Master the challenges of Android user interface development with these sample patterns
With Android 4, Google brings the full power of its Android OS to both smartphone and tablet computing. Designing effective user interfaces that work on multiple Android devices is extremely challenging. This book provides more than 75 patterns that you can use to create versatile user interfaces for both smartphones and tablets, saving countless hours of development time. Patterns cover the most common and yet difficult types of user interactions, and each is supported with richly illustrated, step-by-step instructions.
- Includes sample patterns for welcome and home screens, searches, sorting and filtering, data entry, navigation, images and thumbnails, interacting with the environment and networks, and more
- Features tablet-specific patterns and patterns for avoiding results you don't want
- Illustrated, step-by-step instructions describe what the pattern is, how it works, when and why to use it, and related patterns and anti-patterns
- A companion website offers additional content and a forum for interaction
Android Design Patterns: Interaction Design Solutions for Developers provides extremely useful tools for developers who want to take advantage of the booming Android app development market.
Table of Contents:
Foreword xix Introduction xxi
Part I: UX Principles and Android OS Considerations 1
Chapter 1: Design for Android: A Case Study 3
Launch Icon 4
Action Bars and Information Architecture 5
Tabs 11
Dedicated Selection Page 11
Select Control 12
Buttons 14
Search Results 15
Result Detail 19
Bringing It All Together 22
Chapter 2: What Makes Android Different 25
Welcome to Flatland 26
Tap Anywhere 28
Right-Size for Every Device 30
Mobile Space, Unbound 33
Think Globally, Act Locally 36
Chapter 3: Android Fragmentation 41
What’s Fragmentation? 42
Everything Is in Time and Passes Away 42
Android Device Trends 43
Celebrate Fragmentation 53
Chapter 4: Mobile Design Process 55
Observe Human-Mobile Interaction in the Real World 56
Your Prototyping Methods Must Allow for Variety in Form Factors 56
Your User Testing Must Allow People to Explore the Natural Range of Motion, Voice, and Multitouch 57
Touch Interfaces Embody Simplicity and Sophistication 57
Delight Is Mandatory 58
Tell a Complete Story—Design for Cross-Channel Experiences 58
Mobile Design Case Study 59
Part II: Android Design Patterns and Antipatterns 69
Chapter 5: Welcome Experience 71
5.1 Antipattern: End User License Agreements (EULAs) 72
5.2 Antipattern: Contact Us Impediments 74
5.3 Antipattern: Sign Up/Sign In 77
5.4 Pattern: Welcome Animation 80
5.5 Pattern: Tutorial 83
Chapter 6: Home Screen 87
6.1 Pattern: List of Links 88
6.2 Pattern: Dashboard 92
6.3 Pattern: Updates 95
6.4 Pattern: Browse 99
6.5 Pattern: Map 103
6.6 Pattern: History 108
Chapter 7: Search 113
7.1 Pattern: Voice Search 114
7.2 Pattern: Auto-Complete and Auto-Suggest 120
7.3 Pattern: Tap-Ahead 126
7.4 Pattern: Pull to Refresh 129
7.5 Pattern: Search from Menu 132
7.6 Pattern: Search from Action Bar 135
7.7 Pattern: Dedicated Search 138
7.8 Pattern: Search in the Content Page 141
7.9 Antipattern: Separate Search and Refinement 144
Chapter 8: Sorting and Filtering 149
8.1 Antipattern: Crippled Refinement 150
8.2 Pattern: Refinement Page 153
8.3 Pattern: Filter Strip 160
8.4 Pattern: Parallel Architecture 164
8.5 Pattern: Tabs 170
Chapter 9: Avoiding Missing and Undesirable Results 179
9.1 Antipattern: Ignoring Visibility of System Status 180
9.2 Antipattern: Lack of Interface Efficiency 182
9.3 Antipattern: Useless Controls 184
9.4 Pattern: Did You Mean? 185
9.5 Pattern: Partial Match 189
9.6 Pattern: Local Results 192
Chapter 10: Data Entry 197
10.1 Pattern: Slider 198
10.2 Pattern: Stepper 204
10.3 Pattern: Scrolling Calendar 210
10.4 Pattern: Date and Time Wheel 215
10.5 Pattern: Drop Down 224
10.6 Pattern: Multiple Select 228
10.7 Pattern: Free-Form Text Input and Extract 232
10.8 Pattern: Textbox with Input Mask 238
10.9 Pattern: Textbox with Atomic Entities 247
Chapter 11: Forms 251
11.1 Pattern: Inline Error Message 252
11.2 Pattern: Toast Alert 257
11.3 Pattern: Pop-up Alert 263
11.4 Pattern: Callback Validation 271
11.5 Pattern: Cancel/OK 274
11.6 Pattern: Top-Aligned Labels 285
11.7 Pattern: Getting Input from the Environment 293
11.8 Pattern: Input Accelerators 302
Chapter 12: Mobile Banking 307
12.1 Pattern: Login Accelerator 308
12.2 Pattern: Dedicated Selection Page 316
12.3 Pattern: Form First 321
12.4 Pattern: Dedicated Pages Wizard Flow 324
12.5 Pattern: Wizard Flow with Form 329
12.6 Pattern: Verification-Confirmation 334
12.7 Pattern: Near Field Communication (NFC) 338
Chapter 13: Navigation 347
13.1 Antipattern: Pogosticking 348
13.2 Antipattern: Multiple Featured Areas 349
13.3 Pattern: Carousel 352
13.4 Pattern: Popover Menu 358
13.5 Pattern: Watermark 365
13.6 Pattern: Swiss-Army-Knife Navigation 371
13.7 Pattern: Integration: The Final Frontier 383
Chapter 14: Tablet Patterns 391
14.1 Pattern: Fragments 392
14.2 Pattern: Compound View 394
14.3 Experimental Pattern: Side Navigation 396
14.4 Pattern: Content as Navigation/Multitouch Gestures 401
14.5 Pattern: 2-D More Like This 404
14.6 Experimental Pattern: C-Swipe 408
Index 413
