When a person picks up his phone, he wants to solve a certain problem. Most tasks are solved by the apps installed on his smartphone. But no matter how functional the app is, if it has a poor design, the user will lose interest.
Mobile app design is a necessary and important part of an app that needs to be paid special attention to. Therefore, app design cost fully justifies itself. How much does it cost to design an app? Let’s talk about it one by one.
What is Mobile App Design
In 2008, there was a real boom in the market for developers – Apple released the iPhone, and App Store. Google in the same year released the first smartphone on the operating system Android. Such a concept as a mobile application appears. In addition to its functionality, users evaluate its appearance. If in 2008, design played a secondary role, today – the key role.
In 2017, mobile traffic surpassed computer traffic for the first time, and every year it only increases. Developers create a huge number of apps, and users choose them based, among other things, on their appearance.
App design is the visual design of a program and the creation of a structure based on the logic of user behavior. In other words, it’s not just about appearance, but also usability. Keep this in mind when looking at App design costs.
App design is divided into UX and UI. The UI designer creates the visual part of the app and the UX designer creates the technical part. Today, it is important to implement modern technologies and follow trends. App design costs are an afterthought. It is important to pay attention to both the appearance and functionality of the app to create an intuitive interface. This way, any user can easily understand the program.
The design is thought out in detail, from the idea to the testing by the focus group.
App Design Cost – What Does it Depend on?
Costs on ui ux services vary greatly. It depends on the following factors:
- the need for UI or UX design only;
- construction of the application architecture;
- creation of the user interface;
- development of corporate identity.
The design of a mobile app itself includes quite a wide range of tasks. In addition to visual and technical design, there is the study of user behavioral factors, competitive analytics, developing additional functionality, and so on.
The design of a mobile app is its “face”. That’s why you shouldn’t think that app design costs are too high. Even great functionality is easy to miss if the app looks bad. Convenience, comfort, friendliness and usefulness – these are the associations that users should have. Our task is to make it so.
Mobile App Design Trends in 2022
Where are the previous trends going? Some lose relevance. Some remain and evolve, as was the case with fonts, 3D, AR, and neomorphism. For the last 3-4 years, they’ve been shuttling between web and mobile design, and they’re not going anywhere in the next couple of years. Let’s focus only on mobile app design trends that appeared not so long ago and will be relevant in 2022. Note that some of them will raise App design costs.
Scrollytelling = Scrolling+Storytelling
Scrollytelling is interactive storytelling based on scrolling. This format forms new interactions between video and text, text and animation, images and transitions to the next logical blocks. The combination of dynamic text, images and sound creates a story with its own unique rhythm.
As the user scrolls, interface elements come to life, encouraging users to keep scrolling. The user doesn’t influence the course of the story, but because of their involvement, they feel a part of what’s happening. App design costs considering the introduction of such an element will be justified.
Also, by serving information in small blocks, you make people really read your texts. Not diagonally, but step by step, paragraph by paragraph. A very useful format for instructional apps and mobile products, where it’s important to get a message across.
Replacing Text and Numerical Data with Illustrations
Note that this will increase App design cost. Instead of forcing users to read text, look at graphs, and figure out numbers, data is transferred to backgrounds and illustrations. They do a great job of instantly presenting information in the right tone.
Simplified, stylized charts and graphs emphasize a company’s industry leadership. Illustrations with handwritten fonts create an impression of lameness. Interactive infographics succinctly tell the user complex data that would take more than one paragraph in text.
With this approach, facts and data should be presented in a natural and intuitive way. Visual metaphors and interaction paradigms with which the user is already familiar can be relied upon.
Animation
Animation is not the same as animation. It’s one thing to have a bouncing logo or flashing icons. It’s another thing to have animations to improve the user interface. That’s what’s trending. Let’s list where and how it works for the good of the app:
- It makes feedback comfortable. That’s when it’s the animation that confirms that the message is sent; the request is accepted, and the button is pressed. For example, as in the illustration below, where the checkbox animation confirms that the action has been completed.
- Shows progress. While waiting for the page to load or move to the next step, the user wants to know what stage they’re at. To do this, you can use the standard progress bar or a growing percentage. Or illustrate the progress with something more interesting.
- Makes push notifications more visible. For those cases where you can’t increase the number of push notifications, it’s critical to make them more noticeable.
- Simplifies onboarding. Animations make it easier to get acquainted with the application, its functionality and product strengths. Obviously, a good animated clip looks more interesting than 8-10 screens of text and illustrations.
- Conciseness and harmony: an old trend in app design with a new twist
For some mobile products, it is no longer so important to attract and keep users as to make their work with the app emotionally comfortable. Ideally, a visually comfortable app is an app in natural colors, with soothing images and simple templates.
Minimal contrasts and complex shapes, a simple structure and equally simple metaphors. Following the trend for brevity, it’s hard not to cross the fine line between primitive and restraint, but a good designer sees and feels this line.
Conclusion
Trends are not laws. If you don’t have money to cover the App design cost, you have to save. Do not blindly follow them and use them in the project without regard to the specifics, audience and tasks. Follow trends to inspire and be inspired, find points of growth and development of your design concept.
