Designing a mobile app's user interface (UI) and navigation system in a way that is both intuitive and beautiful can be difficult. In this article, I will look into the challenges that I faced while developing the UI and navigation for the android app.
An overview of the problems with UI and navigation faced
One of the major problems faced in UI was Ensuring Consistency Across Different Devices, Designing for Small Screens, and Selecting the Ideal Color Palette.
Problems faced in navigation were Creating a Simple and Intuitive Navigation System, Designing Navigation for Different Screen Sizes, and Incorporating Navigation into the Overall UI Design.
The problem faced in creating the UI
Ensuring Consistency Across Different Devices
The challenge of guaranteeing consistency across different devices in UI design is the difficulty of designing a user interface that appears and performs consistently across a variety of devices with diverse screen sizes, resolutions, and capabilities. Tablets, laptops, desktops, and cell phones are all included in this. Designing a UI that offers a consistent brand identity and user interface while delivering a smooth user experience across all devices is challenging.
When creating the app, there was the challenge of having consistency between what was in the web app and what was created for the android app.
Designing for Small Screens
Designing for small screens is making user interfaces that are suitable for smaller devices, such as smartphones and smartwatches. To do this, interfaces must be created that, despite the small screen size, are aesthetically pleasing, simple to use, and offer a seamless user experience.
Ensuring that small screens were designed in correlation with the big screen was also a challenge.
Selecting the Ideal Color Palette
Choosing the optimum color palette in design is the process of choosing a group of colors to be utilized in a design project. This entails choosing color combinations that work well together, convey the message that is intended, and represent the brand's identity or the desired mood. The ideal color scheme should be aesthetically pleasing, constant, and usable by all users, including those who struggle with color vision.
The right color palette was an issue. So research on the right color palette had to be done.
Solution for the problem faced in creating UI
To solve the problem at hand, I had to conduct research where I sampled a specific group of people whom I was creating an app for. After conducting the research, they gave me feedback about their user preference on how they would like the application to be.
Then I created wireframing and prototyping where I fully worked on it and ensured the color palette was as agreed. After this, I sent the UI to the selected sample to give me feedback about it before proceeding to create the main application.
The problem faced in creating the navigation for the app
Creating a Simple and Intuitive Navigation System
Building a simple and intuitive navigation system in an app is designing a user-friendly and practical manner for users to navigate an app and access its features. To do this, suitable navigational patterns must be chosen—such as tabs, menus, or gestures—that are simple to comprehend and operate. It also necessitates careful consideration of the information architecture of the app, including its hierarchy of content, labeling, and grouping of related objects. The aim is to provide a navigation system that assists users in swiftly and simply finding what they are looking for, without difficulty or irritation.
Choosing if I would use bottom navigation, top navigation, and side navigation is a challenge. So after my user research, I came up with the conclusion that bottom navigation was more user-friendly.
Designing Navigation for Different Screen Sizes
Due to varied screen sizes, a limited amount of screen space, and the requirement to strike a balance between simplicity and accessibility of all functions, creating an app's navigation can be difficult. Making the navigation simple to use on smaller displays, making sure that all important elements are easily available without overwhelming the user, and having trouble building a clear and natural hierarchy are some common issues.
I had different navigation for big screens and that of the android app. For example, due to different screens for the Android app bottom navigation works best for small screens, and for big screens, the side and top navigation work best.
Incorporating Navigation into the Overall UI Design
incorporating navigation into the overall UI design is the process of creating a user interface that seamlessly incorporates the navigation system with the rest of the design. This entails thoughtfully positioning menus, buttons, and other navigational elements within the user interface (UI) such that they are simple to find and understand. Additionally, the navigation mechanism needs to match the branding and general design aesthetic of the app.
Getting the right icons for the navigation was an issue. Example icons that will be clicked to enhance navigation. So I chose to use the android studio icon however they are not available for every icon.
So I had to make sure the navigation rhymes with the whole screen.
Solution for the problem faced in creating the navigation for the app
Implementing the bottom navigation bar following the Android Material Design guidelines: These guidelines offer suggestions and best practices for creating and implementing bottom navigation bars.
Considering using the Bottom Navigation View component: A bottom navigation bar can be implemented in Android using this component, which is a part of the Android Support Library.
Practices for Overcoming UI and Navigation Challenges
Undertaking User Research
Interviewing potential customers to learn about their needs and objectives for using a product
User testing involves seeing customers use the product to spot problems and confusing features.
By Surveying: obtaining user feedback from a bigger group to spot trends and recurring problems.
Wireframing and Prototyping
Wireframing and prototyping are additional helpful techniques for resolving UI and navigational issues. wireframing is the process of creating a low-fidelity representation of a product's user interface and navigation structure. This enables designers to rapidly test out various interface and navigational ideas without expending a lot of time and energy on development.
Prototyping has the purpose of allowing users to engage with the product and see its expected behavior by having designers develop a functional version of the product's interface. Early in the design process, before they become more difficult and expensive to correct, prototyping can assist in identifying any navigation or user interface (UI) concerns.
Conducting User Testing
By granting users access to the product via their devices, interactions, and feedback are documented.
Developers can better understand how users interact with a product and pinpoint any areas of misunderstanding or frustration by performing user testing. A better user experience can be achieved by using this information to enhance the product's user interface and navigation.
Tools and Technologies for UI and Navigation Design
Prototyping Tools
I used the following tools in prototyping.
Figma is an interface design tool that is cloud-based and used to create prototypes that can be seen and tested on various devices.
Sketch Popular vector graphics editor and digital design that is used to create a mockup.
Conclusion
In the Android app, UI and navigation difficulties included developing a user-friendly user interface, devising efficient navigation systems, and meeting the needs of various users. These difficulties might have a detrimental effect on the entire user experience and prevent the product from being adopted and becoming successful.
Adhering to best practices in UI and navigation design, such as user research, prototyping, testing, and using the relevant tools and technologies, can assist in overcoming these difficulties and producing products that are efficient and user-friendly. Designers may produce goods that live up to users' expectations and deliver a satisfying user experience by considering their requirements and preferences.