Android Design Patterns: Interaction Design Solutions for Developers

Foreword

The first thing Greg told me when we met was, “You wrote the book I was working on,” referring to the book Mobile Design Pattern Gallery that I had just released with O’Reilly Media (2012). I felt a little guilty at the time, but now I am glad I beat him to it. But not for the reasons you might think.

When I started the pattern gallery, I focused on identifying universal design patterns across the six major mobile platforms. Two years later, the industry is maturing, and only three big players are left, each with their own distinct patterns and principles. Universal patterns are still valuable, but more valuable yet are the deep dives into specific operating systems.

Greg saw this coming and decided to focus on the fastest growing platform, Android, and the most sophisticated release yet, Jelly Bean. His book meets mobile designers and developers where they are most comfortable and expertly guides them towards mastery of mobile user experience.

This book is more of a workshop than a reference book. Greg builds upon the universal design patterns for mobile devices and tablets and the Android UI design guidelines and takes the topic further into hands-on practical applications of the design principles. Each section covers fundamentals, warns of pitfalls and antipatterns, and then puts the lessons to the test by showing in detail how to redesign an existing app. You can and should bring this book to design sessions, and you should share it with your team. You will save countless ...