3. Building a mobile app today
There are a lot of apps out there.
Google: 1.000.000+ apps
Apple: 775.000+ apps
Microsoft: 120.000+ apps
4. Building a mobile app today
Users know this: There’s a lot of garbage out
there….
– Apps do the wrong thing.
– They look crappy and the functionality is even worse.
– Essentially, they waste battery lifetime and your
energy.
If you want to start building apps, then you need to
do it better then the other guys/girls out there.
7. Design towards a goal
Things you do without a goal are pointless
– You feel like you waste energy
– Motivation to do that particular thing goes down
8. Design towards a goal
For the best results
– Think of what your audience wants to accomplish
– And design everything towards that goal
9. Design towards a goal
Tips for finding that clear goal
– Write down the tasks you want done
– Write down who you think is going to complete the
tasks
– “Why is that person going to perform that task?”
10. Design towards a goal
Why reverse the goal with the tasks?
– We often know WHAT we want to do with the app
– But we almost NEVER know WHY we want to do
those tasks with the app
11. Design towards a goal
Take a close look at the reasons why the audience
should perform tasks in your app….
– Too many reasons or funny/weird reasons?
– Your goal is probably unclear or things are too
complicated in your app.
12. Design towards a goal
In short:
1. Find tasks to complete, and the reasons why
2. Find a common thinking
3. The common thinking is the goal
4. Eliminate things that do not belong
Make it as simple as possible, but no simpler!
14. Get out of the way
Now that you clearly know the goal
– Move out of the way.
– Or you will get in trouble!
15. Get out of the way
Getting out of the way, helps the user
– You have limited pixel space.
– Give the user as much room as possible
– Display the essentials, save the extras for a larger display
16. Get out of the way
Less design, focused around helping the user
– Add enough so the user understands what is expected.
– Give objects the right color and shape to clarify function.
– Spend time fixing pixels!
17. Get out of the way
This doesn’t stand
out.
Good, because I
don’t always need
them!
Clear as day.
Here’s where
you end the
phone call
Maybe I want to
cancel, but at this
moment it’s not the
primary thing to do.
Goal: Talk and
Eventually end
the conversation.
Goal: Talk to someone.
18. Get out of the way
In short:
– The design of the app explains how it works
– Form should follow function to achieve the best results
– Display the essentials for better quality of life
20. Respect your users
Respect is an interesting concept
– Someone that makes you feel right, respects you.
– Make sure that the person using your app feels right
about it.
If you make someone feel right about himself he
will come back to you.
21. Respect your users
Respect in any app is about:
– Making the user feel smart, by helping him make the
right decision upfront.
– Mark required items
– Show patterns for phonenumbers, etc.
– Use icons and other visuals to guide
22. Respect your users
If something goes wrong (which will happen):
– Provide hints on how to resolve the issue.
– If it’s something technical, make sure the user knows
and fix it fast. Users hate waiting.
23. Respect your users
Be honest about things.
– If the user doesn’t trust your app, he will not use it.
– Make sure that you have the following:
– A simple, yet good enough privacy statement.
– Don’t collect user data if you don’t need it.
– Let the user control his device.
24. Respect your users
In short:
– Help the user to prevent and resolve errors
– Provide useful information to the user
– Be honest about what you do
27. Be environmentally friendly
A typical smartphone only has 24 hours of active
battery life.
– Anything more means you’re either lucky or not using
your phone at all.
– Apps use the bulk of the energy and a lot is wasted.
28. Be environmentally friendly
Be careful how you use the CPU, GPU and
memory
– Need heavy processing?
– Defer heavy processing work until a power cable is
connected. It gives you a longer battery life.
29. Be environmentally friendly
Be careful how you use the CPU, GPU and
memory on a device
– Don’t download the whole database!
– Get only the parts you need and cache the
information.
30. Be environmentally friendly
In short:
– Be careful about CPU, GPU and memory usage
– Choose smart alternatives to save battery
– Leave the user in control of his/her device
32. Final thoughts
This whole talk is about keeping to the essentials
– Stay pure and you can be sure that your app will
better.
– You will be better too.
Sommige apps willen ontzettend veel informatie kwijt op het scherm. Waarom? Geen idee, ik zou het niet weten. Wat ik wel weet is dat ik er last van heb!En wat doe je dan?Eerst denk je, mwah valt wel mee te levenDaarna denk je, goh wat irritantTot slot gooi je de app eraf, want je hebt er genoeg aanvaringen mee gehad.
Belangrijk:Gelimiteerde ruimte, dus maak er gebruik van.Toon alleen de essentie, verspil geen pixels aan informatie die niet nodig is.Bewaar informatie voor grotere schermen en breid de experience (indien nodig uit) met een normale website voor de desktop.Belangrijker nog: Verspil geen tijd van de gebruiker. Hij moet dat wat jij op het scherm zet, ook nog allemaal lezen :S
Zorg ervoor dat de functie duidelijk wordt uit de manier waarop elementen op het scherm zijn neergezet.Zorg ervoor dat objecten die niet moeten opvallen op dezelfde manier zijn uitgelijnd en een gelijke vorm hebben. Dat maakt ze uniform en ze vallen daardoor minder op.Tekst is lastig te lezen en gaat dus in de weg zitten. Heb je het niet nodig, haal het dan weg en vervang het voor een herkenbare vorm. Omdat de focus van je design verschuift van een massa knoppen naar enkele elementen zijn de pixels super belangrijk. Zet ze recht en zorg dat alles netjes opgepoetst is!
Zorg ervoor dat de functie duidelijk wordt uit de manier waarop elementen op het scherm zijn neergezet.Zorg ervoor dat objecten die niet moeten opvallen op dezelfde manier zijn uitgelijnd en een gelijke vorm hebben. Dat maakt ze uniform en ze vallen daardoor minder op.Tekst is lastig te lezen en gaat dus in de weg zitten. Heb je het niet nodig, haal het dan weg en vervang het voor een herkenbare vorm. Omdat de focus van je design verschuift van een massa knoppen naar enkele elementen zijn de pixels super belangrijk. Zet ze recht en zorg dat alles netjes opgepoetst is!
