Mobile Design Pattern Gallery, 2nd Edition

Preface

Sometimes it’s good to stop and reflect on the many factors that affect usable design. But more often, there’s no time for that—you’ve just got to roll up your sleeves and get to work. This book is for those times.

From one perspective, the mobile world has changed a lot since this book first came out in 2011. Three of the six mobile operating systems I included in 2011—WebOS, Symbian, and BlackBerry—are no longer contenders in the mobile space.

From another perspective, not that much has changed: out of over 70 patterns from the first edition, most are still with us, with only a handful of new ones added. Those latest patterns, though, exhibit more “mobile-centric” thinking. Designers are finally looking beyond desktop and web metaphors to craft solutions that are organic to mobile interfaces. I expect this to continue, and to accelerate.

Another change: in 2011, I was also optimistic about OS-neutral designs, meaning that perhaps we could as designers and developers create a single interface that would work well on multiple OSs. In fact, the opposite has occurred; distinct design conventions for iOS, Android, and Windows Phone have become more formalized, particularly with regard to navigation.

It’s now more important than ever to understand those OS guidelines, and even more crucial that you are truly familiar with the actual devices your users rely on 24/7/365. I strongly advise that you spend a minimum of six weeks using devices for each OS you are designing for. That way, when you do roll up your sleeves to get to work, your own experience—along with the patterns in this book—will give you the confidence you need to design beautifully usable apps.

Intended Audience for This Book

Mobile Design Pattern Gallery is for product managers, designers, and developers who are creating mobile applications. As companies are defining and refining their mobile strategies, it can be a challenge to find examples of design best practices, especially for multiple operating systems. Whether you have been tasked with designing a simple iPhone application or designing for every popular operating system on the market, these patterns will provide solutions to common design challenges.

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Acknowledgments

I am in debt to Rich Malley for helping me write this book; I hope this is just the first of many. Many thanks to Cathlin McCullough for pulling together the chapter on social patterns, and Suze Kemper for helping me meet the deadline. And a huge thanks to Ivan Bachev for once again prepping all 1,000 images!

Thank you to Alissa Briggs, Greg Nudelman, and Eli Holder for sharing their stories, and Aaron Jansinski for the pattern illustrations.

I’d also like to acknowledge all the creative and dedicated teams out there designing and developing mobile applications. I feel privileged to use many of the great apps showcased in this book and appreciate all the hard work that went into them.

This is my third book for O’Reilly Media, and it has been a pleasure to work with Mary Treseler and her team again.

Finally, a very warm thank you to the newest member of my family, Marlena Elizabeth Ann, for providing me with the motivation to finish this book before she arrived (with a whole 12 hours to spare)!