Android User Interface Design Turning Ideas and Sketches into Beautifully Designed Apps

606 Pages·2013·32.04 MB·English

by  Ian G. Clifton

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Android User Interface Design
Turning Ideas and Sketches into Beautifully Designed Apps
Ian G. Clifton
Upper Saddle River, NJ • Boston • Indianapolis • San Francisco
New York • Toronto • Montreal • London • Munich • Paris • Madrid
Capetown • Sydney • Tokyo • Singapore • Mexico City
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ISBN-13: 978-0-321-88673-6
ISBN-10: 0-321-88673-9
Text printed in the United States on recycled paper at R.R. Donnelley in Crawfordsville, Indiana.
First printing: May 2013
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Praise for Android User Interface Design
“Android User Interface Design is a truly excellent book, written by one of the most
experienced and knowledgeable Android developers. This is a very practical, highly
readable guide and a great how-to resource for every Android developer. Each chapter
reveals a clear and deep understanding of UI design. I highly recommend this book to anyone
wishing to develop Android apps with superior UI.”
—Kyungil Kim
Software Engineer, Facebook
“I recommend this book for all Android developers who work alone and want to give a
professional look to their apps. The content of the book is excellent and covers all aspects
needed to understand how to design Android apps that stand out.”
—Gonzalo Benoffi
CEO, Coffee and Cookies, Android Development
“Design was never part of a developer’s job until mobile app development started; now it’s
a must. This book gives a simple yet effective way to design your apps. It’s easy for
beginners and informative for experienced developers as well. This is the best book I could
ever refer to anyone who is in Android development. A one-time read of this book covers the
experience you might gain from three years of learning development. I am amazed to see
instructions on how to design starting from wireframes, which is something no other book has
provided clear enough explanation of. (Some don’t even cover it.) I really love it. Thanks to
Ian for this wonderful contribution to the Android developer community. Best, simple, and
effective!”
—Chakradhar Gavirineni
Android Application Developer, Adeptpros IT Solutions Pvt Ltd.
“Ian’s book is an invaluable resource for everything there is to know about designing,
creating layouts, and rendering Android applications. The ‘Common Task Reference’
appendix is an excellent addition that makes this book a must-have. Make sure to keep this
one within arm’s reach of your desk.”
—Josh Schumacher
Software Engineer, HasOffers
“From the first few pages, this book provides a wealth of tips, tricks, and techniques for
developing Android user interfaces. If you are grappling with all the various view types, then
read this book—it really helps cement when and why you should include the various UI
components to great effect (with worked examples!). Well worth a read by anyone looking
for inspiration to improve their user interface into a great user experience.”
—Richard Sey
PassBx Developers
Dedicated to my family
Contents
Introduction
Part I The Basics of Android User Interface
1 Android UI Overview
A Brief History of Android Design
The Android Design Website
Core Principles
Standard Components
Supporting Multiple Devices
Notable Changes
Summary
2 Understanding Views—The UI Building Blocks
What Is a View?
Displaying Text
Displaying Images
Views for Gathering User Input
Other Notable Views
Listening to Events
Summary
3 Creating Full Layouts with View Groups and Fragments
ViewGroup
Fragments
Summary
4 Adding App Graphics and Resources
Introduction to Resources in Android
Resource Qualifiers
Understanding Density
Supported Image Files
Nine-Patch Images
XML Drawables
Other Resources
Summary
Part II The Full Design and Development Process
5 Starting a New App
Defining Goals
High-Level Flow
Wireframes
Summary
6 Developing the App Foundation
Organizing into Activities and Fragments
Breaking Wireframes into Views
Creating Themes and Styles
Summary
7 Finalizing the Design
Wireframes and Graphical Design
App Visual Style and Personality
Text Considerations
Standard Icons
Dynamic Content Considerations
Navigation and Transitions
Error Cases
Summary
8 Applying the Design
Working with the Designer
Slicing the Graphics Assets
Updating Themes and Styles
Breaking Comps into Views
Improving Efficiency
Basic Testing Across Device Types
Summary
9 Further Improving the App
Hierarchy Viewer
Animations
Custom Fonts
Summary
Part III Advanced Topics for Android User Interfaces