New UX/UI mobile application design trends come every year. There is a reason behind that. When most of the players begin to follow a specific trend, it becomes inefficient due to oversaturation. So, the designers should keep a check on the trends always to offer new things to their clients while business owners should check them as they work as a source of ideas for their business or brand development.
LIST OF THE TOP TEN UX/UI MOBILE APPLICATION DESIGN TRENDS IN 2021:
Dark Mode
Dark Mode is a top UI/UX design trend. It offers a modern, stylish, and elegant look. Since its launch, Dark Mode has been becoming famous and it’s here to remain forever. This mode lets users switch their background theme to the dark mode or light when they want. To allow this, an app should have an in-built dark theme UI. To make an app future-ready, it should include dark mode features. Some of the key features of dark mode include:
Optimally legible in the dark environment as well.
3D, Immersive Experiences
For years, 3D designs are known to attract people. It is a novel UI/UX design trend both for mobile and web. However, in 2021, the interest in designs in whole 3D scenes and 3D components has gone higher. Earlier 3D elements weren’t widely used as they put a heavy load on machines and weren’t in high demand as well. But with the modern front-end libraries and frameworks, page load time has significantly reduced, making 3D objects larger and more detailed.
Minimalism
This trend stands proudly as another latest UI/UX trend. People come across many advertisements daily. They get constant notifications and see various discount ads. People interact with various interfaces overwhelmed with information. Designers are looking for new methods to simplify the graphic elements and avoid any overload. Hence they limit the total colors and try different compositions and proportions. Presently, highlighting the functionality of an element is important. It is vital to underline the best quality of a product and convey the correct emotions from its use to clients.
Typography
It has been long that mobile designers recognized the significance of typography. Moreover, every year gets new trends related to font size and types, their position, and prominence on a website. In this year, typography will go wild with jumbo fonts that can overlap images, spill out of the screen, and take the center stage. Designers are recommended to use different font types, scattered text, and contrasting colors. His will help build a solid visual hierarchy and make an appeal to prompt visitors.
Content Focused Designs
His list couldn’t have been complete without including the concept of content-focused design. The content-focused design trend doesn’t mean marketing a brand or business with taglines, CTAs, logos, or names. It refers to creating a space where all that is related to UI/UX design trends is covered while offering every piece of information innovatively. When it comes to content-focused designs, the designer and content manager should work together to make a design that includes fascinating form, readable fonts, a highly responsive menu, and more.
Touchless Interactions
Another great UI/UX mobile design trend that started due to the pandemic is how we interact with devices without touching them like air gesture control and Voice User Interface (VUI). Air gesture control tends to be the method that takes different gesture control mechanisms to a whole new level. Air movements will now make things work. The addition of a voice-user interface in a design can help expand its reach.
Simplified UX
Now, you should neither complicate interfaces nor force the users to take additional actions. Minimize the total fields and elements that clients should fill. Simple logging in and signing in has become the newest UX trend.
Augmented Reality Apps
AR is not new when it comes to mobile designs. 2021 has brought new opportunities for creative AR apps since the worldwide revenue of AR-enabled mobile apps is anticipated to double in 2021. AR. Is known to push the mobile UX design boundaries by sustaining use experiences with immersive designs. Since it removes every physical barrier to user engagement, it reinvents the way individuals interact with businesses.
Disabled-People-Friendly Designs
For disabled people, it is pretty challenging to access apps. So, designers can create unique apps for disabled people. Some of them have already created such apps. The latest app trends direct the designers to make and conceive disabled-people friendly designs. Some must-have features that should be included in such apps include:
Touch-sensitive, responsive, and user-friendly designs
Easy accessibility
Gesture interpretation ability
Voice input
Microinteractions
Micro-interactions will take the users a step further by complementing visual perceptions with a tactile feel. You can add motion to icons, buttons, visual cues, menus, splash screens, and other elements to galvanize your app or site and trigger users’ responses faster. Microinteractions will give a boost to user experiences because they improve interactions, offers feedbacks, and keep the users engaged.
The best designers think ahead always, breaking every rule and inserting creativity to good usage to offer enthralling user experiences that turn into better exposure of the brand and a healthier bottom line. So, to do so, you should always keep a tab on the modern trends that amaze and delight your clients.
Conclusion:
Anteelo has 10+ years of experience with mobile and web design. Being a top Web design company in Canada, we know how to use the latest UI and UX trends in 2021 to design efficient and visually attractive digital solutions for any industry. For any queries, Feel free to contact us today.
Ever since I saw the first part of Iron Man, I’ve been fascinated by the potential of AI technology Tony was able to identify and utilize, all too well with his AI assistant Jarvis.
But hey! We are already halfway there in not reel but real life.
Remember using Siri for the first time in iPhone 4S? It was an otherworldly feeling, was it not? And since then, we all know how far we have come – Alexa, Google Assistant, Cortona and a hundred more.
So, as an inspired designer, if you are as fascinated as I am and want to give the voice-based AI a chance, then you need to hone your skills and knowledge on how to design voice user interfaces.
Luckily, you have stumbled upon the right article. Here is everything you would want and need to know about VUI and what makes them an important part of intuitive app search design.
What is VUI (Voice User Interface)?
Reasons why voice is becoming famous
Difference between Voice and other forms of UI
Steps for designing voice user interface
Design guidelines for voice user interface
Challenges of designing VUI
Future of VUI
What is VUI (Voice User Interface)?
Acronym of Voice user Interface, VUI is the interface that allows users to interact with a system through voice commands. The most popular and top voice user interface examples are Google Assistant, Siri, and Amazon’s Alexa.
The biggest advantage of VUIs is that they facilitate an eyes-free and hands-free way of interacting with a system.
Similar to mobile apps running on any OS and a device, VUI contains three layers that need to work together for efficient voice interactions. Here, each of the three layers uses the layer that is below it while supporting the one above. It is the upper two layers in which the voice interface lies, residing in the cloud and not on the device.
Reasons why voice is becoming famous
Speaking is more natural than typing
It is understood that speaking is easier and effortless than typing in general. So, having an application that runs on voice-command will make things more facilitated for users. It is an additional facility that users can use as per the requirement and are not bound by the ‘just typing’ feature. This is why voice interactions are gaining popularity by the day and all the industries have started to employ voice technology in one way or the other.
Helps technology be prevalent
Technology, nowadays, is just not limited to you commanding it to open your messages or call someone, as Voice assistants do. Voice interactions have opened gates that were long-awaited to be opened. Want to open your garage door, order an appointment, order food delivery, even start your car – all is possible with just your voice. Won’t you enjoy such an ever-present assistant with you?
Moore’s law
Moore’s law, in simple words, says that every two years, the capability of our computer devices to do something increases, which also reduces its cost. According to this law, growth is exponential. Taking this law forward, we can see how voice technology was initially just an experiment but now has become one of the emerging technologies, soon to be globally adopted.
More practical for specially-abled
The reason why industries are adamant about employing voice interactions in their mobile app development is they want to target the demographic which was always pushed to the sidelines. Voice technology is nothing but a boon for visually impaired users who are now able to use their devices and applications properly as compared to the challenges they faced while using visual user interfaces.
Difference between Voice and other forms of UI
Since we have different types of user interfaces available, understanding the different points between them will allow a more in-depth view of the VUI.
Speed
Speed is one prominent point of difference between Voice user interfaces and others like graphical user interfaces. Since humans are inherently visual in nature, they primarily prefer visual user interfaces as they may provide more speedy responses, if designed right in terms of system response time. Whereas, from what we see so far, VUIs can still lag a little behind in speed.
Text vs natural language vs gestures
It’s true that visuals are not the king anymore. Though the visual user interface is the preliminary and primary stage of interfaces, our generation is slowly moving on to better alternatives – Voice-based and gesture-based interfaces.
Voice takes in the natural language and converts it into a command for the voice-based AI to perform it, and as for the gesture-based interface, a great example is Sony Playstation, processing certain gestures and acting accordingly.
There is one more player – experimental-thought-based interface. So far, lie-detectors are the only prominent use case for it.
Privacy
Privacy is a big concern and a point of difference between these interfaces. It is possible to make text-based, gesture-based, and touch-based interfaces private, but it is still a challenge for voice user interface design.
Steps for designing voice user interface
1. Research your audience
In this process of designing VUI, you need to employ user-first design just as you would while designing other digital products. The primary aim here is to gather information and understand the behavior and needs of the users since this information is what makes the foundation of the product requirements.
What you should focus on at this stage is –
Identify the pain points of users and how their experience is. By doing so, you will be able to analyze where the users can benefit.
You must gather information on the user language- how they talk and the phrases they use while talking. This will help you design a system for different utterances.
2. Define
At this stage, you need to define the capabilities and shape the product. This includes –
Creating key scenarios of interaction
These scenarios come before the specific ideas of the app and should be identified in order to be turned into conversational dialogue flow. They are a way to think about why someone would need to use a VUI. So, you need to design the scenarios having high value for your users.
Sometimes, it can be confusing as to which scenarios are important and which can be ignored. For this purpose, you can use a use case matrix to evaluate each one of them.
Make sure these scenarios work with voice
What matters the most here is that the users are able to solve a specific problem more efficiently than they would be able to with the alternatives. The aim of this step is to find the common and specific cases which users will benefit from.
Among many, a few cases are – A. when users are pre-occupied and cannot use the visual user interface, and B. when they want to do something quickly. I.e, commanding the VUI to “Play some music” is much less time consuming than to do it manually.
The three factors- Intent, Utterance, Slot
Let’s understand these two with the above-mentioned example of “Play some music”.
Intent – It basically depicts the broader objective of the voice command. There are two types of intents – A. High utility ( very specific and straightforward command, i.e., ‘turn on the lights in the living room) and B. Low utility (vaguer and hard to decipher). In our case, it is a high utility interaction. Utterance – It deals with the possible ways users can phrase a request. In our case, the alternative to “Play some music” could be anything from “I want to hear some music” to “can you play a song” and so on. All the UI/UX designers of VUI have to take the variations into consideration.
Slots – When the intent is not sufficient, slots come into action. They refer to the additional information needed in order to deliver the best results for the query. They can be optional and required. In our example, the slot is ‘relaxing’ but it is optional since the category of music is not defined by the user. However, if the command was ‘book a taxi on Uber’ the slot would be ‘destination’ hence, required.
3. Create a prototype
The dialogue flow is the answer to the question of “how to create voice interaction between user and technology”. The process begins with creating a dialogue flow for each requirement you are aiming to target with your product.
These are the following points a dialogue flow should cover – Main keywords for the interaction, probable branches where the conversation could head towards, and example dialogues for users and assistants.
A dialogue flow in our case is nothing but a prototype illustrating the back and forth conversations between users and voice assistants. Let’s look at an illustrated dialogue flow below for better understanding.
You can use several prototyping tools at your disposal for VUI. Some of the most popular ones are Amazon Alexa Skill Builder, Sayspring, and Google’s SDK.
Writing dialogues
A compiled set of dialogues is what makes the building blocks of voice user flow. Here are a few tips for creating engaging and conversational dialogue –
Don’t make the process tediously long. Keep the number of steps to a minimum.
You should not teach commands to the users. This is something that is natural. Instead, focus on making your voice assistant conversational.
Try to keep your questions and responses brief. Here are the dos and don’ts.
Don’t –
User: “Tell me a good place to eat Chinese cuisine”System: “I have found five places for you. The first one is “Eat Chinese” is located…, 15 minutes away from you, open from 8:00 AM till 8:00 PM, the second is “Chopsticks” which is located on…, 1 hour away from you,…”
Do –User: “Tell me a good place to eat Chinese cuisine”System: “There are several Chinese restaurants in the area — would you prefer to walk or drive?”
Identify errors
Isn’t it better to identify the probable errors you can make while creating dialogues than to fix the magnified mess later? Here are a few things you should definitely stay away from but always keep them in perspective to avoid error states.
Ambiguity – Words are inherently ambiguous. Meaning, if a person says ‘Good’ it could mean ‘Okay’ or symbolize they are listening. So, make your AI aware of all the commonly occurring ambiguities for optimum performance.
Misspellings/Mispronounce – Unlike on paper, words are spoken differently. One single word could have multiple pronunciations, something which could hamper the conversation flow between the user and the natural language processing system.
Not providing relevant options – Always make sure that the users are getting something valuable and relevant out of the conversation. Irrelevant results for a query are least attractive and even less of a motivating factor for users to use your product again.
Even if the query does not have a positive result, your assistant should always reply and not leave the users hanging. I.e., if a user requests “Book a flight to LA from Dallas for Tuesday”, what should follow is – “I couldn’t find any flights for Tuesday”. And what even better is – “I couldn’t find any flights for Tuesday. Would you like me to check for Wednesday?”.
Portray your brand’s identity
Even in human conversations, the tone of the voice matters a lot since it has an emotional value attached to it. Then, your dialogues are what is going to become the personality of your product and it should always make a positive impression in users’ minds. You need to create not ‘just dialogues’ but the ones satisfying users’ emotional needs.
Use existing content
If you use the data at your disposal (all the conversations your product has with the user), you can greatly personalize their experience. For instance, if a user commands “I want to order noodles”, your system should revert “ Would you like to repeat your last order of Hakka noodles from Chopstick?”
4. Test your product
After everything has reached a near completion stage, it is time to test the seeds of your labor. You need to test the VUI you have designed to make sure it fulfills every benchmark on your checklist. There are two ways that you can use to test your prototype.
With target users
You can create groups of your targeted audience and then implement testing sessions to observe how users are interacting with your product. You can use this occasion for tracking task completion rate and customer satisfaction score (CSAT).
With test simulators
Similar to other simulators used in mobile app development, Google and Amazon also provide tools for testing the designed product. You can test the Alexa Skill and Google Action of the product with respect to the hardware devices and their settings.
5. Refine
After your app has landed in the market, it is time for observation. It’s time to indulge in UX analytics. This stage deals with analyzing how the users are using your product. It can be a lot challenging if you are clueless about what metrics you are supposed to observe. So, here are the most prominent ones.
Sessions per user or messages per session
Languages used
Intents and utterances
User engagement metrics
Behavior flows
Design guidelines for voice user interface
“Words are the source of misunderstandings” – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Normally, visual user interfaces also have issues that need to be addressed, but the frustration from a faulty visual interface is nothing compared to that of a VUI. So, if your designed voice assistant fails to function well, it would be ditched like a hot potato.
You know what will help you in stopping that from happening? – VUI design guidelines. So, let’s have a look at them at once.
Don’t wait for users to ask first
Unlike a visual user interface, users might not be able to get familiar with the functionalities right away. They might not even know how to start. In that case, one of the Voice UI best practices is to take the first step. For instance, if yours is a voice-enabled weather mobile app, it could say to the users – “You can ask for today’s weather or a weekly forecast.” Additionally, you should also offer an easy exit option.
Keep the list of action options short
Until and unless you want to overwhelm your user right in the beginning, you need to make sure that you provide only the most appropriate and basic options primarily.
The verbal content has to be as concise and full of meaning as possible while being easy to be understood in one go. As recommended by Amazon for designing Voice user interfaces for mobile apps for Alexa, one must not list more than three options for interaction. Doing this will also ensure an engaging UX design of the VUI.
KISS – Keep it simple and short
This principle is highly useful in designing VUIs. To make your voice app development the best out there, you need to make it easy for your voice assistant to understand commands. Suppose, you are designing a voice interaction to start a shop floor machine, the simplest way would be to attribute these multiple machines with numbers and then give commands like “Start machine 1”, etc.
Let users know they are being heard
Remember how agitated you feel when there is no activity sign on a webpage you just opened. Now, multiply this frustration in the case of VUI.
It is very crucial to keep it in perspective that your user needs to be informed when the device is actively interacting. You must give users queues on when to speak and when the voice assistant is listening. An image above of Google Assistant shows how it represents this function (with dots forming a wave) and with Alexa as shown below (bluish light swirling around the top rim of the device).
Confirm when the task is done
Just like you need confirmation after you have made any transaction, the same thing is needed with a VUI. Else, how would the user know the task has been performed?
For example, once the user gives the command “switch off the kitchen lights”, your assistant must respond with something like “Kitchen lights turned off”. This will eliminate the need for the user to check the task done in person, which is essentially the whole point of having a Voice-based AI.
Challenges of designing VUI
Like everything else, the voice-based interface also suffers from Achilles’ heel. In fact, there is not one but many. So, what are the challenges that VUI designers often come across and more often than not, fail to recognize or resolve?
Privacy and Security
The fact that these voice-based AI assistants are always waiting for queues listening to the sounds of their environment poses a big concern for the users. The paranoia of their privacy being tampered on is not irrational either.
Initially, voice assistants like Alexa stored all the conversations they came across which is a big risk of voice AI in the eyes of users. Something of a nightmare happened to a couple when Alexa was caught sending their secret recordings to a stranger. Now, some assistants automatically delete the stored conversations every 24 hours or so. However, these come at additional cost and UI friction.
Convey what Voice assistants can’t perform
It becomes challenging for voice UI and UX designers to explain to the end-users what the Voice AI cannot do. For example, while using Google Assistant when you say “Make an event named Sales team meeting for Tuesday at 2 o’clock” it creates an event card instantly and asks later “Would you like to save this event?”
But what if you need to change the location or time of the meeting later, what then? It would reply “I’m not sure about what you said, would you like me to save this event?”. To avoid the bad user experience, the AI could simply say “sorry, I am still working on adding locations”.
Difficulty in prototyping and testing
Another challenge faced by the designers is voice UI prototyping and testing. Suppose, you have created a prototype and want to test it. You have given the initial prompt that users can shop groceries with your voice assistant.
The challenge begins here – Users can say a particular thing in different styles, something which is hard to keep track of. It becomes all the more difficult to test the prototype on such queries when it is not yet fully developed with the voice search technology.
Support of language
Since the main tenet of voice technology is language, it becomes crucial for any voice-based AI to be fluent in understanding as well as speaking. Sadly, technology has only developed with respect to a few languages as of yet. Nevertheless, adding other languages and distinct accents to the interface is still a work in progress.
Future of VUI
Like a ritual, we are bound to look at the future prospects of every technology and voice is no different. From what we have gathered from the voice interface use cases such as Alexa, we know that voice technology integration alone cannot fulfill the daily requirements of the users.
The best way for it to become completely adopted is by shaking hands with the visual user interface – just like Google Assistant and Siri. VUI and visual user interface together can balance out each others’ shortcomings providing users with an amazing voice assistant experience. Additionally, this will allow them to do complex tasks with simple voice commands, which is what voice interfaces lack at this point in their development.
And who knows by the time this decade ends, we might all have our Jarvis and would be able to do it all like Tony Stark without a physical display.
Today, there is an app for everything, be it games, shopping, news, logistics, travel and many more things. As smartphones have become extremely affordable, mobile application development industry is booming and perhaps is one of the fastest growing industries. Analysts estimate that app revenues would triple by 2017. However, most of the apps go unnoticed and only a few of the apps are able to make their mark. So what’s the reason behind this? Well, there are a number of theories regarding this, but in this article, we would focus on UX design for mobile apps. Here are a few of the common hurdles that come in the way of success of any app:
1. Compromising UX to maintain consistency with web
Remember, mobile UX is unique and needs special attention and ux review when it comes to design. You just can’t implement your website design in the mobile application. It is true that branding is important, but putting all web UI elements into a mobile experience won’t be a good idea as it will confuse the users and put adverse effect on your mobile app.
2. User bombarded with tutorials
One thing that most of the mobile app developers do is – they provide detailed tutorials that mention each and every thing about the app on the first time itself. While it can’t be denied that user tutorials are important, but the written information should be kept at minimum. Rather, you should focus on the navigation of your app, and if the user of your app need to go through the extensive tutorials in order to acquaint him or herself with the functionality, then I must say that your app is a complete UI failure.
3. Apps that slow down
Speed of the app is one thing that certainly should not be compromised at any cost. Mobile users these days, multitask while using your apps. They want lightening fast speed and if your app does not match up to their expectations and is slow in speed, then they would go ahead with better options. You are suggested to avoid elements such as videos, heavy images that take time to download.
4. Apps that are confusing
App Stores are full of thousands of apps and the apps that are confusing in nature don’t attract much attention. Therefore, we would suggest you to use tried and tested methods and not to experiment unless and until it is extremely important. It is important to rigorously test design elements that are likely to confuse users.
5. Develop user centric apps
You are designing an app for your users and not for yourself. Choose designs keeping in mind your target audience. Try to know the user psyche and create a design based on your market research. Show your users what they want to and what they love to see. Consider feedback as one of the most effective methods in order to bring improvement in your app.
6. Forced sign-up
I would repeat this again, but there are thousands of apps available and one of the things that most of the developers do is they make the user go through a sign-up registration process or ask for other credentials in the beginning itself. Unless and until, you haven’t shown the benefits of your app, any user won’t put his or her credentials and ultimately it would lead to the abandonment of your app. Therefore, it is advisable to have the option of guest users in your app. You can keep sign-up for later stage when users begin to take interest in your app.
7. Industry Standard Guidelines
Both Google and Apple have laid down guidelines for app makers. Those guidelines are enough for any designer to follow and make a decent app. However, in the flow of creativity, designers tend to ignore the industry standards and end up making an app with overuse of hidden menus and unknown gestures. UX designers often compromise and get the basics of app design wrong. Designers need to do rigorous testing in order to avoid huge losses.
Anteelo is one of the most sought after app development companies in India providing top grade product design services across the globe. Anteelo boasts of the best UI and UX designers who create captivating designs and are well versed with latest guidelines of all the leading App stores as well.
The UX designer role occupies an exciting place in businesses today. In today’s marketplace, the customer is the KING! Every business needs to ensure that its customers are having the time of their lives with their products and services. The User-Experience domain is continuously climbing up on the ladder of priority of organizations. This has given the UX designer role a very prominent place in the industry. It has become one of the most sought-after jobs and has opened the gates of enormous scope for anybody who can shine in this niche. However, the definition of how a UX Designer should be like differs from company to company as each of them has different requirements and different customer bases. Nonetheless, the primary aim of a User Experience Designer is to ensure that the customer is not just satisfied but delighted with their services/products. They work towards improving the overall experience of the customer with the brand. It comprises of improvements like making the product more intriguing, engaging, and user-friendly. User-Experience designers think from the perspective of the customer to create the finest UX and solve any problems that a customer might face will indulging with the brand. Although the expectations from a UX Designer can vary from company to company, the general duties of the UX Designer include the following:
User Experience Designer Role:
Generally, the duties of a User Experience Designer includes the following:
1. Finding Innovative Ways To Solve Common UX Problems
A good UX designer is expected to think and move as a user would. He is responsible for figuring out the general issues that a user might face while using the product or indulging with an app. For instance, if the font is too small on your website or if the sign-up process of your mobile application is just too long and tedious. All these parameters come under the UX Designer role.
2.Product testing
A very crucial part of a UX designer’s job is to test various products to see how they are working with the users. A UX designer can conduct multiple surveys, interviews, usability tests, or take thorough feedback from the customers regarding their experience with the products/services and then gather the data and analyze it accordingly. The whole process of being with the users while they use your products creates a better sense of understanding and gives an in-depth knowledge of the customers’ experience with the product.
3. Conducting Comprehensive Product Research
This step is the most initial one while beginning a project. Detailed product research makes a firm ground for the designers to start building their projects and avoid assumptions and work with more factual data. This research enables designers to understand exactly what a user is looking for. It provides them with information about market requirements, customer expectations, and customer behaviour. It helps UX Designers to fathom industry models and perceive prospects for the product/service in a given region. It additionally boosts the planning and prioritizing of various parts of the products.
4. Describing Information Architecture
The primary task involved with Information Architecture is organizing the data and information athwart the product in a way that enhances the whole user experience. They ensure that the information is displayed across the product in a manner that is easily comprehended by the users. IA is the development of a framework for an application, site, or whatever that product/service that empowers users to know where they are on a site or an application, and data about the present location the user is. IA brings about the formation of routes, arrangements, and hierarchies.
5. Wireframing
Wireframing is essentially a mock display of how the final product will look like. This strategy is very crucial to envision the product design and augmenting the entire UX. Wireframes depict each and every phase of the product and give comprehensive information about what a user might go through while interacting with the product. It provides an upper hand to the brand as it can figure out the drawbacks without actually presenting the product to the users. It saves time and maintains the brand’s reputation. However, wireframes are not used for actual product testing.
6. Designing
UX designers sketch the item’s plan dependent on the persona made toward the finish of exploring the target client. In this stage, the UX designer structures the substance per the situations/scenarios. Scenarios are narrative methods for speaking to the client’s excursion or a day in their life. They clarify how the item (regularly a site or application) fits into the client’s life. It is essential for a UX designer to precisely consider every phase of the client venture. In such a manner, UX designers regularly utilize the design practice of information architecture.
7. Testing
At this stage, UX designers find out about any issues that may emerge when clients connect with the product/services. Product testing might be as straightforward as observing clients or it might incorporate complex test strategies, for example, exhibiting differing renditions of the product to realize which performs the best. Designers may likewise conduct overviews and polls. Additionally, UX designers may talk with clients on the off chance that they recognize issue territories. The least difficult of all the client testing techniques is watching clients while they connect with the product/services.
8. Implementation
On the off chance that you’ve not had a lot of experience working with web developers, at that point, it’s critical to think about this pivotal part of the job. During implementation, you will be working personally with engineers to arrive at your ultimate objective for a venture. The engineers will be striving to change your thoughts and ideas into a genuine, working website; how you approach this relationship will decide the achievement or disappointment of your task. Keeping your engineers tuned in all through the procedure will make this last stage simpler for everybody included; you as the UX designer will have realistic expectations of what the developers can deliver (and in what time period) and the designers won’t get any terrible stuns ultimately.
A UX designer is answerable for this whole procedure, and its execution. In any case, bigger organizations will segregate this task into a couple of smaller jobs so that that attention is not divided.
Conclusion
UX Designing is a very vivid field as it does not just cover developing a product or selling it; it involves the through-out journey of a user with the brand. A different approach to the UX Designer role is to ensure that when a user uses the services/products, each component should be efficiently optimized and emerge as extremely easy-to-use and very practical. A company depends on its users, and ensuring that they have a pleasant experience is a serious business. Being a multidisciplinary field, UX Designing has an extensive scope. UX designers come from diverse backgrounds like psychology, engineering, designing, and even hospitality. To structure for human clients also implies that you need to work with an elevated degree of responsibility in regards to as inclusive as possible and consider the limitations and expectations of the masses. A User Experience (UX) Designer must have a solid comprehension of user conduct and business objectives and must be equipped for a wide assortment of aptitudes, going from psychology to structure and innovation. Even though UX designing is a field that feels essential to product improvement, its inherent capacity stays unidentified to numerous in light of its relative freshness.
Do you often look up to other successful startups and wonder how they made it?
Are you constantly pondering over an idea at the back of your mind, waiting for that defining moment to turn it into a reality?
So, if you have stumbled across your eureka moment, and are now faced with multiple challenges as to how to put into action what you have envisioned, you are on the right page.
We will break down the steps that can help you make the cut and are crucial to successfully run a startup in the mobile app industry.
Since the world is going digital, and the most amount of time we spend is hooked to a screen, any successful small business is involved in startup app development solutions.
We netizens are well aware that Playstore and App Store are flooded with innumerable mobile applications – Business, Lifestyle, Educational, On-demand apps, etc. But it is equally essential to realize early on that very few apps get trending.
Studies show that few startups are successful and most appreneurs tend to commit some common mistakes. So the first step in your startup journey should be to look before you leap.
1. Validate Your Idea: Ideate, Pause, Rethink
We understand that it is attractive to let your creative juices flow but it is equally essential to reflect on other possibilities and not dive right in without testing the waters.
Make a list of all your potential ideas. It not only gives you an insight but provides due clarity regarding which idea to pursue.
In case you are confused whether the idea is worth giving a shot, get it validated from leading experts and see if it sparks their interest. An approach that the best mobile app consultants follow when checking the validity of your product is through a product discovery workshop. The 5 days workshop is known to have brought a number of successful startups in life.
Another tip is to never overlook other ideas. Understand that there is always a scope for improvement, and sometimes the whole process of ideation leads to new outcomes.
After finalizing on which idea to pursue, make sure that you have a comprehensive understanding of the pain point and the solution you are offering.
After all, your unique idea, besides making you one of the most successful startups, is also solving a problem. This leads us to the next step.
2. Detail-oriented Market research
No matter how revolutionary your idea is and how likely it is going to transform the mobile application industry, if you do not conduct a thorough market research and are not able to establish a target audience, you are bound to fail.
Understanding the market and finding a product-market fit is a prerequisite to run a successful startup. The key is to ensure you are solving real user problems and even though what you may be doing is not overtly unique, you have to find a place for yourself in the market.
Study the competitive landscape and conduct a competitor audit. Download some apps that work on similar pain points, use them personally and determine the scope for improvement.
Research on apps that failed and explore the reasons for the same.
Why? Because it eliminates the chances of failure and learning from others’ mistakes is a usual practice in the startup ecosystem.
Conducting an in-depth market research can help you find your unique value proposition and ensure that you are way ahead of your competition.
Also, during the preliminary research, one should conduct surveys to understand the user demographic and engagement. Knowing what the target audience likes helps in building a product that they truly want.
Remember, user engagement is the key and at every step of the way keep your niche audience in mind.
3. Choose an Ideal platform
Choosing an ideal platform for your app is the next step in your mobile app development journey.
In order to decide whether your app will cater to Android, iOS, or both, you should take into account a couple of factors. The key is to research which platform is ideal for mobile startups and understand what aligns with your business idea.
According to Statista, as per the third quarter of 2019, Android users were able to choose between 2.47 million apps while Apple’s App Store offered almost 1.8 million available apps for iOS. This makes Google Play, the app store with the biggest number of available applications.
To choose a viable platform you should study factors like market share and revenue for both Android and iOS. Arriving at a conclusion would not be possible if you do not have an in-depth understanding of the respective play stores. So, carefully assess the number of downloads and revenue models for both the app stores.
The choice between native and hybrid apps is another factor to consider. Both come with their set of pros and cons, and factors like technicality, functionality, cost and time play a defining role.
4. Focus on Designing an Impeccable UI/UX
One of the common elements in most successful startups is the impeccable design that the applications are made with. No matter which successful app you pick up – Instagram, Canva, Telegram – you will find intuitive design being a part of them.
The role of UI/UX design doesn’t just lie in the eye-catching appeal. The application should be usable and functional as well. Additionally, it should meet the standards set by Google Material Design and Apple’s Human Interface Guidelines.
The UI/UX design guide that we follow at Anteelo is one that not just meets the guidelines but also solves a number of additional areas like – getting visibility, app spend time, and user retention rates.
5. Product Development
The next step is to jumpstart the development process and for that, you would require an app development team.
There are effective ways to choose an app development company and see months of planning and strategizing come into action.
To ensure that your idea materializes into a successful product, you need to give a lot of thought to the people you will partner with.
In that context, you generally get two options:
Hire an in-house team of developers
Partner with a team of remote developers through the mode of outsourcing.
Reflect on the challenges you are currently facing.
Do you want an In-house team or do you plan to Outsource?
Take a decision based on what aligns with your business needs.
While the former ensures a faster level of communication and a deep understanding of your product idea, outsourcing provides you the opportunity to hire highly skilled designers and developers.
The next question you need to ask yourself is whether you will be able to monitor the development process yourself? Accordingly, choose an app development company.
Before hiring an app development company, make a list of potential partners, ask the right set of questions and go through their portfolios and case studies. Not only it documents their work, it gives you due clarity if the company is the right fit for you.
Get feasible options by analyzing the app development cost worldwide.
Hire the best developer but make sure you sign a Non- Disclosure Agreement.
Besides building a scalable app, your focus should lie in delivering a delightful experience to your end-users. Any user first perceives an app through the User experience. To retain your users in the long run, the
User experience should be immersive and the UI should be modern, innovative and intuitive.
Being ambitious is great but we suggest, you do not get lost in a maze of features. First, concentrate on building an MVP for your app, address the core pain points and then gradually shift to improved features after garnering feedback from your users. The emphasis should be on the ‘must-have’ features, the ‘nice to have’ features can always be added later.
Making a wireframe solves a lot of problems. It outlines the layout of an app and plays a fundamental role in structuring the product early on.
It also provides necessary insights on how the users will engage with your app and helps you identify the problem areas.
6. Look for Raising Investment
After spending a considerable amount of time on building your app, you need to consider the problem at hand- How to raise money for your mobile app startup?
Generating a large amount of funds implies greater resource availability and higher chances of success.
There are various ways to generate funds. Decide on ways for fundraising that align with your business model – Seed funding, Bootstrapping, Crowdfunding, ICO, etc.
Craft an Elevator Pitch and be on the lookout for potential Investors. Now is the time to be ambitious. Make sure you have a product that investors chase.
7. Create a Strategic Marketing Plan
How do you make sure your app gets traction quickly and reaches far and wide?
Through strategic marketing.
Marketing is one of the key startup success factors that makes a regional brand a global one.
Through compelling marketing strategies, you can create the buzz around your app and ensure people go gaga over it.
Use Social media and PR to gain market visibility and facilitate rapid user acquisition. Use effective mobile app marketing strategies and leverage the power of App store optimization to make your app go viral.
8. Have a Monetization Plan in Place
One of the ways of creating successful startup companies is to decide the best monetization strategy for your mobile app.
There are a number of options for the industry to choose from: Advertising, Sponsorship, In-app purchases, subscriptions, and pay-per-download are few options to choose from. Read into the pros and cons of each to understand which monetization model can be the best when seeking ways on how to run a startup. You should aim for ways that would guarantee
9. Update and Improve Your Application
If you think your digital journey ends by launching your app and diving into the market, you are wrong.
The mobile app development lifecycle does not end by launching the application. Regular updates improve app visibility and ensure you are providing value to the user at every iteration.
So, for lasting success, keep improving your app by taking user feedback into consideration. Maintenance, updates, new functionality, is an ongoing process. Ensure maximum user retention along with a steady revenue model in place. Another element that you need to consider well in advance before execution is pivoting your startup.
10. Have an App Retention Strategy
The reasons behind app uninstallation are numerous – and so are the instances of app uninstallations. Keeping users interested in your application, in the presence of 50s of similar apps.
Here are the different ways you can retain your customers –
Plan your notifications timing properly
Be transparent about the permissions and how you’re going to use their data. Being transparent continues to be one of the secrets of successful tech startups
Although your partnered startup app development company must take care of it. But, update the application only when necessary.
So here are the different ways you can ensure that the business model of app development for startups works for you.
We’re living in an age where data is the most precious thing. Data has the power to distort or empower people’s perception and individual decision making capabilities. As a UX designer, it’s on us to design applications that convey the right kind of data in the right way to help make correct decisions.The Visual Display of Quantitative Information by Edward Tufte is a book that talks about the same thing. Jeff Hale shared an interesting story in his book review.“A good chart can inspire action. Early epidemiologist John Snow’s 1854 map with data appears to have saved many lives. Snow showed the location of London’s 13 public wells and 578 cholera deaths by stacked bars perpendicular to their location. His graphic, in part, appears to have helped convince the city to shut down the infected well.”
We’re in the 21st century now and I feel we still have a long way to go when it comes to designing data-intensive applications. A data-intensive application is driven by the huge amount of data it consumes. Working with this overwhelmingly huge amount of data has just one problem. It creates various problems for the application because now one has to take care of various aspects such as consistency/standards, usability, scalability and maintainability of the application.
Scalability and maintainability are something that require good application architecture and quality code. But for the scope of this blog, let’s skip that part and talk only about the design.
As designers, we first need to understand that data visualization plays an important role in defining the user experience. The way data is represented on the UI defines how the users are going to interpret and use it. Only when we understand the ‘why’, we’ll be in a position to empower the end users of the application in making informed decisions.
How to design compelling data-intensive applications?
The first step in designing data-intensive applications is determining the mode of representation of data. One can represent data through charts, tables, maps or a combination of these. One of the most common ways to represent data is through dashboards which give a bird’s eye overview of data and share insights that allow users to quickly make decisions or iterate on their current implementation.
For now, let’s talk just about these dashboards and how designers can pay attention to the little details of designing dashboards. Although, different products demand different approach to designing dashboards, but I feel that one can keep a check on the below points to make sure that whatever you design is useful and reliable.
Choose the right visualization method
One of my friends recently recommended me an app for managing my finances. She raved about the mobile app so much that I had to download it. I realized it later why she was all praises. The app gave me so much information just at one glance. I could look at my monthly expenditure as well the breakdown of money spent on food, movies, travel etc.
Looking at it from a designer’s perspective, I now know why it clicked for me. For different data sets, they have used an appropriate visualization method.
For example, the monthly report used the line graph so that user can easily identify spikes in expenditure at one glance. Similarly, expense categories are shown in a pie-chart and color coded, so that it’s easier to identify in which category the person spent the most.
So, just before you begin the design of the dashboard, start with an initial understanding of what kind of data you have and what’s the most suitable data visualization method that you can use.
Here are a few data visualizations methods that you can frequently use in dashboards of digital apps-
Line Chart– Line chart is great for showing data trends.
Bar Chart– Bar chart helps in comparing data values of related categories quickly.
Pie Chart– It divides a circle into proportional segments to show percentages between categories.
Gauge Diagram– It’s not a very popular choice, but it can be used in situations where you want to take a different spin on data visualization. For example, in showing the voter’s opinion during the elections, or a client’s opinion on product’s feedback.
Plan your layout keeping in mind your end users
A good layout keeps things in place and makes navigation easier for users. Think in terms of the physical space in your house. How do you know which utensils are kept where in the kitchen? How do you wade through the pile of clothes in your closet? It’s because of the layout and the place you’ve fixed for everything.
In the same way, for websites and mobile apps, layout plays an important role. It takes a greater precedence if the application is data-intensive. This is because when you have lots of data, understanding and deriving insights from it is time-consuming.
Therefore, it’s a good practice to keep below practices in mind-
Cut down on extra options
The more choices you give people, the more confused they’ll be. And the more time they’ll take in picking their choice. By the way, that’s not my personal opinion, it’s what the Hick’s law states.
No wonder, why do we take so much time in shopping malls.
But, as a designer, you can be the change you wish to see in the world. All we have to do is resist the temptation to show everything in one single interaction. Not every piece of information can be useful as well as critical. Even if it is, show only that information which is urgent and important for them and which motivates them to take action.
Use progressive disclosure technique to reveal the rest of the information. This way, the users can digest the information quicker and accomplish tasks faster.
An example could be from a news reading website. Showing the entire news could be a little straining for readers. On the other hand, if you just show them the snippets, the readers feel far less cognitively strained.
Do more with less
Some people think that simplicity ruins creativity. But it’s the other way round. Simplicity empowers you to do more with less. It reduces the cognitive load on the users and helps attract attention on the most relevant details.
Be consistent
Consistency is important to help users retain and understand information. We see consistency in almost every aspect of our life.
Consider this as an example- Imagine the chaos in your life if you discovered that the state/country you are visiting has different signals at traffic intersections. In that fictional state, Red no more means stop, Green no more means GO, and yellow is replaced by purple. Now, you have to learn these conventions all over again. Wouldn’t that be messy?
Similarly, in web and mobile applications, it becomes difficult for the user if you keep changing icons, colors, layout, CTAs, etc. An ideal approach that you can take is to make users learn once, use anywhere.
Select an appropriate color palette
Every color tells a story and that’s why finding the right color palette for data visualization is probably the most crucial step. Choosing appropriate colors also impacts the accessibility of your applications as people who are visually impaired can benefit from your color selection.
There are a few things that you need to remember while choosing your color palette-
Be consistent with colors
If you are using two color variables in a chart, don’t confuse your users with different representation of colors for the same variable.
Use desaturated colors for visualization
Desaturated colors like white, black and shades of grey work the best as they do not attract unnecessary attention from the user, rather they convey the information subtly. The more colors you use in your visual representation, the more difficult it becomes for the user to decode the information.
Use saturated colors only to draw attention to changes (state)
If you want to highlight the most important aspects of your chart, use a saturated color instead of throwing all colors together. Make grey your best friend and use it as a base to make sure you neither miss showing the important data points, nor do you overdo with too many colors.
The reason why data-intensive applications deserve more attention while designing is because these applications are complex. Moreover, there are multiple touch-points in such applications which need a touch of innovation so that users interactions become smooth and useful.
Imagining Artificial Intelligence in situations and use cases where there are a massive number of data in picture makes perfect sense. But what happens when the situation is entirely based on human discretion? Will an artificial intelligence user experience design would also be able to do what AI did to several other industry verticals?
Designing, almost in all its different forms is driven by keeping the human part of process at a much higher ground than the analytical and data driven side. While there are some domains like CAD design or Product Design that leaves some space open for machine learning to enter, when the design form in question is mobile app design, the gap seems to become negligible.
However, Artificial Intelligence, like a number of other industries have found a place in the Mobile App Design vertical as well, giving birth to the concept of artificial intelligence user interface design. A concept that is ought to bring a new level to the relationship between artificial intelligence and customer experience.
While, the answer to whether machine would replace designers is next to impossible, there are ways that the designer community has started taking AI user experience together in their journey to designing memorable mobile apps in multiple ways, like –
Getting time-taking manual works like image resizing automated
Making designs localized by taking help of AI based translation
Bring system consistency between users and products
Give insights into which elements are users interacting with, which needs attention
This participation that the deisgning industry is witnessing coming in from the AI driven UI domain is something that is showing to have a huge impact on the industry’s present, while paving the way to a world where AI and the future of design is much better linked.
Now that we have seen the impact that AI carries on Mobile app Design and how it is soon becoming one of the proven tips to enhance mobile app design, the next step is to look at the principles that guide their unison in the domain of designing AI experiences
The Guiding Principles that Combine Mobile App Design with Machine Learning
Develop a Shared Language
Elements like user experience review, product vision, and business goals are something that needs to be understood and shared by the complete team. You would only be able to create a meaningful and truly intelligent user experience if the mobile app design and machine learning development methods complement each other through shared concepts and common language. The machine learning experts and user experience designers should come together to develop a common blueprint which includes data pipelines and user interfaces, with the aim to set a blueprint that grounds the team’s product planning with the users’ reality.
Focus on Use Case
The important thing when developing a consumer facing app, as the top software designers would tell you, is not the technology that backs it but the business goal and the user experience that you plan on achieving. And so, it is extremely important that you crystallize the use case. With a separate focus on the use case, you can then put your intricate attention on the user flow, which then allows the team to identify the main points where machine learning can be added to enhance the experience.
A clear understanding of the use case also enable teams of the mobile app design company to determine the right KPI for the development of user experience program, which in turn is aligned with machine learning metrics.
Mix Quantitative and Qualitative Data
In order to understand the true impact of combining the machine learning solution and user experience design, it is important that both qualitative and quantitative data is considered. You should make use of qualitative research methods like questionnaires, interviews, etc to measure how the users are experiencing your app.
The reason why we are emphasizing on using a combination of quantitative and qualitative data is because when designing a new app, it is possible that you meet unexpected factors that affect machine learning developmant and user experience. Factors like: Effectiveness of feedback loop, ability of data point capturing intention and user behaviour, which are must to know parts of Artificial Intelligence app design can best be answered only after a deep consideration of both the data types.
Bring Your Combined Data to Real Life Setting
How do you make sure that machine learning is actually used to develop comprehensible and fluent user experience? By setting up an end to end solution that shows how machine learning and user experience fit together in real world. An MVP that includes the working data pipeline along with the machine learning models makes it easy to iterate the AI assisted design together and helps in getting a direct feedback from the users via beta or user testing.
When both UX designers and Machine Learning experts of your partnered AI app development company share the understanding of product design issues, iteration is productive and fast. While on the other hand, user experience designers become aware of possibilities that surrounds machine learning: when it can be used to improve the user experience and how.
Be Transparent About Collecting Data
Designing for AI and with it, needs a constant effort and for it to be absolutely on point, it is important that you give a special focus to the data you have collected. It is very important to consider the end user side in this cycle of collect data – convert data into information – iterate design. Tell users that their data is being used to feed the AI and give them the option to alter the collected information in a way that the best context comes through. In addition to giving users the option to change what data is collected by the AI, you should also give them the option to change what the AI learns – to ensure that the predictions are what the users desire.
While these principles that we just saw help in giving some clarity into how the combined AI and UX design should function, let us look at how some of the famous designing and editing tools that are backed by the developers community across the globe are using the technology to offer better mobile app user experience.
Tools That Use Artificial Intelligence for Design
Tailor Brands
The Tailor Brands logo maker is a famous product used by businesses to get professional logo in a small budget. The AI designs are built upon with your input coming in form of information that would be entered in logo.
Adobe Photoshop
The Select Subject functionality that Photoshop offers make use of AI for memorizing the shape, and then shifting, changing, and editing them with much ease. The tool works on an internal AI system known as Sensei that enables changing backgroungds by recognizing the different subjects in the image.
Prisma and Deepart
Both the famous image editing tools/AI design software make use of artificial intelligence for identify the different aspects of your video and photo and transforming them in a style of your choosing. They give you the option to work around filters and colours among other things.
Let’s Enhance
One of the most frequently arising issues in the designing industry is low quality images. Let’s enhance, powered by AI improves the quality of images using three filters. Anti-JPEF filter converts image to high quality PNG while Boring filter scales up image to around 4 times without any compromise on the image quality. Magic, the third filter allows you to add detailing inside the image. Making Artificial Intelligence a primary part of the Mobile App Design process is something that comes packaged with several add on factors that have to be considered to ensure that that User Interface and User Experience is intact.
And this in turn is not an easy process.
Packaging your app’s user experience with Artificial Intelligence in a way that the whole process gets translated into Artificial Intelligence design patterns calls for a lot of homework, which in itself is heavily dependent on the information that the users provide with consent.
If you are just starting with making your designs smarter, there are some UI patterns that would help you start on the intelligent journey.
A. Criteria Sliders
A number of apps use machine learning algorithms to predict an outcome or pass recommendations. A criteria slider comes in handy here for it helps userss adjust and then fine tune recommendations on the basis of criteria that is meaningful to them. Here, you will have to ensure that the criteria that the users are manipulating with is mapped correctly to data which the machine is using in algorithms.
B. Like and Dislike Button
A simple like and dislike button help better the user experience that someone shares inside the application. Wwhen you ask users to feed in their experience even through a simple like and dislike button, you give them the option to not just build upon the recommendation system but also give feedback on what they don’t like and why.
C. Confidence Inducing Tips
More often than not, users not just not know how the whole prediction and artificial system works, but also they don’t know how much confidence they can place in the system. When you ask users to feed in their data or answer questions in return of something – better matched clothes choice, next show to follow option, etc. The confidence quotient increases even more when you give users the result and let them approve or disapprove it. Doing this makes your users in charge of the charge – something that automatically instills confidence in the app.
D. Give them an In and Out Option
Not all users would want to feed in data for you to fetch and feed in the artificial intelligent system or even want to take the smart route. So, give them the option to opt in and out of the smart options as and when it suits them. Doing this, they would not just have a more positive outlook towards your app but also, knowing that they have an out option, they will be more willing to add in their data in the future.
Now that you have seen the ways AI powered UX is impacting the app design industry, the guiding principles of designing for AI, tools that are already using AI, and the UI patterns that you should add in your design manifesto to make your users open to the idea of AI, there is only one last thing left to do.
And that last thing is to make AI an active part of your mobile app design process. Let our team of UI/UX designers help you with that.
As the web and mobile solutions are becoming an indispensable part of every business, the programming world is also growing at a faster rate than ever before.
While on one hand, various new programming languages and technologies are getting into the limelight for making the different app development processes more efficient. Whereas, on the other hand, many existing web and app development technologies are disappearing from the graph.
In a scenario like this, keeping yourself updated with what’s the most popular programming languages/s is necessary for both the developers and businesses to build profitable solutions.
Taking the same thought forward, here we have created a list of Top 10 Programming Languages for 2020. In this list, every new system-level programming language is included to keep you up-to-date with the emerging trends.
Top 6 Emerging Programming Languages to Look For in the Future
How to Decide Which Programming Languages to Consider?
1. Java
When talking about the top programming languages to prefer in 2020, Java is on the first position.
The language was once the primary language for Android development. But with the advent of Kotlin, many apps have switched from Java to Kotlin for futuristic services. However, this has not made a major difference in its market popularity.
C, also called the backbone of the software world, also lands into the list of all programming languages to focus upon this year.
The language became the winner of ‘ Programming Languages Hall of Fame 2019 ’ for giving deeper insights into how software actually functions on machines and thus, is used for building embedded systems and VR-based apps.
Besides, this language delivers high-end performance, reliability, and variety of context: making it the first choice of reputed brands including Oracle, Microsoft, Adobe, and Paypal.
3. Python
Python, which received the recognition of ‘Programming Language Hall of Fame’ by TIOBE in 2018 is also one of the best languages to consider in 2020 and beyond.
The language is used for creating different kinds of applications including scalable web solutions due to its characteristics such as easy-to-use, easy-to-deploy, and expeditiousness which made it the right tech stack for YouTube, Survey Monkey, and Pinterest.
Besides, it is also considered a prime choice for the sophisticated deep learning and ML app development processes.
4. C++
C++ is a general purpose, object-oriented and hybrid app development language to watch out for in the year 2020.
The language, often considered as a superset of C, is stable and comes loaded with ample ready-to-use libraries. But, what makes the language capable of enjoying wider community support and becoming a part of the technology stack of popular brands is its extensive library support and speed.
5. C#
C# is yet another multi-platform programming language that is enjoying a huge momentum these days.
The language, being one of the technology stack of top brands like Microsoft Intel and Hewlett Packard, is often considered by both app developers, software engineers, web developers, and automation test experts because of features like:-
Strong typing
String interpolation
Auto property initializers
Exception filters, etc.JavaScript
6. JavaScript
JavaScript, which was holding the first position in the 10 most in-demand programming languages list last year, has experienced a decline in its ranking. But, it is still considered as one of the programming languages for both frontend and backend services in the mobile industry.
As per the Stack Overflow’s annual survey of 2019 , 67.8% of developers employ a highly efficient and flexible language like JavaScript to build interactive web pages, exhibit dynamic content and make the transition from web to mobile platform.
Besides, the language also provides developers with an exquisite collection of frameworks as shared in our JS framework guide which increases its popularity in the market and makes it the right fit for Linux, Mac OS X, SunOS, and Android.
7. PHP
Despite the competition from different server-side environments like Node.js and Python, PHP remains the star of the sector. And the credit of this popularity goes to the frameworks that makes it a perfect fit for scalable and robust app development and the fact that 83% of websites on the Internet are based on this backend programming language.
8. SQL
Though various database technologies exist in the IT industry, SQL (Standard Query Language) is still one of the top programming languages in demand.
It was founded by IBM Research center in 1974, is simple and reliable in nature and offers exclusive database management services to business developers.
9. Swift
Swift has not only become the preferred language for iOS development, superseding Objective-C, but has also emerged as a trending programming language 2020 with a steep rise in its popularity as noted in the Google Trends graph below.
Introduced back in WWDC 2014, Swift programming language is faster, easy to learn, secure, and has various other features that make it a perfect language for developing apps for iPhones, iPads, and macOS. Due to such features, it is considered as a highly efficient and flexible language.
10. Go
Also known as “Golang”, Go programming language has also made its entrance into the list of 2020’s top programming languages.
The language, with its concise and easy-to-embrace syntax and faster compilation characteristics, has not just become the favorite of SoundCloud, Google, Netflix, and other such popular brands. But, it has also proven to be one of the best options to get higher salaries.
While these were the Top 10 Programming Languages for 2020, there are various other languages that are gaining huge momentum in the mobile industry and are supposed to join the league. A few of which we will be covering in the next section.
Top 6 emerging programming languages to look for in the future
1. MATLAB
MATLAB, the proprietary language of MathWorks, has also landed into the coding languages list for 2020.
It delivers a myriad of options to developers, such as:-
ease to plot functions and data and implement algorithms,
ability to create high-end GUIs, data-focused and scientific research apps,
opportunity to work with codes written in C, C++, C#, Java, Python, and Fortran, etc.
Facility to enjoy higher coding efficiency and productivity, etc.
2. Kotlin
From the day Kotlin was introduced as an official Android app development language, the programming language has enjoyed a skyrocketing rise in its popularity. It has not only registered itself as the first preference for building Android mobility solutions, but also got established as one of the most loved programming languages by mobile app developers, posing as a strong contender in the battle of Kotlin vs Java.
What’s more interesting is that kotlin language has extended itself beyond mobile, in the form of Kotlin Multiplatform and is giving a tough competition to Flutter in the cross-platform market. A detailed information about which is covered in our Kotlin vs Flutter comparison blog.
3. R
R is also one of the most commonly used mobile app languages to introduce into your app development process.
Developed in 1993 by Robert Gentleman and Ross Ihaka, this language is highly preferred for building healthcare, government and enterprise mobility solutions because of its built-in machine learning algorithms and data analytics functionalities.
4. Dart
Dart, the language behind Google’s cross-platform development framework Flutter, is also showing a huge momentum in the market.
The general purpose language, since its inception in 2013, is providing ample benefits like clean and simple code syntax, higher productivity, support to JIT compilation and AOT compilation, ease of compilation to fast Native code, impeccable tooling support, and more. The language, just like Golang, has also fit into the category of programming languages with the ‘Scalable JavaScript’ tag.
5. Scala
Another language that might enter into this list of Top 10 programming languages of the future is Scala. The general multi-purpose language has reached to 25th position as recorded in TIOBE Index for February 2020 from 28th position noted in January 2019.
A reason behind which can be that it lets you enjoy the perfect blend of functional programming and object-oriented concepts and is giving a tough competition to Kotlin in the battle to become the next JVM language. A detailed information of which can be taken from our Kotlin vs Scala comparison blog .
6. Bosque
Bosque, one of the emerging programming languages, is a creation of Microsoft. The language looks to enhance developers’ productivity, software quality and provide an array of new compilers and developer tooling experience.
Bosque is inspired by the types and syntax of TypeScript, along with the semantics of ML and one of the best OOP-based programming languages ― JavaScript.
Now that we’ve covered the latest programming languages used in the industry, it’s quite possible that you’re confused with which one to pick for your app project.
Let us help you pick the right programming language.
How to choose the right programming language in 2020?
The decision of which programming language is best in 2020 for your app project depends on three factors, namely:-
1. App purpose
The main reason why you want to develop an app is helpful in picking the right language.
For example, if you want to create your presence on the web, PHP is the right programming language to go with as it holds the title of being one among the best programming language for mobile apps 2019. If you need a programming language for database management, SQL is helpful. But, if you want to add AI features to your app, Python programming language is a good option.
2. Language characteristics
Are you developing a native mobile app or investing in Cross-platform app development? Are you looking for an open-source or licensed option? What type of technologies and features are you planning to introduce to your app development process? What level of security do you want to add to your mobility solution? These questions will help you to understand the technical requirements of your business app solution and thus, select the best programming language for mobile app development.
For example, suppose you want to build an app based on the Machine Learning concept. If you are looking for a programming language with years of existence, Python is the right choice, for it is the among the most active top programming languages. But, if you are ready to go with a newcomer based on the options it avails, TypeScript is apt for you.
Likewise, if you are planning to make your presence only in the Apple market, Swift is the preferred language for iOS development. But, when it comes to making an app for both iPhone and Android, going with JavaScript is a profitable deal, as it is deemed as a swift and versatile programming language by Github.
3. Local ecosystem
Last but not least, the decision of which top programming to prefer also depends on the skill set of your inhouse or hired developers.
If you choose a programming language out of this programming language list that they have expertise in, you’ll experience a smooth app development experience. Your app project will face lower challenges and reach the market at the earliest.
But, on the flip side, the app development timeline might increase, hidden costs would more often be added to the overall app development cost and your app might fail to take the best advantages of the chosen language if they do not have a sound knowledge of the language you choose.
With the aforementioned factors and knowledge of the top 10 most popular programming languages for 2020, we hope that you will find it easier to make the right decision and build a successful approach to enter the mobile market. But, in case you encounter any challenge, feel free to consult with our tech experts.
In the next eight minutes, you are going to read about how Material Design came into the inception to impact the mobile app design companies around the globe. You will read of the guiding principles that the Google Material Design standard is based upon, How different Material design is from Flat design. And lastly, how to incorporate Material Design into your mobile app. Let’s get on with the Design Journey called Material Design. UI and UX are the two mobile app elements that decide the present and future of not just the app but also of the mobile app design company that designed and developed it.
All the proven tips to enhance the mobile app UI gets concentrated on one element – Mobile App Design.
The way how your app is designed is what impacts the emotion of experience the users are facing when operating inside your Android app.
The demands of a modern day app user – apps that look the same way as their real-life elements feel – while seemingly easy to understand, can pose a challenge when converted into a design.
Now when it comes to the creation and inclusion of interactive design elements that give the feeling of the material world, Google with its Material Design, gave the Mobile app developers the much-needed aid.
The designing world that was earlier ruled by the minimalistic flatness was now replaced by the elements of minimalistic interactive materials with the introduction of Material Designs.
Before we delve in further into the Google Material Design UI and its tips and tricks, let us quickly look back at how it started.
A Lookback at the Google Material Design
Google had the reputation of being broken when it came to understanding the importance of Design. And today it is impossible to think of a good design (even on iOS) that doesn’t come from Google.
So how did this transformation happen?
This transformation resulted from the efforts that Larry Page took when he took the office to make everything look good and connected.
A directive that led to the creation of a design standard that is now followed and loved by the world – Google Material Design.
Material Design (codename: Quantum Paper) was the biggest part of the Android L release announcement in Google I/O 2014.
The design standard that made an appearance 4 years back, now allowed mobile app designers to infuse their own colour palette in the app, offer screen transition, bring in new system widgets, and animation.
Google, which was earlier lying behind Apple when it came to designing intuitive and experimental Android apps, now came steps ahead with the Material Design launch.
Material Design showed how technicality and the laws of physics can be added into the designing elements to develop a mobile app UI that offers a resonating enjoyable user experience.
Material design is what Flat design could never get to be, which brings us to our next section – Material Design vs Flat Design.
Difference in Material and Flat Design
The entire difference between Material Design and Flat Design lies in their core.
When we do a comparison between a flat design app vs material design app, the one striking difference that a user will find is the presence of shadows and multi-dimension in one and aesthetic flatness, lack of skeuomorphisms in another.
While both Android Material Design and Flat Designs are minimal, when it comes to implementing them in an Android app design, the decision between them both is usually taken on the basis of the need of the user.
While, Material design UI is preferred more for the development of complex, robust, and interactive mobile apps; Flat design UI is preferred by mobile app design companies for simplistic need and when there is a time crunch from the development side of the app.
Now that we have seen the difference between Google Material Design and Apple Flat Design, let us dig further into the Material Design.
Here are The Principles of Google Material Design
Material Design Apps are guided by the three principles shown in the image above. The principles that are sweared upon by all the leading Android App Design Company around the world.
Material is the Metaphor
The imaginative principle is based upon the study of material and how they look different in the varied amount of light, how they look when piled up one above another.
The principle is backed by attributes like edges, shadows, dimensions, etc.
Bold, Intentional, Graphic
Intentional white space in design, usage of bold and yet in-sync set of colours, and graphics that fit from screen to screen, while serving their direct purpose is what defines the second most pointer in the Google material design principles.
Motion Offers Meaning
Animation in Material Design is one that does not interfere with the other design elements, nor does it look forced. They emerge as the result of the user’s primary actions and follow their cues.
While these are the three main guiding principles of Material Design, there are other two principles as well which defines the globally accepted designing standard – Flexible Foundation and Cross Platform.
Flexible Foundation
Material Design comes with the advantage of the custom codebase that allows mobile app UI designers to add their branding elements into the design.
Cross-Platform
Material Design help maintain a similar UI across the different platforms, which help use shared components across all – Android, Flutter, iOS, and Web.
So here were the 5 guiding principles of Material Design for Android Apps. To speed up your approach to understanding these principles, let’s look into what all Google Material Design apps are prevailing in the market.
Best Apps That Revamped their Design with Material Design Guidelines
1. Google Calendar
Google Calendar is the foremost application that has received really impressive changes over the years with the implementation of Google Material Design guidelines. The application has ample useful touches such as graphics and maps that are introduced to the events automatically and a simple auto-suggest system that brings ease to add a new appointment.
2. Gmail
Thanks to Material Design, emails in the Google Gmail are categorized in a card-style interface. Also, a completely new slide-out menu is added to the interface along with a floating button for creating a new message, reminder or perform any other action.
3. Lyft
Lyft is another app that employs the power of Material Design. The app showcase a bunch of controls and a map displaying the required information by following Google material design principles without making the UI annoying.
4. BuzzFeed
Another mobile application that has made its mark among Google Material Design apps is BuzzFeed.
The application was earlier popular for its highly engaging entertaining content. But now, it is also known for setting a standard of how a Google material design web application should appear.
5. Google Maps
Last but not least, Google Maps is another application that is showing a major difference that embraces Material design. As per the recent news, Google Maps new design includes round and colored icons in the search section and a white background, which was earlier available in black and light grey color, respectively.
The application currently does not support dark mode, which brings an adverse impact on battery usage. But, it is expected that Google will add a dark mode in the app when it introduces dark mode feature in Android Q, the upcoming Android OS version.
And now, since you now know the different apps revamped (or revamping) using Google Material Design and the associated guidelines, it is time to look into how you can apply them in your mobile app UI design.
How to Master Google Material Design in Your Android App?
Assuming that you would have read the official material design resources released by Google as your Bible, let us get you started with applying those guidelines in your Mobile app.
Below are the tips that would help you build a Google Material Design mobile app and emerge as the designing star of your Mobile app design company.
1. Use Shadows to Show Hierarchy
Edges, surface, and realistic shadows count as the main tool of Material Design UI. Use shadows to show the hierarchy of the design elements to show which element comes on what.
2. Bold Colours
Intentional, Graphic, and Bold is the mantra of implementing Google new material design when it comes to mobile UI/UX development. Usage of bold colours make thing interactive and fun for the users, while making the app enjoyable to use.
3. Usage of Primary and Accent Colour
Google Material docs ask mobile app designers to use three shades of the primary colour and one of the accent colour.
The primary set of colours would be used for fonts, boxes, and backgrounds etc, while the accent colour can be filled in to show the main element of your mobile app screen.
4. Extract Colours from the Images
Google constantly encourages us mobile app designers to extract the colour from the images and use them as your colour palette when you are developing an image based design.
5. Incorporate Motion
Google goes big on the use of motion in an app UI design. It makes us understand how things move in the app and how the users should interact with the app.
6. Make Everything Float
If there is one visible Material Design App USP, it is the floating design elements. Your app’s button or the CTA bar should appear as if they are floating on the screen and not lying there flat on the screen.
7. Choice of Icon
Icons, when chosen rightly, enhances the usability and the design of the app. Now, Material Design gives you the choice of a number of icons falling into two main criterias – Product Icons and System Icons.
8. Make the App Typographically Right
If you are just starting with the idea of developing a an Android Material Design App, what we recommend is that you should stick with Roboto and Noto typography styles.
9. Incorporate Responsiveness in your design
One of the main guiding principle that Material thrives on is consistency. And the same should be visible in your mobile app design.
Every one of your design elements should work the same across all the devices the user interacts with.
While these 9 inclusions would help you with your current apps, the designing standards is all set to get redefined again with new Material Design Version being prepared inside the Google creative lab workshop.
Here’s what next in line for Material Design –
What Next for Android Material Design?
After changing the designing world standard with the Google Material design guidelines, Google has yet again brought in a change in its structure with Material Design 2.0.
The second generation of Material Design, which would be made live for the world in a few days, will bid adieu to the rectangular interface and move on with the rounded edges mobile user interface design.
With its new material design app guidelines, Google is planning on giving a facelift to all its crucial products such as Gmail, Google Search, Google Maps, etc.
The goal of Material Design 2.0 – The Material Design Successor – is to increase efficiency, readability, and eliminate clutter – thus providing the cleanest implementation of a UI, till date.
So here it was, the guide to Android Material Design for the not just the Android App Designers but also for android app development company which has just stepped into the world of Android app designs.
Now whether you are a designer or a business looking to rule the million Android hearts, to prepare your app to join the list of the best Google material design apps, consult our team of Mobile UI/UX Designer, today.
It is a document that usually communicates ideas, various research outputs, and sets a direction for other designers and developers. Now, for design professionals, these deliverables are a tangible manifestation of the evolving design direction & communicate how that direction can be achieved. Each deliverable is structured in a way that helps provide solutions for the next phase. But not everyone understands this term often when discussing or presenting ideas during various phases of a design process. Thus, UI UX design deliverables are very much useful to break down complicated ideas or functionalities and thus making them easier to understand for everyone in the room.
What are the types of design deliverables?
In the initial stages of design, the focus should not be on high-quality UI, rather effectively communicating the initial ideas for the design solution. At every stage of the design process, the type of deliverables varies to an extent. With a view of adopting the best way for information transfer, there are three types of deliverables.
Creation deliverables – Used to provide low-fidelity ideas during the early stages of the design process.
Communication deliverables – Adopted to communicate everything that we learn from each design session to keep the team aligned.
Lollypop Design Agency in Silicon Valley is often asked by potential clients and design evangelists about various design deliverables that we and other design giants offer to meet business goals, keeping in mind the user needs and expectations.
No matter what industry we work for, from small startups to established companies, the deliverables for any project following the design process are more or less the same and vary according to the available resources, requirements, timelines, and budget.
Here are some of the major design deliverables that various Silicon Valley design agencies practice for their different projects as a part of their design methodologies.
Let us now understand these items one by one and their significance in the whole process.
Stakeholder Interviews takeaways
It is always a priority to understand brand perspectives, varying user behavior to compliment the importance of competitive brand stake in the marketplace & identify differentials. Also, stakeholder interviews play a pivotal role to help guide the flow of the entire project considering the business goals, technical constraints, usability problems, and what customers expect out of a final product or service.
User research document
User research is the most important part of the design process that encourages us to precisely discover how our target customers feel while collaborating with the product that is designed to meet their objectives. User research is done to gain the sharpest possible insights into the needs and pain points of the users while stakeholder interviews give us insights into the business goal of a product.
UX Audit
UX audit uses methods to expand an existing situation and offer heuristics-based recommendations for improvements or user-centric enhancements. Ultimately, a user experience audit helps us understand how to boost conversions by making it easier for users to achieve their goals on your site or software along with pointing out critical, mid-level, and major issues and how to prioritize issue resolution in any product. UX audit is a method to make sure the brand communicates consistently across all customer experience touchpoints.
Many of our Clients find this to be an invaluable investment with strong ROI in future development as this audit process helps to vet and validate the product roadmap, ensuring a highly successful product launch without costly redesign or redevelopment.
Information Architecture
Information architecture and wireframes are all about organizing the content and flow of a website or an application so that users can complete their tasks and achieve their goals quickly. The focus is on creating usable content structures out of complex sets of information.
User flows
User flow can be considered as a series of user actions or simply the various states that the user needs to go through to achieve any expected goal. The main goal of any user flow is to provide designers & developers a detailed description of all the possible flows, including edge cases, errors, and various states. User flows also help businesses have a high-level view of the product and make sure their features, technical jargon, and workflows don’t confuse the user.
Wireframes
Wireframes generally give the first impression on how a website or app might look by incorporating the Information Architecture and arranging elements to best accomplish a particular purpose. Since it is the first phase of the version there is a scope of changing plans and ideas. These high-fidelity designs can be used for usability testing, and serve as an excellent reference for developers to get a good idea of the final product. Wireframes help connect the site’s information architecture to its visual design by showing paths between pages. It also helps prioritize content through the determination of how much space to allocate to a given item and where that item is located.
Visual designs
The visual design may be considered as the “final coat of paint” on the product but it’s not just that: visual design can greatly affect the UX of a product, and therefore must be approached very carefully. Hopefully, a lot of interaction design and usability heuristics were worked out during prior steps of the UX design process so that the designers can focus on the visuals. It’s one last opportunity to take the product to the next level. Visual design is the last step before handoff to developers and the phase where a style guide and final specs are crafted. It’s not just about “making things pretty,” but also an opportunity to strategically define & implement the brand’s identity into color schemes, usable layouts, creating contrast, and visual hierarchy.
Animations
Animations are used purposefully to enhance the overall user experience and guide users along the way. They are used for various purposes like feedback, continuity, directing attention, etc. These animations in the form of GIFs, videos, or Lottie files are used by developers to implement into the final product. When animation is used subtly, it can help users build mental models about how the system works and how they can interact with it. UI animations are subtle, unobtrusive, and brief micro-interactions, they can improve the user experience and can communicate feedback and state changes, prevent disorientation, and strengthen signifiers.
Also, animations offer a level of sophistication to an experience and help diversify the product experience in the marketplace.
Design system
A design system can be considered as a set of design-specification documents that are intended to be one single source of truth that groups all the digital elements for any brand/product. Style guides, rules for typography, colors, responsive behavior, photos, and visual designs as a comprehensive design system are usually the ultimate handoff to the clients and the developers. Some style guides and specifications are put together manually, and others are generated automatically. This design system can be thought of more like “bibles of style” on the shelf that everyone on the team can refer to.
Design Systems will also influence and compliment brand identity within digital marketing efforts by extension which is a value add to clients & marketing/product teams!
The final step in the design workflow is to create specifications for development teams. Margins, padding, assets, element measurements, color codes are various small details that need to be considered while building any product. These minor details if missed can impact the overall user experience of the product.
How hard will it be to add some new deliverables soon?
Design deliverables as mentioned, communicate how a direction can be achieved to lay that final product. Changes in these deliverables are expected over time according to the shifting user behavior and variance in business needs. Now, adding new deliverables is pretty easy but ensuring its consistency, accuracy, and quality is the most difficult part. Most importantly above and overall, is validating and carefully considering whether that deliverable is truly adding value to the entire project or the workflow to be specific.
Conclusion
UI UX design deliverables again vary according to the needs of the client and project priorities.
The deliverables and the way they are handed off, the methods per se are more than enough as a whole. Some parts of the documentation can be done parallel to the process or some are done before or after the process. Now the tools used for these deliverables can vary to an extent, but that’s a topic for another article.
Thank you for reading this blog & stay tuned for more articles on thought leadership.
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