Mobile App Design

The mobile app industry is getting bigger and better every single day. People from around the globe are interested in getting involved, which is no surprise with the many different mobile app design tools that are available nowadays. By creating an app, you get to decide on the feel and look of a product, as well as how it will reach the user. That means that there are tons of possibilities out there for making something different from the other apps out there. But where to start?

Research and then research some more

Before you can get into the meat and potatoes of mobile app design and start creating a mobile app for yourself or your company, it takes some research to put your best food forward. There is no better way to acclimate to the design of mobile apps than to use them and use them a lot. So, for your first bit of homework, check out some apps. Find out what fonts you like, what designs draw you in, and just as importantly, what you do not like.

Find inspiration to utilize

With millions of apps out there, and hundreds more coming out each day, there’s always something new to try out. With your app, you likely want to do something a little different, but not so different that it’s confusing or makes you seem unapproachable. Finding mobile app design inspiration is easy if you use apps on a regular basis. Consider what you appreciate in the apps you most enjoy. Look at color schemes you enjoy, think about what sort of gestures work best for you. Look outside the box and consider new ways to put things together.

Start designing the app

This is where you put all that research and inspiration together to make your unique app. This is likely to be the most time-consuming part of the process, but once it’s over, you’ll feel the time was completely worth it. Take your vision, whether it’s in your head or on paper or stored on your hard drive, and use that to build the outline of your app. As a mobile app designer, this is the part that makes it all worth it: tinkering and editing until an app is 100% what you desire it to be.

Things to consider

There are many details to consider when building your app. We’ll go over a few of those now.

• Navigation – you want a navigation system that is easy to use and intuitive to start with. If people don’t know how to use the app, they’ll miss things or become frustrated and give up.
• Font & typography – be sure your font is one that is easy to read and look at. You will also want to consider spacing, as mobile displays are small. You want to maximize the space you have while ensuring you aren’t cramping things together.
• Color schemes – choose colors that fit together well. You may want to try a few different options before deciding for sure. If you aren’t sure about what colors to use, there are many on the Internet with a quick google.

Beyond that, have fun. There are no hard and fast mobile app design guidelines, and half the fun is testing things and trying out new ideas. Just get out there and try some stuff. You’ll be glad you did.