Understanding iPhone App features and Basic Design Methods

This article focuses on understandingIPhone AppFeatures and basic design methods,IPhone AppIPhone has its own characteristics and temperament, so hisAppUnlike other keyboard phones or even touch-screen phones like Android. FirstIPhoneThere is only one physical button Home, which plays a role in system-level operations,

Features of iPhone apps

IPhoneHas its own characteristics and temperament, so hisAppUnlike other keyboard phones or even touch-screen phones like Android.

First, the iPhone only has one physical button Home, which plays a major role in system-level operations. In an application, most of them exit the function. In the case of 480x320, a large screen on a mobile phone must contain the following three modules to operate an App.

1. Virtual Keyboard

Although the iPhone and Android are both touch-screen, there is no physical keyboard (and Android may have a physical keyboard). All input operations require a virtual keyboard on the screen, in addition, you need to consider the issue of virtual keyboard occlusion.

2. Directory navigation

There is no physical button as the out-of-call function for the Directory menu, which is totally different from the Symbian and Android systems. The virtual button in the screen is also required for navigation.

3. function operations

All functions need to be integrated into the App. For example, you can use the Tab bar for function classification and the toolbar for a set of function operations for a specific view.

Let's take a look at users' iPhone usage habits.

Obviously, Supporting single-handed operations is not a feature of the iPhone application. Of course, some games require both hands (immersive applications), but because the iPhone has a capacitive screen that is very sensitive and supports multi-touch fingers, therefore, you can operate your fingers on the screen more intuitively and easily without any intermediate device (buttons or mouse.

1. Top-down operations:

In most cases, the user's posture is like a hand-held machine, thumb as the main operation and click the finger. We can see that no matter the iPhone system application or many other excellent applications, most of them use a lot of lists, because the slider slides the list smoothly and conveniently, and the operation speed is very fast, a long list won't become a obstacle for iPhone applications, which is different from the features on other mobile platforms, in addition, you can click the status bar at the top of the table to quickly return to the top of the table.

2. Reduce input

This is consistent with some ideas in the mobile device interaction design book, that is, for handheld devices, we need to minimize user input, especially for iPhone virtual keyboards, even if the capacitive screen is more sensitive, it is not easy to touch a virtual keyboard with a very small size every time. We should try to use the selector or input the prompt suggestion to reduce the cost.

3. Large enough button Area

For the iPhone capacitive screen, although very sensitive, the area of feeling is not small, and the user directly uses the finger to operate, so we need to apply all the buttons in the application to the fingertip to operate, according to the official design guidance, 44 * 44pix is an ideal area.

4. multi-touch gesture

Compared with the hardware and software of the device, the finger is always available. It is a part of the human body and can perform various actions flexibly. Moreover, the direct touch screen is very intuitive, users are also very willing to use these seemingly cool hand movements. For example, they can pull the image with two fingers to zoom in, merge it to zoom in, drag it directly to change the order, shake it to refresh, and so on. Of course, we need to consider these gestures in different application scenarios and do not abuse them.

In short, iPhone applications are linear, coherent, and intuitive dependent on slide operations, finger clicks, and various gestures to give people a cool feeling.

Basic Design Method for iPhone apps

1. iPhone Application category

1) Efficient

This type of applications can help users quickly complete a task, focus on the organizational logic functions of the content and the presentation of information architecture, so that users can quickly and efficiently use the content and ultimately complete the task. Such applications generally contain a large number of lists and task functions in each list. The most typical is the built-in "Mail" application, which is a very typical high-efficiency application.

This type of application gives users the feeling that the content is gradually embodied until the user's tasks can be completed.

Another non-system application and typical is QQ. You can see if it also follows this feature.

2) Utility applications

Such applications generally have very few interactive operations, and do not have a deep hierarchy. They often present information directly. They usually display the setting function on the "back" (usually with a flip effect. The most common applications are the "Weather" and "stock" systems.

3) immersive applications

Most of them refer to game applications, but there are also some practical tools, such as electronic compass. The so-called immersive applications are generally in full screen mode, focusing on a task or entertainment experience without too much text, and focus the user's attention on how to use it.

2. Design iPhone applications

1) Basic Structure of iPhone applications

Status bar: This is a part of the ios system. This bar is usually retained by other apps except for immersion applications.

Navigation Bar: This includes the current title, the controls for the current main operations, and the returned navigation functions.

Toolbar: the functional actions that can be performed on the current content area.

Tab bar: it can be understood as global navigation to facilitate quick switchover or navigation. The toolbar and Tab bar can only have one view.

2) Port your application

In most cases, we port web applications to mobile phones. For web applications, If we list a functional structure chart, it may contain more than 100 functional points, you can do the following:

① Consider what is the core function of this web product. Any product has core functions and additional functions, such as QQ. The core function is IM and instant communication, screenshots may be an additional feature, although many people are using it. After determining the core functions, as well as extending the functions and logic around the core functions as little as possible.

② For the confirmed functional structure, consider the information architecture model on the iPhone. As mentioned above, the iPhone application is a linear and coherent operation, layer by layer until the final task is completed, therefore, you need to organize the information architecture according to this idea. Generally, the Operation depth should not exceed three layers. If the operation depth exceeds three layers, the product form should be flattened, that is, the depth should be changed to the breadth, with the increase of depth, each level has different functions, and even has the functions or logic that carry the upper level. The more depth, the more complicated these functions will be, it is difficult to organize a cell phone in such a small space.

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③ Properly utilize the structure and standard controls of iPhone applications.

The label bar can be understood as the global navigation in the web application or the switching of main sub-functions. This bar can run through the bottom of the main view to facilitate quick jump, such as this label bar.

The navigation bar can be understood as a partial navigation, subnavigation, or breadcrumb in a web application. It displays the current position and also carries one or two main functions. You can easily return data or perform one or two of the most important operations on the current view. See the following navigation bar.

Toolbar, which can be understood as some of the main operations in a specific web page, such as uploading and searching. See the toolbar below.

This is the tool bar of the ios system application mail. The Toolbar contains several main operations on the current mail. For your applications, you can also put some operations in the main view area to display them in the form of buttons instead of the toolbar at the bottom. But we said that iPhone users are more accustomed to some "standard" operations on the iPhone and the Standard logic of the iPhone, so it seems better to display the main operations in the tool bar at the bottom.

Use a metaphorical Standard Control

We can see that the sliding effect switch, the burst effect of the segmented button, the turntable selector, and so on, instead of the traditional standard controls in the web rigid and non-angry.

④ Call the functional interfaces provided by the system

For exampleIPhoneThe geographic location interface can provide special features for your applications different from those on the web end, and design more distinctive products to better meet the needs of mobile users.

Finally, I want to sayIPhoneApplications are concise, including concise design and functional features. There should not be too many functional branches, whether or not you can organize these functions, too many features will always confuse users.IPhoneApplications have a special temperament, and you can fully match the design.IPhoneThe usage features are even a little cool, so you don't have to consider low-end users becauseIPhoneAnd can be installedAppUser, his experience is not too bad.

Summary: UnderstandingIPhone AppThe features and basic design methods have been introduced. I hope this article will help you.