Book Image

Hands-On Android UI Development

By : Jason Morris
Book Image

Hands-On Android UI Development

By: Jason Morris

Overview of this book

A great user interface (UI) can spell the difference between success and failure for any new application. This book will show you not just how to code great UIs, but how to design them as well. It will take novice Android developers on a journey, showing them how to leverage the Android platform to produce stunning Android applications. Begin with the basics of creating Android applications and then move on to topics such as screen and layout design. Next, learn about techniques that will help improve performance for your application. Also, explore how to create reactive applications that are fast, animated, and guide the user toward their goals with minimal distraction. Understand Android architecture components and learn how to build your application to automatically respond to changes made by the user. Great platforms are not always enough, so this book also focuses on creating custom components, layout managers, and 2D graphics. Also, explore many tips and best practices to ease your UI development process. By the end, you'll be able to design and build not only amazing UIs, but also systems that provide the best possible user experience.
Table of Contents (21 chapters)
Title Page
Credits
About the Author
About the Reviewers
www.PacktPub.com
Customer Feedback
Preface
13
Activity Lifecycle

Choosing colors and theming


Colors are one of the least understood and most important aspects of your user interface design. Text colors must stand out from the background colors to keep text legible, but not too much either. Color choices should follow a palette throughout the application and should reflect the application's branding, but should also help convey meaning to the user. Choosing the right mix of colors will maximize the usability of your application, while helping reduce the user's cognitive load. The wrong color combinations will make text more difficult to read, cause eye strain, and increase the user's levels of cognitive fatigue.

When you apply custom colors to your application, it's important to ensure that you don't have too many colors, and that they are applied consistently within the application. Color conveys meaning; it can be used to tell the user that the new button is the opposite of the delete button. These styles should be defined as resources and applied consistently...