Fundamentals of Mobile App Design

Fundamentals of Mobile App Design

“Design is about creating shareable solutions to shared problems.”

– Mario Maruffi

Compared to the last decade, technology has grown in leaps and bounds. Desktop devices have shrunk to fit the palm of your hands, and handheld devices further shrunk to become wearable devices. This also significantly revolutionized user layouts. In addition to being responsive to the different device screen widths, a good user interface (UI) also needs to offer a good user experience (UX). Modernday mobile users prefer mobile apps that are easy to use & navigate, quick, small in size, and also very elegant. As per the findings from Statista, annual app downloads have risen from 140.68 billion in 2016 to 230 billion in 2021.

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Through years and years of refinement, mobile app design has undergone multiple changes. So, it is difficult to pinpoint what works and what doesn’t but designers specialized in user interface app designs follow a few fundamental principles of Mobile App design, and we shall look into them.

Key Components of Custom App UI/UX Design: User Design: Includes images, color palettes, text, fonts, spacing, icons, aesthetics, graphics, videos, background, and more.

Information Architecture: Structuring based on business objectives Interface Layout: Planning the app interface behavior and pages.

Wireframing: Testing the app’s usability, functionality, look, and features.

Page Hierarchy: Pages should have consistency, flow, and connectivity.

Usability: Ensuring maximized usability by providing users with easy app interactions.

Information Placement: Placing high-quality content effectively to maximize conversion.

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Fundamentals of Mobile App Designing Conduct Ample Research Rule of thumb, before taking up the task of creating the mobile app design, do your research. Understand the demographics, predict their behavior, study their preferences, and determine the purpose of the app. Is the app being used for communication? Can the users make purchases from the app? Is live chat integrated into the app? Does the competitor have an app? It can help them identify the flaws of the competitor apps that they can remove and gain an edge. Research is the first stepping stone towards creating a functional mobile app.

Remove the Clutter Ever opened an app where you are flooded with information at the first instance?

How quickly did you exit the app? A cluttered interface can overwhelm the user.

This doesn’t mean swinging towards minimalism. The key lies in arranging elements that your user can navigate their way through the application.

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Colors Have Significances Man is an animal of habit. Tapping into our primal instincts, we tend to associate emotions with certain colors: Color red significances error or caution, especially when flashing. Similarly, yellow over light background may become illegible when seen from an arm’s length. Moreover, the use of more than three colors is strictly a no-no in the books of UI design. It is safer to use gradients when you wish to integrate more colors in your layout. Contrasting colors will help users see and comprehend your content with greater ease, translating into better usability.

Maintain Consistency When using an app, the user tends to familiarize themselves with the different elements in the interface and apply the knowledge gained to navigate through. So it is important to maintain consistency. Designing simple, clear, and consistent navigation can be the difference between a good UX and a decent UX. Similarly, if you have a web app as well as a mobile app, it is important to ensure the transition from either to the other should be smooth, and a consistent design can help achieve it.

Pleasing UI Layout Design elements such as fonts, color, logos, buttons are the building blocks of your interface and should be used judiciously to create your UI. You may wish to radicalize your app design and bring out-of-the-box ideas, but it is a double-edged sword. A good UX dictates that an app user should be able to manage basic tasks without jumping through UI design nuances to reach their destination. Provided that the learning curve for interacting with your app isn’t steep, “out-of-the-box” ideas are good to implement. However, this requires you to gauge your audience demographics and design accordingly.

Accessible Buttons are a boon to interface designers as it allows them to replace ugly hyperlinks with attractive buttons. However, it is important to include text labels on the buttons as it adds further comprehension for the user.

Thumb-friendly Interface Handhelds and wearables are the future, and this means the user interface needs to be easily interacted with using thumbs. Well-designed app interfaces are the ones that are kept in the thumb’s reach of the users.

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Therefore, any design elements should be kept between 7-10 mm to be accurately tapped with a finger.

Always Test your Designs Fifty-eight percent of users are frustrated by interface inconsistencies. (Source) Sometimes what seems good on paper and in design might not be effective once deployed as a functional mobile app. Since mobile app UX design is all about the user’s emotional reaction towards the app’s design, it should be tested by real users on a variety of mobile devices.

Benefits of an optimized mobile app UI/UX design Improves Customer Acquisition and Retention A user-friendly and intuitive UI/UX design provides you with a competitive edge and increases user trust. The customer’s enhanced trust correlates to a higher likelihood of conversion.

Increases Customer Satisfaction Customers are becoming increasingly important to businesses. Once a company has figured out who its ideal consumers are and their wants, it can use its applications to put the customer’s needs first. Your app will keep your users engaged by providing easy navigation and compelling information.

Maximizes Productivity & Conversions A high-performing design allows for increased productivity in terms of progress, user engagement, and sales conversion. It engages your users, leading to increased conversions and profit. Faster page loads, simple layouts, rich and immersive content, and intuitive navigation all contribute to an app’s success.

Brand Building UX and UI encompass more than just aesthetic components, style, symbols, fonts, colors, pictures, and functionality; they also express a company’s values and ideals. Your clients will be happier if your UI/UX experience is better. Customers that have a pleasant user experience are more likely to remain loyal to your business and become brand champions.

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This leads to the development of a brand, a higher reputation, and increased sales.

Reduced Development Resources Money, time, and support are all essential resources for every business. When you take a user-centered approach to your mobile app’s UX/UI design, you’ll save future difficulties and save your company money.

Maximized Revenue Customers are always eager to pay a premium for superior service; all they need in return is a great user experience. Likewise, customers would be keen to spend money with you if your app has great functionality and an exceptional bespoke app UI/UX design. As a result, it’s best to concentrate on all possible possibilities to convert your users into purchasers and optimize your return on investment.

Wrapping Up Designing a mobile app is no longer about resizing the desktop manifestation to suit the small display sizes. Brands are realizing that UX is above and beyond your app’s performance. The UX and UI Design will guide your users to what they are looking for, eventually increasing their engagement with your brand. If you are in need of UI/UX design solutions, VSPL offers innovative and affordable UI/UX design services.

Author Bio Sandip Patel – BDE Author works as BDE at Vindaloo Softtech (VSPL) since 2016. Sandip has 10+ years of work experience in VoIP Software Development Industry. VSPL is software development and solutions provider that offers FreeSWITCH, Kamailio, OpenSIP, WebRTC and Asterisk Development.

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