21
c.
Global Guidelines
Different apps call for different approaches, designs and
techniques. That said, the inherent nature of a pocket-
sized touchscreen device suggests several global
guidelines; ie, the stuff that always matters.
1.
Responsiveness: Responsiveness is absolutely
critical. If a user does something, the application
needs to acknowledge the interaction instantly.
Note that responsiveness and speed are not the
same thing. It’s ok if certain operations take time.
2.
Polish: Polish is extremely valuable. Because of
the 'constant companion' nature of our
relationship to smartphones, paying a lot of
attention to getting the little details perfect will
be noticed and appreciated.
3.
Thumbs: With the advent of touchscreen
interfaces, everyone is always talking about
'finger this' and 'finger that'. In reality, the thumb
is what we need to design for. Unless the user is
interacting with her smartphone with two hands,
it’s almost impossible to get a finger on the
screen. Thumbs are the default.
4.
Targets: Be conscious of where to place the
targets relative to each other. For example,
putting the Backspace button directly adjacent to
the Send button in an messaging application
would be a bad idea.
5.
Controls: When a developer needs to add
controls, try to put them at the bottom of the
screen. Think of an calculator or computer, the
controls are beneath the display.
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