Mobile Fanaticism

September 24, 2013 , , , ,

Mobile Fanboys

“Fanboy!”

If you’ve frequented any tech blogs within the past several years, you are likely (very) familiar with the above term. To the uninitiated, it is a derogatory remark thrown at an individual that supports or even just speaks favorably about one company. Recently, it seems that it is thrown around predominantly when discussing the relative merits of iOS vs Android operating systems, but it is a wide-ranging term.

So, “Fanboy” might be construed as a fanatic. And what is a fanatic?

Winston Churchill once said, “A fanatic is one who can’t change his mind and won’t change the subject.”

After watching a massive crowd wait in the streets for days on end to get hot new devices like the latest iPhone, you might think this isn’t too far off the mark.

Certainly, a fanatic may not always be the best person to cordially debate with. But consider the business implication. When you are talking about an emergent trend that can benefit your business, in this case the mobile ecosystem in general, do you want your customers to change their mind? Do you want them to change the subject?

Consider also that widespread fandom also fosters a sense of community. By appealing to said community, you increase the virality of both your product and message.

Just something to think about the next time you see a flame-war on your favorite tech blog or news site.

How to Match App Design to iOS 7

June 17, 2013 , , , ,

ios7 design

With the recent iOS 7 release some of the biggest buzz has been about the major redesign of UI and app elements. Though it is definitely not necessary, some of you might be interested in matching your app design to this sleek new interface so that it seems to directly integrate into the apple ecosystem. With that in mind, the following steps will help you closely match your app to the new iOS 7 conventions.

1. Simplified Icons

The new iOS 7 app icons are all very simple, flattened representations of the apps they represent (standing in stark contrast to Apple’s older, more realistic icons). To match these icons, you will need a very simplified icon without text. You should also keep it to one color, preferably a black, white or light grey.

2. Gradients

Most of the new design elements incorporate gradient backgrounds. You should make sure that your app icon, splash screen, and background all feature gradients. Note that most of these are soft gradients, so don’t make a radical jump between opposing colors if you want to match the iOS 7 design precisely. Fortunately it’s pretty easy to create a gradient in most image editing programs, and some tools will even do it for you.

3. Elegant Text

Apple has chosen Helvetica Neue as their text of choice for most UI elements due to its sleek, elegant nature. Choose an app font in the Helvetic family to approximate their text.

4. Transparency

Apple has also made many of their menus and containers transparent, allowing the gradient to show through the menus. When creating a menu for your app, make it very light grey and set the transparency high (without making the menu disappear completely).

5. White Space

iOS 7 uses a LOT of white space. You can do the same in your app, which will highlight your multimedia, text and design. Simply make sure that you don’t flood your app with large blocks of text, and follow established mobile writing tips to make everything more streamlined.

There you go! Let us know in the comments if you have any other ideas, or if you have questions about incorporating any of these elements into your mobile app.