Week 8 Reading

This chapter was a great one to read this week as we start our phone app project (which I'm sure was your intention!). As a iPhone user, I have experience with both good and bad apps. And I also agreed with what the reading said about app design, especially the part about the app working with the OS to have the same motions and reactions that the OS users are used to. What I like about (most) apps that I get is that it is so obvious to me how to use them, because they all work basically the same, with the same motions that my iPhone uses. Also, because they all mostly follow these same rules, they are all similar in style and this makes it was easier to control the app.
I also liked the section about app icons and artwork. I think that this is a huge selling point when it comes to apps. I am definitely guilty of judging an app by its cover. I have generally noticed that apps with ugly or  generic icons are usually not very good apps, because the rest of the app is designed just as sloppily as the icon. Also I think that people generally like their apps to look really cool because they spent a lot of money to have their smart phone, and they want their apps to match the polished look of their phone.
Aside from looking nice, the app also has to function correctly. Nothing is more annoying than downloading an app (especially downloading a purchased app) that crashes or does not load correctly.

I wanted to share some apps that I think work really great, and are designed really nicely as well!
(I obviously couldn't link the app directly to this blog, so I found some screenshots to share so that you can see what they look like!

Starbucks
Of course, everything that Starbucks does is beautiful. But their app is very easy to use and the illustrative nature of the app totally matches the brand. I love this app and use it all the time!

LinkedIn

I recently saw this redesign of LinkedIn's app on an online design blog. I love the fun, yet professional look of the app. Plus, it's super easy to use. 

Halftone

This is a cool app that I recently discovered that allows you to turn the photos that you take with your phone into customized comic strips. You can take any photo, and add different comic book filters, paper options, color options, captions and more to your photo. This is a fun app that has a really awesome look and feel. Follows the comic book look all the way!