GUIDELINES FOR APPLICATION USER INTERFACE (UI) DESIGN

1.  What is mobile UI (mobile user interface)?

A mobile user interface (mobile UI) is the graphical and touch-sensitive display on a mobile device, such as a smartphone or tablet, that allows the user to simply interact with the device’s application, features, content and functions.

Mobile user interface (UI) design requirements are different from those for desktop computers. The smaller screen size and touch screen controls create appropriate considerations in UI design to ensure usability, readability and consistency. In a mobile interface, symbols can be used more extensively and controls can be automatically hidden until accessed. The symbols themselves must also be smaller and there is not enough room for text labels on everything, which may cause confusion.

Users have to be able to aware of a command icon and its meaning whether through legible text or comprehensible graphical representation. Simple guidelines for mobile interface design are consistent across modern mobile operating systems.

2.  Guidelines to make Great UIs :

To deliver impressive GUIs, you can follow these guidelines:

• The design of the information, commands, and content in an app should echo those of the operating system in placement, composition and colors. While apps may diverge to some degree in style, consistency on most of these points allows users to intuit or at least quickly understand how to use an interface.
• Click points must be usable and convenient for touch-based selection with a finger. To avoid unwanted selection of nearby items, sometimes referred to as fat fingering, a click point can’t be too small or narrow in any direction.
• Try to maximize the content window size. On small screens, the UI shouldn’t unnecessarily dominate screen size. It’s necessary to recognize that the object of a UI is to facilitate use of content and apps, not just use of the interface.
• The number of controls or commands displayed at any given time should be appropriate in order to avoid overwhelming the user or make viewing/interacting with content confusing.

It can be challenging to set a balance between attending to design considerations and dealing with the specific requirements of different apps. Moreover, an app UI should be customized for each mobile OS, as that is the visual language the device user will be drown in and typically most familiar with. To sum up, mobile OS developers normally provide resources to familiarize UI designers with the way their OS does its interface.