Do you want to create a successful mobile app? Well, who doesn’t?
As much as the development strategy you have in mind may be functional, it is only a tip of what is required. For your app to stand out, you need to deploy an exceptional design.
I’ve therefore come up with a guide that will make your app outstanding regardless of whether you plan on doing it yourself or hiring a designer.
If you happen to be working on several apps for different clients at the same time, this guide can save you a great deal.
Poorly designed apps never succeed. Even if they make a substantial progress in attracting people, the same people will get pissed off with time by the app functionality and cease to use it.
Here are 20 design tips that you should follow to create a winning mobile app:
1. Stick with what works
You do not have to struggle by trying to come up with a new way of designing apps. I am, however, not discouraging you from being creative.
At this stage of technological development, much of the primary work has been done by the inventors. Most of the apps that people are developing nowadays are basically improvements on previous ideas.
This is why you need to stick with what has worked for our predecessors and what every user finds easy to work with.
Most successful apps share common designs. Avoid coming up with an app that is going to stress users out by giving them a different user experience from what they are used to.
Popular apps such as Facebook, YouTube, Google Search, Instagram, Gmail, Pandora, among others have similar features.
Common touch gestures such as zooming in and swiping are a perfect example of what most mobile users are used to. Some icons such as the envelope icon associated with email are also common in many apps.
Re-assigning these functions to different gestures or using strange icons can confuse the user and make it difficult for them to use the app.
2. Always use a grid to represent your design
I would recommend you to use a grid when designing your app. Grids may be invisible guides but they offer a perfect resource for you to outline your spacing.
A grid will define your layout in a neat and organized manner. It also helps you foresee how your app will appear upon completion.
With a grid, you can easily align your texts, pictures and define margins clearly. An app with crooked pictures or poorly aligned text does nothing other than discourage users.
3. Avoid making random color choices
Colors are key to determining your app’s appearance. Both extremes of brightness and contrast may cause difficulty in reading and even hurt the reader’s eyes.
There are a number of common color associations used by developers to design their outline.
A good example is the use of green to show an affirmative response and red to show danger or exit. Using your own custom of color notations will be confusing and vague to users.
4. Embrace simplicity
Please don’t get me wrong. You can easily keep your app simple by avoiding too much complexity. However, don’t take this as an excuse to make a very basic app. Simple app designs tend to be extremely successful.
Mobile phones have small screens meaning that if you cluster all elements in a limited space, the app won’t work as expected. Also, a complicated app takes long to load and this may discourage users.
A simple design captures the attention of the user all along. Including too many distractions will negatively impact on user experience and efficiency of your app.
5. Consider differences in screen size
Mobile phones are diverse in that they come in different screen sizes, shapes and resolutions. When creating your app, account for different devices, from small 4-inch devices to tablets.
If you intend to make an app that can run on a smart TV, you need to account for the screen size and resolution in question. Your design should, therefore, be optimized to cater for different screen sizes.
6. Keep the same structure for elements that you have already defined
Take for instance a simple “subscribe” button on your app’s home screen. If you define it using a certain color and style here, ensure that you use the same for any other page where the button appears.
Consistency is key as it reinforces the concept of this button by familiarizing it with the user and avoids unnecessary confusion.
Mixing up different designs for the same button mislead the user to click on the wrong button, taking them to a different page which may frustrate them and negatively impact on their perception towards your app.
Finally, they will abandon this app, and with time you will realize that you have lost many users.
7. Distinctly separate different text
Your text should be clearly separated to avoid instances of different text overlapping. Ensure that you come up with efficient ways to separate the content as leaving huge spaces between each line of text won’t work out reasonably.
Pictures and page breaks can serve you well, but not by placing them after every line.
You can also capitalize all letters in a heading and apply normal capitalization rules for the rest. Underlining important text, use of contrasting colors, bold text, different fonts or even changing the background may work as well.
By doing so, you will easily fit more text on the screen without altering the text size. Interesting, isn’t it?
8. Keep the loading speed in mind
The more complex your app is, the more time it will take to load. Users tend to bounce and abandon your app if it loads for long.
Nobody wants to lose potential users; not even yourself. This reminds me of a point I made earlier about simplicity.
Create simple apps that will load fast enough to give the user a nice experience. The more they enjoy using it, the more engaged they become and also the higher the chances you have of earning from your app.
9. Ensure actions are recognized
Every mobile user expects some activity upon clicking on a button.
Failure to notice any activity causes speculations on whether the app is actually working. For instance, if the page is still loading, there should be a moving symbol to show the activity going on.
Funny enough, if all the actions are recognized, the user will think that the page is loading faster than reality. Also, remember to include a visual push effect once a button is clicked.
10. Pick readable fonts
Going for fancy fonts will not only make your text illegible but will also tamper with text consistency.
You should only change fonts when writing headings or different sections of the same page. Readable fonts always win in your app design efforts, there’s no need to go the fancy route.
Some fonts can be crazy and confusing to users, hence there is no need of rushing for unique or stylish fonts.
11. Source layouts from online
There are several platforms online from which you can get assistance with your app layout instead of spending a lot of time creating one from scratch.
These platforms contain many different layout resources which you can apply to your case.
I have researched and come up with a number of relevant platforms which include Mobile Patterns, Inspired UI, Pttrns, Lovely UI, and Cocoa Controls, among others.
12. Make navigation as easy as possible
The simplicity of your app is partially dependent on how easy it is to navigate through different lists. You can arrange these lists in blocks of clickable pictures or bullet formats filled with text.
You can also include different types of menus on the screen, or even use expandable accordion menus to create some space for more content.
This makes it easy for a user to access the content from any page without having to zoom or scroll endlessly.
13. Make your content accessible
Accessibility is very crucial for your app. Take the size of your buttons for instance. You need to size and place them properly so that users can press on the proper part of the screen.
You need to have the hand and finger placement concept in mind so that your design accommodates all users from left-handed and right-handed to users who use both hands.
You also need to create adjustable options for brightness, font and text size for people who are visually impaired.
However, take keen interest to ensure that all the other elements on your app adjust in accordance to the changes made to avoid image or text overlapping.
14. Run a test on your design
To judge your app from the user’s perspective, I would recommend that you test your app constantly, preferably after adding any reasonable element.
You should, therefore, source feedback from a third party even during the development stages of your app. This makes the feedback neutral reliable since it comes from a party that wasn’t involved in the creation.
Seeking feedback from beta testers or focus groups may also be of great assistance. Also, take time and work on any issues addressed in the feedback, mostly by fixing bugs and glitches where necessary.
15. Make use of visual elements
It is every designer’s wish to see their creativity shine, and I guess it is your wish too. Visual elements are more appealing to the user than plain text.
You can use pictures to reinforce the message depicted by some words on the screen.
Animations can also be used to elaborate on the text. If you are an iOS developer, I would recommend you to create advanced animations using Auto Layout. Visual elements are usually impressive and attract many users.
16. Create a responsive design
Devices in the market differ in terms of their OS.
Your app should be responsive to both Android and Apple Operating Systems if you want to create traffic on your app.
Android and Apple are the two major operating systems that are installed in mobile devices, therefore you should have both in mind when designing your app.
17. Use iterative design to test your app
This is a design that uses the User Interface to enable you to create responsive and engaging apps.
Here, you can track the reaction of different users when using the app and establish behavioral analytics which helps you figure out what modifications to make. A good example of such software is Synaptics, a platform that feeds you with information on how people use your app and its impact on their actions.
18. Frequently update your design
As people use your app, fixing the challenges they face should be your focus. You may also want to add new features to your app or make an improvement on an existing feature.
SnapChat, for instance, recently made an update on their design which almost changed the UI completely. Despite the fact that most users did not find the new design impressive, they will get used to it with time.
SnapChat, however, is a big company and can hardly lose users to such.
Suppose your app is not that popular, any un-welcomed changes may simply chase the users away. This explains why you should not make major changes very frequently on your app.
19. Begin with basic prototypes
Start with a simple prototype before advancing to a more complex design. In the long run, this will save you money, time and effort.
You can begin with basic practices such as freehand drawing and use discover new ideas and color schemes from the use of a mood board.
20. Feel free to use negative space
You are allowed to use negative space behind pictures, text and other elements of your design. Ensure correct spacing between columns and add negative space in the layout margins.
This makes the design more attractive to the eye.
Conclusion
If you want your app to be relevant and successful, make sure you focus on user experience. The impact of your design on user experience should always be at the back of your mind.
Conduct a comprehensive to decipher how your design affects user experience. If the impact is negative, work on how to modify the design to the user’s advantage.
Generally, app development is not easy. It takes you great devotion and creativity to come up with an impressive app. Follow my guide above if you are ready to do a great job in app development.
