IA: Reading notes

4 surprising app design principles

First of all to be honest these are not all that surprising some are pretty obvious. Apps are fairly new so designing for them is not like designing for print or even for desktop web design. This first article got into some design principles that have been brought up my apps.

Design for distraction

Its not news that a lot of people don't pay careful attention while using their phones, in fact, many of them use their phones with out even looking at the screen. This behavior doesn't change much when using apps designing for this is crucial. With such a small screen its unfair to demand the user to put all their attention on your app when their is so much going on around them (exception for those that use apps to drown out everything around them). In theory if your user can operate your app with one hand and only looking at the screen half the time then you have succeeded.

Kill sign up form

I hate having to give info online so often, It actually make me uncomfortable that my info is all over the net(and I'm pretty confident in internet security). But that not the only downside of sign up forms, it just creates a frustration step to get to access to an app that I'm not yet committed to. Being able to use the app right after download is optimal and if the user enjoys it chances are they will sign up.

Don't hide passwords

Tiny keys on a tiny screen.. what if I have fat fingers? what if I'm in a hurry? I don't know if I hit the wrong key and I won't know because all I see is some dots. This security protocol is understandable for a large desktop screen where other people can take a peek but a device screen is small enough to hide.

Repeat yourself

To be blunt people are lazy and tend to enjoy things more that are easy to pick up. With touch devices there are so many different kinds of gestures and ways to interact with it that of course we as designers wanna use them all, but thats not the best way to go if you can keep your interaction with the app familiar through out any/all task(s) then it will create a less frustrated user.

How Tech Is Changing the Museum Experience

- coming soon -