5 Important Facts to Recall When Designing Mobile Apps

Mobile apps have become a common feature and most of the companies have their own app. But the market is still expanding and there is a high risk that a brand’s app may get lost in the overpopulated market. To prevent this, one solution is to enhance the user experience by distinguishing between web and mobile design.

Below are five major things to remember when designing mobile apps.

1. Refer Don’t Make Me Think

Steve Krug’s  classic book in web design “Don’t make me think” is an absolute necessity for mobile designers. Krug’s prime objective is to make web design and mobile design instinctive.It signifies that all icons, text informations and gestures are all clear/ straightforward and that they won’t make the user guess their functionalities for a second time again. As noted by him,  for mobile apps to survive in the overpopulated market they have to be instinctive, charming and special. The book is full of simple ideas, info and tricks that every UX and UI designer should remember to reinforce the usability.

2. Priority for Mobile First then Desktop

At present the mobile is the dominant digital platform  having dethroned desktop in the past. So the thought process when designing must be mobile first and desktop second . So when the design phase with mobile in mind is selected the company has to break down to the necessities as Luke Wroblewski states. Designating the mobile design creates a good user experience by default as all the needless content because all irrelevant content is left out simply because there is no room for it. This does not mean that a detailed app cannot be created or that everything must be very simple, but that it appeals that the company concentrates on the necessary.

3. Think About Usage

Users spend a lot of time on apps other than the company’s app. Hence it is better to stick to the rules created by all the big apps. Protocols are rules that assist the user like having a navigation bar on the top of an iPhone screen

There are various rules to be considered when designing for Android and iOS. The company has to comprehend their distinguishing attributes to make the designers work as lean as possible.For Android designs, there is not much guidelines but Google came up with a solution in the form of Material Design There has been a lack of guidelines regarding Android design but Google fixed this with the launch of Material Design.Blending  experience / familiarity with rules for these standards has made the sequence of designing for multiple platforms more systematic and smooth. On the negative side if conventions are used wrongly, they eliminate the quality of innovation. Conventions must be used as systemic design attributes that brings the brand’s details into the center of the design and also support app flow.

4. Embark The User

Regrettably, users have a notion to download an app,attempt to use it and then never look at the app again.This happens when users feel vexed or cannot find out how to use the app. This stage is the most important moment for determining whether the user is captivated by the product or not, but unfortunately this stage is often missed and overlooked.

By using a simple sign-up procedure and/or a quick walkthrough of the app for first time users, the usefulness of the app is secured. The walkthrough is mandatory only if the brand is working with a content heavy or tool based app. Hence if the attributes are immediately clear to the user, the walkthroughs become a hindrance.

5. Display Gestures

In mobile design, the company has to think about tapping as an alternative other than clicking. This implies that the standard hover-state is removed  but fortunately touch devices provide the user to make gestures such as swiping and pinching which supplies plenty of new ways of interaction for the user. Good serviceability accepts both the new and the expert user, therefore actions should be instinctive for both the user categories. Following rules helps, but sometimes the app has that particular feature that does not follow any rules. In such cases the designer has to be innovative, coaxing  the users by implementing easy tips or nice transitions.

Another important feature is to interface these actions to the developers and the client as they are not observable in static wireframes. Hence, commenting on wireframes is a pivotal step in completing the design.

Conclusion:

Mobile platform design gives some different openings and controls than web designing. Designers have to be synchronized with the progress of UX and UI design methods and rules. At present, the UI designers are feeling the brunt of Zero UI, AI and the internet of things because they make the necessity of a visual interface less significant. This implies that they have to consider their knowledge and tools to design established on the user’s conduct based on the context.

Author Bio : Pyramidions is one of the top mobile app development companies in India. We have expert mobile app developers for an enterprise.