Learning iOS Design: A Hands-On Guide for Programmers and Designers

Learning iOS Design: A Hands-On Guide for Programmers and Designers

Released June 2013
Publisher(s): Addison-Wesley Professional
ISBN: 9780133157543

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Book description

“This book contains everything you need to know to create awesome, life-altering applications. . . . I pride myself on knowing a lot about design, but when reading this book, I probably didn’t encounter a single page that didn’t offer at least one interesting idea, new concept, or clever design technique. It’s also written in a way that prevents you from putting it down. . . . You’re in for a treat.” –From the Foreword by LUKAS MATHIS, author of ignorethecode.net

Transform Your Ideas into Intuitive, Delightful iOS Apps!

As an app developer, you know design is important. But where do you start? Learning iOS Design will help you think systematically about the art and science of design, and consistently design apps that users will appreciate–and love.

Pioneering Omni Group user experience expert William Van Hecke first explains what design really means, and why effective app design matters so much. Next, using a sample concept, he walks through transforming a vague idea into a fleshed-out design, moving from outlines to sketches, wireframes to mockups, prototypes to finished apps.

Building on universal design principles, he offers practical advice for thinking carefully, critically, and cleverly about your own projects, and provides exercises to guide you step-by-step through planning your own app’s design. An accompanying website (learningiosdesign.com) provides professional-grade sketches, wireframes, and mockups you can study and play with to inspire your own new project.

Coverage includes

  • Planning and making sense of your app idea

  • Exploring potential approaches, styles, and strategies

  • Creating more forgiving, helpful, and effective interactions

  • Managing the constraints of the iOS platform (or any platform)

  • Crafting interfaces that are graceful, gracious, and consistently enjoyable to use

  • Balancing concerns such as “focus versus versatility” and “friction versus guidance”

  • Understanding why all designs are compromises–and how to find the best path for your own app

    • Register your book at informit.com/register to gain access to a supplemental chapter in which Bill Van Hecke discusses the design changes made in iOS 7.

    Table of contents

    1. About This eBook
    2. Title Page
    3. Copyright Page
    4. Dedication Page
    5. Contents at a Glance
    6. Contents
    7. Foreword
    8. Preface
      1. Hello
      2. You’re a Designer
      3. Meet the Book
      4. Meet the Web Site
      5. You and Your Team
      6. Art/Science Duality
      7. Inspiration Is Everywhere
    9. Acknowledgments
    10. About the Author
    11. We Want to Hear from You!
    12. Reader Services
    13. Part I: Turning Ideas into Software
      1. 1. The Outlines
        1. The Process: Nonlinear but Orderly
        2. Writing about Software
        3. The Mental Sweep
        4. More Inputs to Outlining
        5. Outlining Requirements
        6. Antirequirements
        7. Define a Platform
        8. Listing Ramifications
        9. iOS and Featurefulness
        10. Reducing Problems
        11. Outlining Architecture
        12. Your Outline Is Your To-Do List
        13. Summary
        14. Exercises
      2. 2. The Sketches
        1. Thinking by Drawing
        2. Design Happens in Conversations
        3. Tools for Sketching
        4. Sketches Are Sketchy
        5. When to Sketch
        6. Using Precedents
        7. Playing Devil’s Advocate
        8. Sketching Interfaces
        9. Sketching Interactions
        10. Sketching Workflows
        11. Summary
        12. Exercises
      3. 3. Getting Familiar with iOS
        1. Navigation: Screen to Screen
        2. Advice on the Standard Elements
        3. Custom Controls
        4. Summary
        5. Exercises
      4. 4. The Wireframes
        1. Thinking in Screens
        2. Thinking in Points
        3. Optical Measurements
        4. Tools for Wireframing
        5. Principles of Layout
        6. Typography
        7. Layout: A Place for Everything...
        8. Summary
        9. Exercises
      5. 5. The Mockups
        1. When to Mock Up
        2. Styling: The Apparent Design Discipline
        3. Mockup Tools
        4. Color: Thinking in HSB
        5. Get Serious about Value
        6. Contrast: Thinking in Figure/Ground Relationships
        7. Styling for Good Contrast and Visual Weight
        8. Good Backgrounds
        9. Transparency
        10. 1+1 = 3
        11. Presenting Image Content
        12. Evaluating Contrast: Posterize It
        13. Contrast Examples
        14. Birth of a Button
        15. Mockup Assembly
        16. Resizable Images
        17. Retina Resources
        18. Designing for Layers
        19. Summary
        20. Exercises
      6. 6. The Prototypes
        1. Test on the Device
        2. Kinds of Prototypes
        3. Paper Prototypes
        4. Wizard of Oz Prototypes
        5. Motion Sketches
        6. Preemptive Demo Videos
        7. Interactive Prototypes
        8. Proof-of-Concept Software
        9. Why Do Usability Testing?
        10. How to Do Usability Testing
        11. Summary
        12. Exercises
      7. 7. Going Cross-Platform
        1. Platform Catalog
        2. Standalone, Mini, and Companion Apps
        3. Start from Scratch
        4. Back to the Outlines
        5. Case Study: Apple Mail
        6. Summary
        7. Exercises
    14. Part II: Principles
      1. 8. The Graceful Interface
        1. Suspension of Disbelief
        2. The Moment of Uncertainty
        3. Instantaneous Feedback
        4. Gracefulness through Layout
        5. Six Reliable Gestures
        6. The Sandwich Problem
        7. Exotic Gestures as Shortcuts
        8. Realistic Gestures
        9. Hysteresis
        10. Thresholds
        11. Generous Taps
        12. Meaningful Animation
        13. Making SnackLog Graceful
        14. Summary
        15. Exercises
      2. 9. The Gracious Interface
        1. Denotation and Connotation
        2. Cues
        3. Imagery
        4. Text
        5. Writing: The Secret Design Discipline
        6. Redundant Messages
        7. Communication Breakdown
        8. Guidance at the Point of Need
        9. Visible Status
        10. Contextual Status
        11. Invisible Status
        12. The Sense of Adventure
        13. Capability
        14. Defensive Design
        15. Forgiveness
        16. Making SnackLog Gracious
        17. Summary
        18. Exercises
      3. 10. The Whole Experience
        1. Serve the Soul
        2. Conveying Capability
        3. Documentation
        4. Support
        5. Localization
        6. Accessibility
        7. Ethos
        8. Respect
        9. Summary
        10. Exercises
    15. Part III: Finding Equilibrium
      1. 11. Focused and Versatile
        1. Debunking “Simple” and “Complex”
        2. The Focused Design
        3. Focusing SnackLog: Labeling
        4. The Versatile Design
        5. Summary
        6. Exercises
      2. 12. Quiet and Forthcoming
        1. Adjacent in Space
        2. Stacked in Time
        3. Progressive Disclosure
        4. Group by Meaning, Arrange by Importance
        5. Promotion and Demotion
        6. Splitting the Difference
        7. iOS Loves Context
        8. Hide, Don’t Disable
        9. Disappear
        10. Taps Are Cheap
        11. Loud and Clear
        12. Making SnackLog Quiet
        13. Making SnackLog Forthcoming
        14. Summary
        15. Exercises
      3. 13. Friction and Guidance
        1. The Difficulty Curve
        2. Experience Weight
        3. Why Add Friction?
        4. How to Add Friction
        5. Unintended Friction
        6. Guidance
        7. Sensible Defaults
        8. Summary
        9. Exercises
      4. 14. Consistency and Specialization
        1. How It All Works Out
        2. Getting the Most Out of the HIG
        3. The Consistent Design
        4. The Specialized Design
        5. Summary
        6. Exercises
      5. 15. Rich and Plain
        1. Color versus Monochrome
        2. Depth versus Flatness
        3. Realism versus Digitality
        4. Summary
        5. Exercises
    16. Index

    Product information

    • Title: Learning iOS Design: A Hands-On Guide for Programmers and Designers
    • Author(s):
    • Release date: June 2013
    • Publisher(s): Addison-Wesley Professional
    • ISBN: 9780133157543