Neti mobile designer Artem Kulaev talks about how to create an application that will connect business and target audience seriously and for a long time. Applications are not what they seem
Apps are not what they seem
Artem Kulaev:
"In the minds of many, mobile app design is a beautiful visual. In reality, everything is a little more complicated. A UX/UI designer creates an interface that, firstly, becomes a communication channel between a business and its audience, and secondly, simplifies the task for the user, helping him to use the application easily and quickly"
UX/UI design (user experience design; user interface design) involves creating an interface that is aesthetically pleasing, understandable, and comfortable to use.
Without high-quality design of mobile application interfaces, even correctly assembled functionality may remain unnoticed or misunderstood by the user.
It would seem that this task can be easily solved by shopify website design already known means: you just need to take a website template or its mobile version, already well known to the target audience, and transform it into the desired product. But the specifics of UX/UI design of mobile applications do not allow this to be done:
- Apps are technically different from websites in the same way that desktops are different from smartphones. For example, to accommodate information that is visible on one desktop screen, you need several mobile app screens (design, by the way, affects the amount of information displayed).
- People interact with mobile devices in a fundamentally different way than with computers. For example, they want content to be arranged so that it can be scrolled with one thumb, or they are used to the menu on smartphones being at the bottom.
- The mobile version may not contain all the features that users expect from an app today.
That is, the development of a mobile application design is a separate type of activity that combines analytics, marketing, design itself and the technical part.
Following patterns and trends
design
Artem Kulaev:
"Mobile app design is like solving complex puzzles. Designers must consider business objectives, user needs, behavior, preferences, and expectations. These are the elements of a puzzle that must be assembled to create a user-friendly and intuitive interface."
According to Mobio, a complex interface, lack of desired features, poor onboarding, lack of user manual, and lack of loyalty incentives are among the top reasons why users delete an app within the first month after installation.
The design of a mobile application can go wrong if:
- Patterns, that is, established models, of user interaction with the application are not taken into account. For example, the absence of tabs with the most used functionality or the non-obvious location of these tabs.
- The user is required to make cognitive efforts that exceed the usual in such cases. For example, a block with information about cashback or bonuses is hidden so cleverly that it must be found through a search.
- The application does not sufficiently meet the needs of the target audience. For example, a fitness center application does not provide notifications about changes in the class schedule, or a tire store application does not have the ability to select by car characteristics.
- The design features of mobile applications for IOS, which have a number of differences from development for Android and other operating systems, are not taken into account.