Apress, 2009. โ 262 p.
iPhone User Interface Design Projects is unique within the series for being design, rather than code, focused. All of those hard-core developer topics that dominated our earlier books needed to be written, because there really is no other place to start. But the really successful apps, the ones you never get tired of using and remain popular on Appleโs iTunes App Store for a long time, have great code and great design. Itโs not enough to have a unique feature or great performance. Too many other apps will either be copying your unique feature or came out a week before yours. Youโve got to make great-looking apps, and this book has some key examples of putting a professional polish on your work. But itโs really more than applying a simple shine, because as youโll see in these chapters, good design requires plenty of thought right from the start of the development process. And that may be the most important lesson youโll get from this book. You have to think about every aspect of your app if you expect to be one of the shining lights among over 100,000 apps.
Once again, I have worked with Dave Mark, the series editor and author of several best-selling Apress books, including Beginning iPhone 3 Development, to find developers who produce efficient and bug-free code, design usable and attractive interfaces, and push the limits of the technology. Daveโs common-man touch, tell-itlike- it-is sense of reality, and delight at apps that look great can be felt throughout the series.
This brings us back to the code, or in the case of user interface design, the lack of code. As developers, we all take comfort in the language of code. This book is about the visual presentation of your code. Most of your users have no idea what beautiful code is, but every user can take pleasure when you present the inner workings of your endeavors as a truly beautiful, useful app. Itโs something every iPhone developer should show off with pride.
We hope youโll find the apps presented in these chapters and the stories of how they came to be interesting as both human drama and as well-designed as the iPhone and iPod Touch technology. Happy adventuring, and send us a postcard!
App Cubby.
Yet Another Google Reader.
Brightkite for the iPhone.
Outpost.
TanZen and Zentomino.
Flash of Genius: SAT Vocab.
Postage.
Falling Balls and Gravity Pods.
FontShuffle.
Snow Reports for the iPhone.
Epilogue: Reactive Music and Invisible Interfaces.