Book Image

iPhone User Interface Cookbook

By : Cameron Banga
Book Image

iPhone User Interface Cookbook

By: Cameron Banga

Overview of this book

The incredible growth rates for the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad have pushed consumers to a new “App” economy, with developers racing to the platform. Mobile touch-centric interfaces vary greatly from traditional computing platforms, and programmers as well as designers must learn to adapt to the new form-factor.The iPhone User Interface Cookbook offers a complete breakdown of standard interface design on the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. You will learn the tools behind the trade, how to properly utilize standard interface elements, and custom UI tricks that will help your work stand out on the App Store.The book is designed to be a complete overview of interface design on all iOS platforms, offering insight and an inside look into app design. A variety of topics are covered, starting with an overview of tools for the app interface designer, touching upon popular interface components such as the Tab Bar, and offering suggestions for complex game interfaces. Whether you’re new to the platform or a seasoned developer with numerous applications in the App Store, this book strives to teach everyone simple and easy to implement tips for iOS interface design. Regardless of skill level, the iPhone User Interface Cookbook offers a detailed breakdown of all things interface design.
Table of Contents (18 chapters)
iPhone User Interface Cookbook
Credits
About the Author
About the Reviewers
www.PacktPub.com
PacktLib.PacktPub.com
Preface
The Importance of Direct Manipulation
If you need a stylus, you blew it

Designing our app with all orientations in mind


The iPhone and iPod touch are primarily portrait orientation devices, with no requirement for us to support the landscape orientation. The iPad is different and Apple states clearly stated in its Human Interface Guidelines that all applications should support both orientations unless there is explicit reason not to. But a 4:3 aspect ratio screen doesn't exactly make it easy to design an interface that works well in all orientations.

In this recipe, we'll discuss a few cheats that will help make it easy to design an interface that looks great in both portrait and landscape.

Getting ready

An iPad loaded with an email account in the Mail application and the USA Today application will be good to have on hand for this recipe.

How to do it...

We're given a bit of creative freedom with regards to designing an interface that is functional in either perspective. But if we're having difficulty, there are two tried and true practices that help create...