Top 10 Mobile UI Tips App Developers Can’t Afford to Skip

While a lot of factors govern the way a mobile application is being developed, the conceptualization of the app’s user interface is one of the most vital considerations. When it comes to a mobile app’s user interface, key things that require special attention include: ensuring that tapping on a particular button or any other UI elements renders a feedback to user, clarity of interface, consistency across the multiple views of the mobile application etc. As a mobile app designer, paying heed to all these aspects is something you’d regret to avoid. For your benefit, I’ve listed out ten awesome mobile UI tips that will help you design a perfect user interface for different varieties of mobile applications.

Why designing a great UI(User Interface) for your mobile app is necessary?

Well, while designing the user interface for a mobile app you need to ensure that the process associated with the same is well thought-out and is in no way different from the one that’s followed for designing the user interface for websites/web apps. In other words, you must use the same basic principles for designing a mobile/tablet-oriented app as the ones which are used for designing an application for the desktop computers.

Knowing and understanding the users becomes a breeze with a fabulous mobile app user interface

The process of designing an intuitive user interface for a mobile app inculcates a lot of research. You need to chalk out who the target audience is and what needs to be the starting point of an absolutely stunning user interface. For instance, if the target audience for your mobile app comprises of teenagers, then some of the key design elements that you need to consider well include: bold and vibrant colors, catchy layouts, funky fonts etc.

Now, let’s get straight to the top 10 Mobile UI tips that will render maximum benefits to the mobile app designer

Know whether you are targeting expert users or the amateurs

Usually, a mobile app is being designed for an ubiquitous set of users with similar expertise and intentions. However, there is a clear possibility of user groups which possess different levels of expertise and intentions. While the novice users might choose to move slowly throughout the application, the expert ones would be capable of memorizing all the app elements, thereby moving quickly across multiple app pages. Therefore, while creating your application’s user interface, make sure it’s efficient while being simple and informative both for the novice as well as expert users.

Settle down for an ideal button size

Statistics reveal that the button size of a mobile app’s user interface is limited to the user’s finger size. A majority of users have said that operating a mobile device via thumb has rendered a truly convenient access to the application’s interface. Therefore, while designing the user interface for a mobile application, make sure to implement sufficient button size along with the required amount of gap between the screen buttons so as to stay away from any touch-related issues.

Ensure that the text is legible

On encountering difficulty in reading the words included within your application, users are likely to go ahead with choosing an entirely different application. Despite the amount of efforts you put into beautifying the typography for your mobile app, an illegible text can easily drain away the actual essence of the application. Therefore, you can opt for including Dynamic Type of text in your application. Additional features included with this type of typography are:

Ability of specifying a variety of text styles for distinct blocks of text including Footnote, Headline, Body etc.
Automatic adjustments are being made to letter spacing and height for each and every font size
Ability of having a text which responds to changes made by the user to different text-size settings etc.

Take full advantage of a myriad of icons specially designed for mobile applications

The world of mobile app interface development is loaded with an array of icons that have been successful in impressing both, the novice as well as professional app users. Such icons come with functions that are easy-to-understand for all categories of users. So, as an app designer, you can go ahead with implementing a range of commonly used icons in your application, thereby coming up with an absolutely brilliant user interface. Here is a look at some of the finest icons used during designing of an application’s interface:

||- These two parallel lines represent pausing a running line
“?”- This triangle denotes playing a media file
x- This cross is used for closing a file

Pay heed to the mobile app UI location

Usually, the UI elements of a mobile application are either placed at the app’s bottom or at the top. Here, it is important for you to know that a majority of smartphone users hold their device by using their thumb as the primary finger for hitting several buttons. For a right-handed user, the thumb is likely to reach the region towards the bottom right of screen. Therefore, it is recommended to place all the primary application buttons towards the bottom of the screen, followed by placing all the critical and often used buttons towards the bottom right corner of the screen.

Choose a suitable mobile layout

Layout forms a vital component of every mobile UI(User Interface). While designing the UI for your app, make sure to choose the right mobile layout which offers you a convenient way of organizing and aligning details within the application. All mobile layouts are segregated into three main categories viz:

With footer
With menu bar and footer
Without footer or menu bar

Plan the integration of ‘Back’ button in accordance to the mobile platform(s) expectations

While designing the app’s UI, make sure that the ‘Back’ button navigates the user back consistently. This needs to be done only after considering the platform that you are designing the app for. For instance, if you’re designing an iOS application, then I recommend integrating the ‘Back’ button on the top-left corner as a majority of users expect it to be that way.

Use high resolution images

It is advised to switch your low resolution images into high-resolution, vivid images. Doing this can easily add a unique touch of elegance to the visual appearance of your application’s user interface. As a thumb rule, by integrating images with a resolution of 264 ppi or higher can easily add attractiveness into an app’s user interface. So, the vector based images prove a better alternative to images that can’t scale to meet the varying resolutions of different mobile screens.

Pay attention to the device’s motion

Apart from considering the location of UI buttons, it is important for you to remember that the app user’s thumb has a specific flow direction. Therefore, you need to design the user interface that controls all the different thumb movements of the user like sliding, selecting a list etc.

Pay attention to color contrast used in the app’s user interface

The right use of colors plays a pivotal role in enhancing the communication within the mobile app’s user interface. For instance, when it comes to designing the user interface of an iOS application, it is the color which helps in imparting vitality and rendering a visual continuity. There are several mobile apps which use a wide collection of pure colors which look stunning both individually and also in combination. The best thing about these colors is that they look brilliant both on light as well as dark backgrounds.

Final Thoughts

A great UI design is the key to a successful mobile application. While this might sound quite simple, it can turn to be quite challenging if you aren’t familiar with the right technique of proceeding ahead with the same. I’m sure by keeping the aforementioned tips in mind, you’d definitely be able to come up with a remarkable user interface for your app.

About the Author:

If you’re looking forward to convert PSD to app template, then getting in touch with Amanda can help you. Currently, she is working with Designs2HTML- a renowned Web Development Company. She has also written interesting and informative articles on Custom Software Development, Web and mobile Application Development etc.

The post Top 10 Mobile UI Tips App Developers Can’t Afford to Skip appeared first on Web Design Blog | Magazine for Designers.