App Design and Development Process
Designing for apps requires a deep knowledge of devices, which means developing the way we think about designing user interaction and interfaces. New device categories such as smartwatches force designers to constantly learn new design paradigms.
Apps are often designed to look like miniature websites, and in turn they fail with contrast, font size, touch targets and gestures.
When designing for a mobile applications, escaping from website structures is crucial. Development should be faced with a different approach in order to successfully execute a smooth mobile experience for the user.
In order to be a successful app designer you need to challenge the way you think.
- Change the way you work: Before designing an app it is important to understand the Lean UX cycles. Similar to the design process, it requires the user to first plan out, draft and brainstorm ideas before generating a prototype.
- Understand Development: The success of an app will depend on the designer and developer, both must be able to work together achieve the highest level of quality.
- Use a variety of Operating Systems: When designing a mobile app it is important to have access to Android, iOS and Windows phone devices. If the app you’re designing is targeted for the global market it is important to allow use for multiple devices in order to provide more user access.
- Prototype Everything: Prototypes allow for the evaluation of user testing and app usability. It gives the designer an idea of what the user will experience and allows for evaluation of the app for possible changes if needed.
- What you see is not always what you get: Testing on different devices is crucial for app success. It is important to know what the application will look like on different mobile devices.
- Apps are never finished: App designers should abandon the concept of a finalized design as an app is never finished because it is a digital product that evolves overtime.
Reflection
During this lecture, I had learnt that user experiences vary with the use of different devices, whether it be iOS, Android or Windows – not all of them will look identical. That’s why it is extremely important for designers to have a great understanding of the different devices in order to essentially provide users with an appropriate and satisfying experience. The lecture also covered the appropriate way designers must think when developing an app and provided a great insight into the app design processes and the importance of following them.
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