Mobile
applications continue to proliferate. But the quality of mobile user
experiences ranges from pathetic to pure joy. You can develop an app for the
iconic Apple iPhone that has horrible usability.
"Design is a funny word.
Some people think design means how it looks. But of course, if you dig deeper,
it's really how it works.”
- Steve Jobs
Despite a popular believe that designer’s job ends when you hand
the designs to the development team, it’s just the opposite. Designer isn’t
just responsible for the look and the feel of the product, but also for the
interaction between the product and its users.
In this post I will take a look into the steps to follow when a
mobile designer is fully consumed by a project, working alongside of the
development team. I will also give some recommendations on the optimal format
for such work.
Assessment of the tasks
Work on any product begins with an assessment of the tasks.
Whether you are given a design brief, a technical summary or just an objective
that’s yet to be discussed over email, you are given a task, that’s key. What
is the correct way to go about assessing these tasks and extracting the
necessary information?
1. Understand the details
The most important thing that you need to understand is the
business goal. Each project has its own business goal: extra revenue channels,
brand identify or simply a mobile version of one’s web product. It is most
important to understand why you are working on the application - the design
will be tied to the business goal.
2. Analyze your audience
If you put enough thought in analysis of the product’s audience,
you will save yourself a lot of errors as well as boost your chances of
impressing your audience. For example, if the business people are in your
target group, then a flashy/cartoony application will probably be a bad idea. A
clean-cut design will, likewise, not impress any children.
3. Compose use cases
Think about the most popular way that your application is going
to be used. At this stage, think about a user persona and how this persona will
be using the application. You will uncover a myriad of important things, which
will help you design an outstanding application in the future.
Competitor Analysis
1. Search through blog content
Internet has a great number of sites, which compare products and
opinions in various markets - why not spend a few hours studying these, so you
could get expert’s opinions on the matter, as well as hear users’s voice, all
without doing any testing yourself? Do that.
2. Explore the app store
Much like #1, spend some time analyzing the app store in which
your applications will get published. It is hard to overestimate commentary and
ratings of real users.
3. Give competitive products a try
No doubt you have already found the most interesting and most
popular competitive applications. Don’t be lazy and spend a few bucks to buy
them for a scrupulous evaluation. It’s imperative to understand the whole
picture, composed of both, the opinions of others and on your own.
Search for inspiration and interface mechanics
1. Look at Scoutzie,
Dribbble and Behance
Internet has a great number of sites, which compare products and
opinions in various markets - why not spend a few hours studying these, so you
could get expert’s opinions on the matter, as well as hear users’s voice, all
without doing any testing yourself? Do that.
2. Stay up-to-date on recent articles and design concepts
Popular tech blogs often publish information about new mobile
concepts and interesting thoughts by the experts. I recommend that you follow a
few blogs of your choosing. Sometimes you will find interesting solutions for
interface controls or additional useful functionality of which you haven’t
thought yet.
3. Explore other devices and platforms
Combine your findings
As a result of your search, you will inevitably end up with a
mountain of articles, photos, screenshots and most important reviews. Now, put
all of that away for a few days and then sit down and think, how could you
combine the most successful mechanics and interfaces, ideas and concepts, while
not forgetting to pay attention to whether users are praising or dissing these
products. Could you do it? Great, let’s go on then.
Eliminate Overhead
As a result of your previous step, if all went well, you
probably have created enough interface functions. However, not all of them will
be useful. The first version of the product should have only the most important
ones, and everything else could be saved for the consecutive releases.
2. Do your best on the primary functions.
Focus on the primary functions and polish them - all the
critical functions of the product shall work perfectly. Spend as much time on
this part as necessary, but remember to stay focus on the core product.
3. Compare with the original goal.
It’s really easy to get carried away while working on a design
projects. As you’re doing the creative work, always keep in mind the business
objective, the audience and the personas. If everything is going as originally
planned, carry on. If not, now is a good time to correct the course.
4. Compare with the platform guidelines.
Spend some time to compare if your designs comply with the
platform’s guidelines: corner radiuses, angle of light and shadows, font size
and many other minor details that impact the look and feel of a product, many
of these are very different between the platforms. Your goal should be to make
the most beautiful and well-functioning application ever known to mankind.
Right? Then be sure to do the right thing.
Test the prototypes
1. Test the prototypes on your devices
If you want to maximize the user experience, it’s imperative to
test your prototypes in the native environments. Ask yourself these questions.
Are all the design elements arranged in a comfortable layout? Is it easy to
reach all elements with your fingers? Is it still easy if you’re only using one
hand? Does your hand block important elements as you hold the phone in the palm
of your hand? ... etc.
Answers to these and many other questions often cannot be easily
answered while looking at the static images on your display. You can put this
work together using special prototyping softwares and services or by using css3
and html5 capabilities, depends on your preferences and knowledge. At this
point it’s important that you really polish all the touch areas - the user
shouldn’t need to aim at targets as well as the interface shouldn’t interpret user’s
touch falsely.
2. Give it a go, on multiple screens
It is often that case that your designs would look astonishingly
on the screen of a high quality display, but the charm is all gone on the
actual device. It is rare to happen on a Retina display, if your design is done
for Retina, but porting a new design to older device models might change
colors, graphic sizes, and the sharpness of icons. Trying the prototypes on
actual devices would allow you to make necessary adjustments.
Focus on Details
1. Think through the animations
Animation is inseparable from great information systems, it
helps to structure data and logical dependencies between them, as well as
simply adds variety into the interfaces. Use simple animation where it is
necessary - animation overload could make significantly harder to interpret the
given information, leading to negative user experience.
2. Pick action sounds
This is a somewhat important part of the overall experience.
Sounds, as animation, should only be triggered when they can help to enhance
the user experience. It’s important that your sounds are also well recognizable
- think about the Skype start sound, whenever you hear it, you immediately
associate it with Skype. The simples way to get this right - just buy a set of
sounds, on one of many creative marketplaces.
3. Add little pleasures
Think about pleasant little things that could enhance your
application. For example, briefly substituting your notification panel with a
clock won’t distract or annoy the user.
Beta test the product and perform the design review
1. Be an active participant in the development stage
Remember, as a designer, you’re responsible for the way the
application is supposed to work, therefore, the more involved you are in the
development stage, the better it is for the end product. Speed, size, algorithm
design, all of these and many other aspects of development are on your
shoulders, as much as on those of the developers; these features will impact
the user’s impression. Don’t be lazy and attend technical brainstorming
sessions, you will be able to help.
2. Participate in beta testing
It’s absolutely necessary to involve a designer in the product
testing. Since the designer was the one to create the image of the application,
this person will be able to intuitively feel, whether users are responding in
the intended way. Furthermore, designer might catch some product imperfections,
those which wouldn’t even register for developers.
3. Compare the developed product to the original designs
During the product testing stage, you should compare the
application to the design at least a number of times - developers may implement
things differently, whether by mistake or due to misunderstanding of your
designs. Since every pixel counts, take screenshots of each screen and compare
them to originals. Comparing margins, fonts, colors...etc. Final tests should
be especially punctual, so your app is polished and ready to ship.
4. Don’t be afraid to append and change the product along the
way
Should you get great ideas during the testing phase, that’s
wonderful, that should happen. If so, think whether you can make this changes
quickly and how critical they are. If the answer to both questions is yes, then
you should make the changes right there and then. Secondary functions, which
pop into your head, you can always add into the next version of the
application.
Gather Reviews
1. Read everything people say about the app in press
After the release, pay close attention to app reviews, in them
you will find much interesting and useful information. Don’t worry if you see
negative and baseless reviews, those will always come up. You will also find
many appealing and constructive opinions, along with feature requests.
Especially follow close attention to reports made right after an early release
or a feature update; afterwards, keep an eye on the press every few weeks.
2. Follow the blogs
Pick a number of blogs that publish on your app’s category and
follow them. Readers often trust the authors on these blogs, as technically
savvy, and their opinions can make a significant impact on how your app is
perceived. Take a look on what was most appealing to these bloggers and what
was most disappointing, it’s something to consider in the future releases.
Show off your work
Professional design networks will help you collect a number of
peer opinions about your product. They will point out your flaws, which others
weren’t able to see. Don’t take all feedback to heart though, designers are
creative people and they, sometimes, can’t adequately asses the quality of work
without feeling a little jealous :)
