be made simpler/differently?
It is a physical document that officially declares what your apps is described as and what does it do and how does it achieve it. In simple terms, it is a blueprint for your app. Specs are important as it is a breakdown of your overall app. Have your specs short and straight to the point and always list both non-functional and functional requirements.
Wireframes are a sketched layout of how your app demonstrates what interface elements will exist on your pages. This step is important as It helps you understand how your app is put together and structured. By sketching out wireframes you can gain knowledge on how to achieve your main goal by knowing exactly how your target audience goes through your app.
By completing specs and wireframes you’ve shown you’ve made preparations and in the final result that’ll make all the difference.
Prototyping is the step of creating your app to see if your version marks your goals. This is the step where you get early feedback and where you can improve your app. A bad experience with your prototyping might cause you to uncover various issues, allowing you to fix these issues before proceeding to the next stage.
This next stage is all about designing the look of the app. It’s not just about making everything in the app look nice, there also needs to be a consistent and identifiable visual language throughout. Visual design is the opportunity to not only tell a story bu communicate your brand. Great visual design elevates the dull, clarifies the unclear and leaves a lasting impression with the user.
Ideally, the developer has been part of all previous phases. Developers are essential to have during the overall development of your app because they could effectively improve your app by pointing out a feature that a designer might have overlooked. the developer chimes in with his or her experience and comments on the difficulty level of implementing these designs. There is also a discussion in terms of best tools and structures.
I learnt about the technological advancements there have been in the design industry, however the design process has always been the same. Before starting to think of the design or the wireframe you must think of an idea. I learnt the next stages involve wireframing and specs and the importance of those stages. Also the prototype, as it is a crucial step to help you find any issues and fix some bugs. The last steps include visual design and development, there needs to be a consistent and identifiable visa language and developers play an important role of all these stages. A good lesson is once the app is complete it is not final, there are always improvements and visual changes in the future.
When designing for apps, you have to have a deep knowledge of different devices.
New device categories like smartwatches force us as designers to learn new paradigms.
Challenge the way you think
Change the way you work
Lean UX cycles
Think, make, check
Sketching on paper allows designers such as ourselves, to think less of design and to think more on the actual function and flow. This is without distractions by design details such as colors, size, and fonts.
The term “mobile-first” simply means starting with the smaller screen, even if your app will run on both smartphones and tablets, beginning by design for the smaller phone is more effective adapting a larger design to a smaller one.
The design process starts with mobile than a tablet than a laptop than a desktop.
The success of the app depends on the designer and developer working well together to achieve a shared goal.
When designing a mobile app, if your target is the global mobile market you have to have access to at least Android, iOS and Windows phone devices and be familiar with the operating systems.
A useful exercise to understand patterns on operating systems is to download the same app on all operating systems and analyze their distinctions and similarities.
Prototypes help us to evaluate file user testing and apps usability, ideally, you don’t have to wait long until you build your prototype.
With apps, you have to test on a mobile device to see how a user interface will look and function.
It is a digital product that evolves. If there is a problem with the app, the user is always right, detecting problems is an opportunity on how to learn and correct our work, thereby improving it and building an easy to use the app.
I learned that designing apps requires a new way of thinking, I now understand that tablets, smartphones, and watches are separate and distinct devices. Sarah said that sketching on paper allows designers to think less of design and to think more about the actual functions and flow of the app and I think that’s really valuable advice and a helpful approach to learn and take for my future designs.
App or Application is a software program that is designed to perform a specific function directly for the user or in some cases for another application program.
There are 3 types of apps:
Web App HTML 5, Hybrid, Native
Web app involves user interface or user experience, responsive web design that can be made to make a web application whether a conventional website or single-page application viewable on small screens or touch screens, stored on remote server delivered over Internet on a browser interface.
Hybrid is combined elements of both native and web applications,
Native runs directly on a mobile device. Think IOS or android, it is a single platform only.
HTML is much cheaper and easier to use compared to native, so therefore HTML wins.
It is important to have a well designed and functioning app because research takers state that more than 50 percent of the time-poor experience of an app would put them off using the companies service or product.
Pros:
Cons:
Pros: A mobile app built with HTML5 gives you the “space” or phones that can be used to bridge some of the gaps between native apps and a mobile website.
Cons:
Pros:
– UI and UX smooth and engaging
– Devices capabilities optimized
– Faster load times compared to web apps
– Robust performances in online or offline mode
– Better discoverability ad brand image
– Superior security compares to HTMLS5
Cons:
Apps are sorted into categories, there are 20 app categories on the app store.
Games, business and education are the most popular categories.
More than a hundred billion apps were downloaded on the app store.
App categories can be reduced to six basic types, these include utilities, entertainment, games, news, productivity, and social networking.
The more people you can affect and improve their lives the more successful your app will be.
As designers, what do we need to know about app design, now that we have some web design experience?
I learned what types of apps there are and how they compare with each other. It is crucial to know these types of apps because it is basic knowledge and helpful to me as a designer if I choose a path that relates to a website or app design. I found the 7 points on app design very helpful as it shows me the importance and amount of work there needs to be delivered in app design.
jordanapps.home.blog 