A key part of building a winning app is to get all aspects of the design right, from user interface to user experience. A killer app idea is of no use if it isn’t thoughtfully designed, as the end users would not be able to extract the optimal value from it. With that being said, we gathered 5 insights from some of the best minds in design that inform our design process and should be useful in any projects you may have.
1. “Get rid of everything that is not essential to making a point.” – Christoph Niemann
From features and widgets to text and images, we notice that many apps tend to be cluttered with trinkets which they could do without. In app development, less is often more.
2. “People ignore designs that ignore people.” – Frank Chimero
Mobile app design that isn’t user-centric is bound to fail. When designing both the user interface and experience, it is critical to get feedback from potential end users. This may be somewhat counter-intuitive, but the best app designs lay in the minds of end users and not designers.
3. “You don’t think your way to creative work. You work your way to creative thinking.” – George Nelson
As discussed in previous posts in this blog, it is too easy to fall into the trap of overthinking at the design stage and not progressing enough. In truth, most of the greatest and most ideas in all fields of life come from just taking the first step. Greatness is stumbled upon more often than it is planned.
4. “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” – Henry Ford
This point might appear to be in direct contradiction with point 2. It is, in fact, not. There is an important distinction between asking people what they want via surveys and questionnaires, and reading between the lines to extrapolate what they really want. Try to find out exactly what your end users’ problems are instead of just asking them what they want.
5. “Always design a thing by considering it in its larger context.” – Eero Saarinen
Last but certainly not least, this gem by Eero Saarinen reminds us to not forget about environmental factors when designing our apps — the market conditions, how competing apps are designed, contemporary design principles etc. It is important to be aware of these things to know how to design your app in a way to stand out.