GQAdonis

In doing a quick search on new Android user interface patterns, I was pleasant surprised with a plethora of resources. First, anyone wanting to keep up to date with what is happening on the Android platform should check the Android UI Patterns Blog. From there you will get a pointer to the following code projects and resources:

• android-ui-patterns code project–This code sample resource is mentioned in an article about implementing the Dashboard and Action Bar patterns.
• Dashboard Pattern Source–This is a part of source code for IoSched written by Roman Nurik.
• IoSched–IoSched is a source code project that is updated every year for the Google I/O Conference for managing access to classes at the conference. Quite cool.
• Styling Android–This is a great blog that covers topics related to styling Android user interfaces, including the discussion of using graphical elements vs. layout techniques.
• Dynamic List Implementation–This is an implementation of an “endless list adapter,” allowing for an ever-expanding list that can be refreshed using the android-pulltorefresh project by Johan Nilsson.
• Android View Flow–This is a great source of sample code for scrolling through paged views. The new Android Market and Google+ apps use this.

These are just a few of the resources found, and links on these pages provide a pathway to many more.

Overview

Finding good resources for mobile user interface design patterns is difficult, and I have found a couple that serve as great starting points for designing spectacular, unique, but easy to use mobile application user interfaces on iPhone.

Mobile-Patterns.com

This site was apparently started by the lead designer at Foursquare, Mari Sheibley. Foursquare has provided innovative design examples in the development of their iPhone and Android applications.

Pttrns.com

This site provides an extensive list of 289 patterns categorized by type. This collection is extremely useful and provides up-to-date examples.

Balance

The thing that I appreciate most about the examples provided by these sites is the balance in the use of creativity. It is easy for UI designers to get carried away with looking “different” to the point that the interface dynamics are no longer easily recognizable to the user. While users can be visually stimulated by “difference”, this only lasts a short time–until the first time the user does not immediately know how an interface works or what to do next. Mobile applications must be visually stunning but also follow established patterns in the way they are constructed, so the user feels a sense of familiarity. If this rule is broken, the world is left with an application that initially might be downloaded a thousand times but only used by each user a few times before users get frustrated and download an application that is less stunning but lets them get the job done faster.