This thread has been generated off of the idea by AbsoluteDesignz, found http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=712525&page=9.
It has been brought to my attention, and to many others, that the average Android application, has a lack in design and the ability to present its self as an application of great use, because of it's looks.
The point of this thread is to list and assist those developers in need.
We will start by creating a list of current applications that are useful, but lack in the design area, we will then contact the developer asking if they would like assistance. If so, we assign a graphic designer to the application and they work with the developer to recreate the applications design until the developer is happy.
We will also reach out to new developers looking for assistance, if you are looking for a graphic designer, do not be afraid to ask!
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Graphic Designers:
1. Wisefire - Private Message or [email protected]
2. AbsoluteDesignz - Private Message or [email protected]
Application List:
1.
2.
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If you are a graphic designer and would like to join this movement, please PM me with you contact details.
I would also like users to start posting in this thread with useful applications that they feel need a "make-over."
Thanks to everyone willing to help, and a special thanks to AbsoluteDesignz for inspiring me to start this.
If this is truly a movement as opposed to a service offering might I suggest that you get together with the developers and come up with a standardized API for skinning or allowing user customization as well?
We are hoping to create a base of designers that several app devs can reach out to if they feel their apps are subpar in the design department. Get apps to shy away from the very basic black BG w/ grey buttons or iPhone style interfaces.
We want Android apps to reach their true potential and no longer be bombarded with all of these horrible looking apps or apps that do not match the stock Android experience (good icons that simply do not match, iPhone UI, etc)
Android does allow a lot of room for app varience, but there has to be some consistency when it comes to icon, UI, and UX design. even widget appearance.
I hate seeing screenshots where it looks like a bunch of first graders grabbed any kind of crayon and wrote all over a wall with no rhyme or reason.
Check out these apps to see good design:
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.threebanana.notes
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.tvshowfavs
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.evernote
But those are just basic designs...you can get non-standard but still be visually appealing. Android lacks that in some of the most useful apps. that shouldn't be.
Related
Hi all!
I've been writing a blog about Android UI Design patterns for a while now. My selfish goal for the blog is to help to improve app quality in the Android market to get better apps to my phone.
I'm also a developer (been one for a long time) and I understand the difficulty to get app design right in one's own private projects and in open source communities. This is where I hope my collection of design patterns could be helpful for developers reading this massively popular forum.
A UI design pattern is a solution to common problem. It is very likely that when you find getting your UI right someone else has already figured out a solution to your problem and in many cases even iterated the solution and improved it.
I have collected UI design patterns for smartphones and tablets separately for now but they should be merged into one list of scalable patterns soon as ICS release will most likely blur the difference between the device types even more.
The blog URL is http://www.androiduipatterns.com/
I would really love to hear your guys' opinions about how I could best help private and OSS projects to improve their UI quality. What kind of information would be helpful and what not-so-helpful.
Thanks!!
Juhani
Nice job pulling all of that information together. It is definitely a lot of work to keep up with the Android UI trends.
Thanks Mills, I really enjoy doing it. I'm just hoping that it brings value to others.
Thank you and a suggestion
first of all, great work collecting these patterns in one place. thank you for all the hard work.
As for a suggestion, You may want to look at greendroid and OpenIntents widgets in your list. I use them extensively..
Thank you very much！It's very good. I will study it now!
Hello everyone and thank you for your attention in the meantime!
We already notice that I am using Google Translate to communicate a bit 'better with you ... unfortunately my English is bad ...
With this question I would ask some of your impressions about the development of new ROM for Android.
I unfortunately delivery a bit 'at a disadvantage because I'm not a developer but just a noob playing with phones and test the different solutions that you offer through your releases.
Indeed, from this point of view I can say that I have tried almost all the main ROM and hybrid versions with kernel taken here and there.
But I've always noticed that the experiences of use, graphically speaking (UI), always remain similar, because the part of louncher is never developed, but the aim is to create a very user interface customization through changes color and background or placement of the elements.
For me it is not easy to explain, because I know that the topic is vast and Android is famous for it to be customizable, but my question is this: why do not you propose something really different and complete? A new ROM and can express a different concept of "personalization" ..
I think to some Louncher, type Listener (which I'm using now and I must say I really like it despite some bugs), or Splay (as a concept that I liked very much!), Or other similar but are not always reflected among users .. .
You may think that they are not customizable as it is for example Paranoid ROM that allows you to change many aspects of the UI are different ... but .. I do not know how to explain it .. try to focus on each other and to give news!
So I would suggest to you that you created ROM and the main team: why do not you join to create something new that is stable, fast and creative?
You have very capable graphics, you are the masters of code, so why not go beyond what is android now and try to find the best that each of you has to offer to create something extraordinary?
I'm sure each of you has at least once thought, "how I wish that notifications appear in a different way" (as the team made it through Holo Paranoid ..!).
So .. create something .. UbuntuPhone style but also beyond .. looking for a concept to follow .. for example the samsung has developed its own theme focusing it on the nature .. but then: why not develop a UI based on a tree ? Or on a leaf! Do you understand?
I know it's a giant work but you are the best community of developers for mobile phones and I am sure that if you join forces, you can do a job never seen before ... because you can have a continuous feedback with millions of Android users who can help you in your work on ideas, tips, feedback, etc.!
What do you think?
Thank you for your attention!
I will to try to give to you (how much "to" :silly an idea about my theard:
so I will image the UI like an Infograph or a white pepper. And image in this space something as an virtual ambient thet will be familiar to "costumers" (sorry for the word but I don't know which one to use) and it's can be something of real live, like a desk with paper, pens and so on, that each one of them rappresents a category of apps. For exemple, the calculator rappresents the calculator'app!
So, if you like to change subject you can image a small city as "desktop" of the phone where the apps are graphites on the wall and ther's a person that walks in differents ways for change the differents views!
Or you can image the apps like "animals" that they grow older if the app will not use for a long time! (image the game "poo") and you can have all this animals in different fences divided into different category...
I can go on for years to give some ideas...but the concept is: create a new way of UI!
Something of different that can change the way of we use the phone! A new way that make older the other louncher! A new way that allow the developers to create differents wolrds!.. And integrate each of this ecosystem with utilities like weather (the weather can change in the "desktop" if change in real life...or can change the time with sun and moon! and so on..)!
Or you can think about a something of more easier, like a real infograph where the apps are in a white space and the user can choose the way to connect them and he can move in this space with different effect or with different way (like drag the screen or using some arrows that indicate the ways to move)...
So...something of new! The only problem can be define a commons libraries that allow to create this UI.
I think about HTML 5 and it's ability to be flexible...I know that java is more complicated but maybe can be a way to streamline the code!
Let me know what do you think about and if it can be possible, on your opinion! :highfive:
(Dear admin - please feel free to move to more suitable cathegory if it doesn't fit here)
I'm quite discouraged with my current search for simple to do / daily planner / agenda app for android.
The selection is really vast but I cannot find anything for myself to be frank...
I would like to create suitable app for myself and like minded people with the help of experienced
developer and graphical designer. I have good project management skills and I'm also happy to pay if necessary.
I decided to write here instead of getacoder or other places, because this forum groups really great people
with relewant skills. No other place in the web offers anythimg similar.
Please drop me a line or reply to the topic if you would like to collaborate.
As suggested - also added to:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2519636
Hi guys.. first of all i'm new to android dev and this forum. so excuse me for any mistake.. The reason im posting here is i had an idea for an app i always felt need about and couldnt find on play store. I call it irevise.
Its a simple notes making app for students(yes there are many) but with a change. A homescreen widget with additional features to make it easy and convenient to revise/memorise the study material. am studying myself and so had started this project.. have got it into a decent app as of now for my use but there are many additional features to be added, and due to lack of time/expertise/funds i may never complete them all.. so came up with the idea of opensource. Ive released it under Apache license 2.0 on sourceforge. sourceforge.net/projects/irevise/
Invite you all to come and develop together to make this into a cool app
Am providing brief info below for anyone intrested..
Description
Well we all sweat trying to learn those nasty chemical formulae, or the weird biological names or maybe some antonyms and synonyms.Whatever it is anything which can make us learn our books better is just a boon. And when it happens automatically, its just amazing. This little appdoes exactly that. Now quickly make your own small notes for things you feel are difficult to learn.Save in the tiny I revise app,and add the widget. And it makes the notes available on your home screen so they cross your eyes every time you unlock your phone. And they get changed automatically so you get them all... Simple huh? Yes but very effective!! And with so many exciting features lined up it could end up as a really awesum tool.. So why waiting, lets code it !!
Features
Quick Revision Tool For students
Supports android 2.3+
Homescreen Widget (Auto Updating)
Backup/Restore Notes (to be added )
Share Notes (to be added)
Study Circle (to Be added)
Inviting everyone to work on the features mentioned and any extras which may be useful.. Also haven't been able to publish on play store as my old account was suspended by google(dunno why) and i dont have an additional card.. so apk also available there only...
its a nice oppurtunity especially for newbies like me to improve our sills, work as a team and get a useful app built in the process.. the biggies can always practice and show off their skills too
Hello everybody
Small intro:
I'm building a startup to create the first HumaneTech smartphone experience. For you.
Our project is to create a smartphone experience that is: Excellent. But not addictive.
A smartphone experience that respects your brain. And doesn't mess with your neurotransmitters. To allow you to use your phone without getting hooked, If you want.
To do that, we want to remove/redesign features that are addictive (believe me ! ) :
Glowing colors on screens
Notifications (the pings, the red numbered icons)
Thumb scrolling down (twitter/fb/etc news feed scrolling)
(and many other things)
We understand the psychology of it but we don't have tech skills (yet).
Let's say you have a smartphone/internet/p*rn addiction. And you want your own phone to help you.
Can you imagine android with :
AI based image recognition & filtering
One unique browser (designed to filter p*rn)
DNS/ HOSTS file based p*rn site filtering
Forced Google/Bing/etc SafeSearch
Phone use analytics (amount of time spend on X website/app etc)
Customisable "self parental controls" (limit the amount of time you can use an app, access a website,etc to keep you more productive) that you cant easily remove once set, to protect you
Customisable internet filters (hard to remove)
And in a moment of weakness, no easy way for you to remove it?
We thought of an app but all it takes is to boot in safe mode to bypass it (or not?)
Can we develop a customised Android that flashes like a ROM on a users phone and makes these changes?
We realise anybody motivated enough could do most of the above on his phone himself. By installing 4-5 third party apps, for example. But it wouldn't be perfect.
It could be easily removed. And the average user wants it easy to install.
Any ideas? I have very little technical skills and I'm still looking for answers on how to do this.
Thank you !
P.S.
First post so I'm not allowed to post links
Please go to HumaneTech dot com to understand what this is about.
There is a already a Chrome extension that filters nude images using AI. Its called vRate and works through a server
P.P.S.
I apologise in advance if I posted this in the wrong area.
This is in no way intended to promote a product. Nothing has been coded yet. I'm even willing to pay for a short conversation with someone who can answer these questions.