Design patterns are reusable solutions to common design problems that provide a consistent user experience across different apps. This article explores the best practices in mobile app design patterns and tools with a focus on the user-centered approach to design. Design patterns such as navigation bars, tab bars, list views, and card views are discussed, along with design tools such as Sketch, Figma, Adobe XD, and InVision. The problem is to ensure that mobile app design is centered around the needs and preferences of the user, rather than the designer or the technology, and that the right design patterns and tools are used to create interfaces that are familiar and easy to use. The chapter emphasizes the importance of conducting user research to understand the needs and preferences of the target audience and using design patterns and tools to create interfaces that are familiar and easy to use. Mobile apps have become an integral part of our lives, and designing a successful mobile app is a challenging task that requires a thorough understanding of user needs and preferences.
TopIntroduction
Mobile app design has come a long way since the first iPhone was released in 2007. With the rise of mobile technology, app design has become an essential part of our daily lives. According to Statista, there were 218 billion app downloads in 2020 alone, and this number is expected to grow in the coming years. As the number of mobile apps continues to increase, it is crucial for designers to explore best practices in mobile app design patterns and tools to ensure user satisfaction and retention. In this chapter, we will explore the importance of a user-centered approach in mobile app design, as well as the benefits of incorporating best practices and tools in the design process (Feng et al. 2012).
Mobile app development design patterns refer to best practices and reusable solutions for common problems that arise during the development of mobile applications. Here are some common design patterns used in mobile app development:
Model-View-Controller (MVC): This pattern separates the app into three components - model (data and business logic), view (user interface), and controller (handles user input and interacts with the model).
Singleton: This pattern ensures that only one instance of a class exists in the app at a time. It is often used for creating shared resources like databases or network managers.
Observer: This pattern allows objects to be notified when a particular event occurs. For example, a view controller can be notified when a data model change.
Factory: This pattern provides a way to create objects without specifying their exact class. It is useful for creating objects that belong to different classes but share common properties.
Adapter: This pattern allows incompatible classes to work together by creating a bridge between them. For example, an adapter can be used to display data from a database in a table view.
Delegate: This pattern allows one object to delegate tasks to another object. For example, a table view delegate can be used to handle user interaction with the table view.
Strategy: This pattern allows an algorithm to be selected at runtime based on user input or other factors. It is often used for handling different user input scenarios.
Facade: This pattern provides a simplified interface to a complex subsystem. For example, a facade can be used to provide a simple API for accessing complex network services.
Command: This pattern encapsulates a request as an object, allowing it to be stored and executed at a later time. It is useful for implementing undo/redo functionality.
TopLayers Of Mobile App Development Architecture
Presentation Layer
The aim of this layer is to look into how to present the application to end users. When designing this layer, the mobile app developers must identify the correct client type for intended infrastructure. Additionally, the client’s deployment restrictions must also be kept in mind. Another necessity is selecting the correct data format and using robust data validation mechanisms for protecting the apps from invalid entry (Lee et al. 2012).
Business Layer
This layer looks into elements on the business front. In layman words, it looks into the way businesses are presented to the end users. This consists of business components, workflow, and the entities under two sub-layer hood: Domain model and Service. The service layer looks into the definition of common application function set that are available to the end users. While the domain model layer looks into the knowledge and expertise linked to specific problem areas (Microsoft, 2013).