8 Jun 2012
Mobile App Design & Development
Over the past few months we’ve been getting stuck into some exciting mobile app projects and there seems to be plenty more opportunities on the horizon given the use of smartphones and tablets is continually growing.
So how does an app project fit into our web design studio? Largely our approach is the same for apps as it is for creating websites or any other online project:
Discovery: We meet with our client to listen and learn about their business, their marketing plans and aspirations for their company. We’ll help to identify what they’re looking to achieve with a mobile application.
Research: We’ll investigate who our target audience is and what needs they might be looking to fulfill. We’ll examine our clients key competitors and assess what apps may already be out there doing a similar thing. Our approach is usually from a marketing or a branding perspective so we’ll investigate what makes our client’s offering different, unique or special and try to hook into what features of their business and personality we can highlight to give them a competitive edge.
App Planning: We’ll map out the content and the user journey as we would any other online project, but we’ll then start to focus on mobile device-specific factors such as:
- mobile user interface conventions
- considerations for screen size & aspect ratio
- touch interaction & gestures
- network wifi/3g considerations
- native vs. non-native apps (and the different native platforms on the market such as iOS, Android, Windows, Blackberry)
- integration with the devices’ geo-location, camera, accelerometer and notifications features
- cross-app integration such as using Twitter & Facebook etc
- personalisation
App Design: The combination of smaller screen size and touch interaction means we have to work harder and really innovate to perfect the user journey. For us, web design has always been about making functional processes simple, intuitive and pleasurable and app design is exactly the same, and then some.
App Development: This is where we split each functional requirement into chunks and for any element that requires some extra R&D, we’ll develop a mini prototype or proof of concept to ensure we can achieve what we have in mind – remember app development is a relatively new field and we’re continually striving to push the boundaries of what can be done, without committing to the unrealistic and undeliverable.
As with all our projects, success relies heavily on getting the groundwork right. This is where our experience with different platforms and devices and a strong collaborative approach with our clients is key to ensuring the end product delivers value for our client’s business.
To find out more about developing native and non-native mobile apps, call Rob on 01904 651211 or email hello@plumpdigital.co.uk