What goes into app design is more than just design

One of my passions is designing mobile apps for whatever platform, be it iPhone, Apple Watch, or Android. But you know a great deal of work goes into making an app, and it's not just the pretty eye candy. Regardless if it's an app to chat with people, or an app to keep track of your grocery list, there is an incredibly important fact that has to be kept in mind as the app is being designed. It's all about the human experience with that app, you have to put the human first. And guess what...it can't always be just you. There are a wide variety of humans out there, from grandpas to little kids, from people who are color blind to people who are deaf. There is a quote that I made into a small poster and plastered onto my wall which says it all:

"The core of experience design is putting the human first." -InVision

When you design an app you have to put your heart, mind and soul into that app. You have to take a step back and look at every single detail of the app design, let's say a gestured element. For example, a user may have to perform a swipe gesture on a list item to reveal a button beneath which lets them do something, like adding something to their calendar, or saving something for later. How big does the button need to be? Not everyone has petite fingers. Some people have pork chop fingers and if they mis-tap, then the app does something unexpected, that's going to result in a bad experience for that user. How big should we make that button? How big should we make the list item that gets swiped on? What kind of visual interaction will result when they tap on the button? Or even when they make the gesture? These things are just a small crumb in a very big cookie. There are a lot of things to think about which has to do with human interaction with elements, visibility, readability and doing things in an efficient manner that won't leave the user twiddling their thumbs or wondering what is going on.

So a lot goes into designing an app, it's not just about pretty buttons and icons, it's about making the human user experience an app that is the best it can be and taking into account the infinite diversities of people and what their needs are. You know when people find out I do app design the first they they say to me is this:

"Oh you design apps?! Oh my goodness, I have an awesome idea for an app! It's like this...blah blah blah..."

If only they knew how much time and money goes into creating an app. Maybe if they read this blog post, they'll get a notion of what it's all about.