Clifton I.G. Android User Interface Design. Turning Ideas and Sketches into Beautifully Designed Apps

Addison-Wesley, 2013. — 605 p.Whether you have been working with the Android SDK since before the first device was released in September of 2008 or you just finished your first Hello, World app, you are likely aware of the incredible pace at which Android has been developed. The operating system itself has changed and matured, and the apps have followed suit. That means it is more challenging than ever to stand out. It’s no longer enough to create a functional user interface that’s good enough. Now there is enough competition that apps with poor UI and apps that are half-hearted ports from other operating systems are outright rejected by users. Google has shown their commitment to design with the major UI and usability fixes in Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich, and users have learned to expect more from their devices and the apps they download. With the additional work of Project Butter in Android 4.1 and continued improvements in Android 4.2, it has become more important than ever to ensure your app is smooth and efficient.
Design has many purposes, but two of the most important are usability and visual appeal. You want brand-new users to be able to jump into your app and get started without any effort because mobile users are more impatient than users of nearly any other platform. Users need to know exactly what they can interact with, and they need to be able to do so in a hurry while distracted. That also means you have to be mindful of what platform conventions are in order to take advantage of learned behavior.
You also want your app to stand out because visual appeal can get users excited about your app and can strengthen your brand. It gives a sense of quality when done right and can immediately lead to a larger user base when your users show the app off to their friends. Comparing your app to a car, you can think of design as the visual appearance and usability as the controls. There is a good bit of flexibility with the appearance of a car, limited only by practicality and the need for it to be usable to the potential owner. If you were to get into a car and not have a steering wheel, you would immediately start looking around and wonder, How do I control this thing? The same is true of your app. If the user opens it up and is immediately confused by the controls, your app has failed the most basic usability test.
If you have picked up this book, I probably do not need to go on and on about how important design is. You get it. You want to make the commitment of making beautiful apps.
This book primarily focuses on Android from a developer’s perspective, but it also has a large amount of design sensibility built in. This is an attempt to both bridge the gap between designer and developer and to teach you how to implement great designs. We are not here to focus extensively on color theory or Photoshop techniques; we are here to understand what goes into designing an app and how to actually make that app come alive. When you are done with this book, you will be able to communicate your needs and feedback with designers and even do some design on your own.
This book will serve as a tutorial for the entire design and implementation process as well as a handy reference that you can keep using again and again. You will understand how to talk with designers and developers alike in order to make the best applications possible. You will be able to make apps that are visually appealing while still easy to change when those last-minute design requests inevitably come in.
Ultimately, designers and developers both want their apps to be amazing, and I am excited to teach you how to make that happen.Part I The Basics of Android User Interface.
Android UI Overview.
Understanding Views — The UI Building Blocks.
Creating Full Layouts with View Groups and Fragments.
Adding App Graphics and Resources.
Part II The Full Design and Development Process.
Starting a New App.
Developing the App Foundation.
Finalizing the Design.
Applying the Design.
Further Improving the App.
Part III Advanced Topics for Android User Interfaces.
How to Handle Common Components.
Combining Views for Custom Components.
Developing Fully Custom Views.
Working with the Canvas and Advanced Drawing.
Part IV Helpful Guides and Reference.
A: Google Play Assets.
B: Amazon Appstore Assets.
C: Common Task Reference.