Mobile Design

What you need to think about

  • The screen size restrictions forces you to make decisions on what's truly important. It removes content fluff, unnecessary design elements, useless navigation and promotions (ad space)
  • Connection speed to mobile networks can vary. To increase load time, load less heavy graphics & limit downloadable files
  • Most users are multi-tasking when using a mobile device. This means all actions and content should be simplified so users can get the information they want quickly

Planning an app

Review content and goals

  • Determine what are the major goals of the app. Is it to map locations, provide basic information, allow users to share photos?
  • Sort through and remove any unnecessary content
  • Limit the use of images

Planning an app

Prioritize based on the users behavior
The following behaviors illustrate how people are typically using their mobile device and why:

  • Lookup/Find: I need an answer to something now—frequently related to my current location in the world
  • Explore/Play: I have some time to kill and just want a few distractions
  • Check In/Status: Something important to me keeps changing or updating and I want to stay on top of it
  • Edit/Create: I need to get something done now that can’t wait

 

Planning an app

Prioritize based on the users behavior
The following behaviors illustrate how people are typically using their mobile device and why:

  • Lookup/Find: I need an answer to something now—frequently related to my current location in the world
  • Explore/Play: I have some time to kill and just want a few distractions
  • Check In/Status: Something important to me keeps changing or updating and I want to stay on top of it
  • Edit/Create: I need to get something done now that can’t wait

 

The flickr app has 4 major actions

Designing

1 column works best!

Typography

  • Typography should be large enough to comfortably read!
  • Use more line-height (leading) then you would in a print piece
  • Use only 1-2 different fonts. 
  • Avoid script fonts
  • Use contrast
  • Consistency!!
  • Use em's instead of pixels to set the size of type

 

Responsive Design

What is it?

An approach to web design and development where websites and applications respond to the width of the screen size and the device the site or app is being viewed on

Media Queries

CSS rule that allows you to set "breakpoints" to adjust the design to the width of the screen and the type of device that the site/app is being viewed on

@media

@media (max-width: 750px) {

}

Viewport

When developing a responsive design, you also need to add a viewport meta tag to your <head> tag. This tells the browser on how to control the scaling.

<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">

Screen Sizes

Screen Sizes

iPhone 4 (portrait): 320px w x 480px h

iPhone 5 (portrait): 320px x 568

iPhone6 (portrait): 375px x 667px

 

Samsung Galaxy S5: 360px x 640px

LG G4: 360px x 640px

LG Nexus 5: 360px 640px

of a few popular devices

Navigation

Creating a responsive site in Dreamweaver

Templates vs Frameworks

Templates vs Frameworks

Template: Set of HTML/ CSS and functionality rules to serve as a starting point to help create an application or site. Difficult to customize

 

Framework: a collection of tools and/or libraries used to help create an application or site. Frameworks can have templates

Frameworks

Bootstrap and Foundation Similarities: 

  • Both are responsive
  • Both are open source
  • Both use a 12 column grid
  • Both have a stylized CSS components
  • Both have optional JavaScript Extensions

Frameworks

Bootstrap 

  • Large community = lots of tutorials and support sites to get help
  • More themes are available
  • Greater browser compatibility  (foundation doesn't support IE8 and older versions of Opera)
  • Can use LESS or SASS
  • Newsweek, Vogue, Lyft and Spotify all use Bootstrap

Frameworks

Foundation

  • More customization when it comes to design 
  • Don't have to add additional classes to implement a certain style
  • More unique (not over used)
  • More grid system customization capabilities (including centering and collapsing columns)
  • Additional built in widgets (including form validation, responsive media, off canvas menus, pricing tables and tour points)
  • Additional support options offered through Zurb.
  • PBS, NatGeo, Washington Post and Mozilla all use Foundation
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