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MOBILEBOOK OF TRENDS

2014

Marcin Treder, Adam Pachucki, Adam Zielonko, Kamil Łukasiewicz

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Index

1. TYPOGRAPHY 4

2. FLAT DESIGN & SIMPLICITY 14

3. GESTURAL INTERFACES 26

4. CIRCLES 35

5. ENTERPRISE MOBILE 45

6. WEARABLE COMPUTERS 56

7. PURE GUIDELINES 67

8. CONTEXTUAL AWARENESS 78

9. LARGE IMAGES 89

10. BLUR 100

11. INFOGRAPHIC 112

12. MICROINTERACTIONS 125

13. MOBILE-POWERED CUSTOMER 136

14. BONUS: 10 MUST-HAVE METRO APPS FOR WINDOWS PHONE 147

ABOUT UXPIN & MOVADE 156

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1. TYPOGRAPHY

I have a small theory that I’d like to share with you - great typography

equals design maturity. Web designers, until a couple of years ago, wer-

en’t paying nearly enough attention to typography. When the whole field

matured - typography blossomed and became a huge design trend.

Good typography is not only decisive when it comes to the readability of

the text, but also builds up a message that the designer intended to share.

It’s an important part of the overall user experience. On the other hand, a

lack of good typography shows the unprofessionalism of the whole product.

Text is a basic ingredient of the majority of interfaces - if that’s designed

badly, why go any further?

The first years of the growth of native applications on iOS and Android were

just terrible. It seemed like the majority of designers and developers wer-

en’t thinking about typography at all. It was under-appreciated and looked

accidental. Boring fonts were usually applied with no good taste. A design

nightmare.

Mobile design is long past its early days now and we can clearly see signs

of the maturity of the field. Typography is one of the most vivid exam-

ples. Most of the typography on popular applications can be described as

“decent”. Whether that’s Facebook, Mailbox, or Twitter – the text is clear

and the fonts look at least OK. What’s even more interesting - in 2013 we

saw lots and lots of mobile apps with an absolutely stunning usage of fonts.

Ultravisual, WillCall, Hotel Tonight to mention a few great examples.

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In 2014 we’re absolutely sure that this trend will gain even more power.

Typography in mobile apps can’t be ignored anymore. Mobile design has

reached its maturity.

6Citroen Lifestyle, iOS, http://www.citroen.com.br/lifestyle/

7Fancred, iOS, http://fancred.com

8Fifa, iOS, Android, http://www.fifa.com/mobile/

9Foodie Recipes, iOS, http://www.foodie.com

10Hotel Tonight, iOS, Android, http://www.hoteltonight.com

11National Geographic City Guide, iOS, http://bit.ly/1fKnVeg

12Ultravisual, iOS, http://www.ultravisual.com

13Willcall, iOS, Android, https://www.getwillcall.com

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2. FLAT DESIGN & SIMPLICITY

2013 was the year of flat design. After Apple’s announcement of iOS7, mo-

bile designers all over the world started to work on redesigns of their apps

seeking a simpler form and much desired flatness.

No wonder! Flat design, if done correctly, looks stunning. The freshness of

the flat form gave us all a much-needed break from the heaviness of ske-

uomorphism (often just badly applied). In a way, this trend is a scream for

simplicity. A form that follows function. Design that does not stand in the

way.

Hence, flat became more than just a fashion for gradient-free buttons and a

lack of textures. Flat design became a trend that’s all about seeking clarity.

Light colours, clear fonts, lots of whitespace and general UI modesty be-

came signs of a good flat design.

The list of apps that follow these principles would be really, really long. Twit-

ter, Facebook, Foursquare… they all got flattened in 2013, making everything

that’s not flat look old-fashioned. Even though among all these great flat

apps there are products that are just on another level - apps that define

simplicity in an unprecedented way. Pure diamonds of mobile design. I’m

talking about Vine, VSCO, Jukly, Highlight… and a few others that will make

flat design a permanent part of mobile design, not just a seasonal trend.

Get ready for 2014. Take a look at our selection of the best examples of flat

mobile design.

15Vine, iOS, Android, Windows, https://vine.co

16Jukely, iOS, https://jukely.com

17Highlight, iOS, Android, http://highlig.ht

18Luvocracy, iOS, http://www.luvocracy.com

19Circa, iOS, Android, http://cir.ca

20Clique, iOS https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/id673371827

21NextDoor, iOS, Android, https://nextdoor.com/mobile/

22Piclab, iOS, Android, http://piclabapp.com

23Pulse, iOS, Android, https://www.pulse.me

24Uniqlo RECIPE, iOS, http://www.uniqlo.com/us/lifetools/recipe/

25VSCO, iOS, Android, http://vsco.co/vscocam

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3. GESTURAL INTERFACES

At the beginning of the mobile design era, designers were trying to copy

interaction patterns from the web/software world. Simply, a tap was meant

to represent a click, which led designers to plan simple and straight-forward

interactions.

Touch-screens, however, had more to offer. Swipe, pinch, stretch,

press&hold… all these gestures were waiting to be properly used.

Introducing new interaction and navigation patterns is always controversial

and challenging. I remember when Twitter used a swipe gesture to provide

a shortcut to a couple of popular actions. Many designers tossed it as an

unnecessary complication. After all… all these actions were available just a

couple of taps away.

Many designers, however, believed that using a tap-centered interaction

pattern makes even a simple task too complicated on a small screen of a

smartphone. Gestures, if properly applied, could make the interaction much

quicker and more natural.

Today, it’s hard to imagine many applications without a gesture control sys-

tem. Think Mailbox, or Clear - apps that build their popularity mainly on the

great appliance of gesture-based interactions.

Apps such as - Blue, Tinder, or recently Jelly - followed. All the signs show

that 2014 will be all about gestures. Get ready.

27Yahoo Weather, iOS, Android, http://mobile.yahoo.com/weather/

28Yahoo News Digest, iOS, https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/yahoo-news-digest/id784982356?mt=8

29Blue, iOS, http://partlyblue.com

30Jelly, iOS, Android, http://jelly.co

31Potluck, iOS, https://www.potluck.it

32SVOY, iOS, Android, https://itunes.apple.com/ru/app/svoy/id523446911?mt=8

33Swell, iOS, http://www.swell.am

34Tinder, iOS, Android, http://www.gotinder.com

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4. CIRCLES

Not all of the design trends are rational. Not all of the design trends are a

sign of progress. Some trends simply appear suddenly and become a fash-

ion. One of them is the circle trend.

Based on my mere observation - it all started in web design in 2012. Out of

sudden circles, it became the thing. In 2013 mobile design simply followed

the trend.

Foursquare, Facebook Messenger, Uber… and even contacts on iOS7 are

using circles for many elements of the interface. Great, innovative apps such

as Spark, Lasso, or QuizUp are all about circles.

The beginning of 2014 shows that circles are here to stay…until a new trend

arrives.

36TriplAgent, iOS, https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/triplagent-discover-new-adventures/id692393671?mt=8

37Lasso, iOS, http://lasso.me

38Foursquare, iOS, http://foursquare.com

39Om Finder, iOS, https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/om-finder/id623568912?mt=8

40Peek Tour, iOS, https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/peek-tours-activities/id767696645?mt=8

41QuizUp, iOS, https://www.quizup.com

42Readibility, iOS, Android, https://www.readability.com

43Team USA, iOS, Android, http://www.teamusa.org/mobile

44DingDong, iOS, https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ding-dong/id529838233?mt=8

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5. ENTERPRISE MOBILE

The consumerization of enterprise applications is a strong trend on the Hi-

tech market. After years of pushing hardly usable apps on innocent corpo-

rate employees, the tech world finally realised that the users of enterprise

products are… human beings. And, like every human being, they enjoy well

designed products (well to be honest, I guess enjoyment wasn’t as decisive

a factor here as the opportunity to save some money, but anyway…).

In 2013 the consumerization of enterprises trend reached mobile apps.

Since the industry agreed that corporate workers are people… it just

couldn’t miss the fact that human beings love their smartphones and

tablets. What is even more important, smartphones and tablets can make

people very productive.

This thesis led to the creation of dozens of enterprise mobile apps. We’ve

chosen 10 well designed ones to show you the basis for our prediction for

2014 - enterprise mobile apps will go wild.

Enjoy!

46Box, iOS, Android, Windows, Blackberry, https://www.box.com/business/features/mobile-access/

47Yammer, iOS, Android, Windows, https://about.yammer.com/product/mobile/ios/

48Intercom, iOS, https://www.intercom.io/

49Desk.com, iOS, Android, http://www.desk.com/features/mobile

50Weave by Intuit, iOS, http://weave.intuit.com

51Quickbooks, iOS, Android, http://search.quickbooksonline.com

52Base, iOS, Android, Windows, https://getbase.com/mobile/

53Hubspot, iOS, Android, http://www.hubspot.com/products/mobile

54Podio, iOS, Android, https://company.podio.com/mobile

55GoToMeeting, iOS, Android, http://www.gotomeeting.com/online/meeting/ipad-iphone-android-apps

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6. WEARABLE COMPUTERS

Wearable computers are the next step in the evolution of mobile tech. After

having a computer in our backpack and pocket, with the arrival of Google

Glass, smart watches and wrist bands, we can actually have them on us.

Wearables create a completely new environment for designers to play with.

Highly contextualised, subtle yet powerful, devices need a completely new

approach to the design of applications. And though these are still the early

days of the whole wearable technology, few disagree that this is the future.

Beautiful Pebble, convenient Fitbit, Google Glass and dozens of its apps,

these are all early examples of what’s coming. 2014 will be the year of the

wearable.

Get ready!

57Twitter for Google Glass, https://blog.twitter.com/2013/twitter-for-google-glass

Source: https://blog.twitter.com/2013/twitter-for-google-glasshttp://www.engadget.com/2013/05/16/google-glass-apps/

For Google Glass

58People+, http://getpeopleplus.com

For Google Glass

59Genie, https://getglassgenie.appspot.com

For Google Glass

60Fancy, http://fancy.com/help/glass

Source: https://vimeo.com/66838775

For Google Glass

61KitchMe, http://www.kitchme.com/googleglass

Source: http://www.kitchme.com/googleglass

For Google Glass

62Pebble, https://getpebble.com

Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/61209873@N00/10061112236/

63Fitbit, http://fitbit.com

Source: http://fitbit.com

64Whistle, http://www.whistle.com

65Meta, https://www.spaceglasses.com

Source: http://www.spaceglasses.com

66Jawbone, http://www.jawbone.com

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7. PURE GUIDELINES

We have gone a long way since the early days of mobile design and there

was a lot of turbulence along the way. Among this you will find skeuomor-

phism, porting web UI solutions and, let’s be honest, ugliness.

Some platforms figured out these issues quicker, some of them lagged

behind. Nonetheless, we have come to a point where it is all pretty much

sorted out. The outcome? Beautiful and usable apps, a harmonized experi-

ence for end users, and easiness of development.

It has got to be said, though, that these guidelines for iOS 7, Android and

Windows Phone devices may be keeping some designers from the explora-

tion of new interactions, UI solutions, and visual experimentation.

However, to be able to break the rules, you need to get to know the prin-

ciples absolutely to the very bone. Believe me, they exist for very good

reasons and quickly lead to tremendous results.

Let’s hop on and explore examples of apps tailored to suit the user habits

of a specific platform. They look and work great, while strictly following the

guidelines.

PS. I strongly advise bookmarking these pages and visiting them from time

to time:

• iOS Human Interface Guidelines

• Android Design

• Windows Phone Design Principles

68Facebook Messenger, iOS, Android, https://www.facebook.com/mobile/messenger

69Skype, iOS, Android, Windows Phone, http://www.skype.com/en/download-skype/skype-for-mobile/

70myMail, iOS, Android, http://mymail.my.com/

71Wordeo, iOS, http://wordeo.com/

72Showyou, iOS, Android, https://showyou.com/

73Foodspotting, iOS, Android, http://www.foodspotting.com/about

74Wikipanion Plus, iOS, https://itunes.apple.com/pl/app/wikipanion-plus/id290613987?mt=8

75Listastic, iOS, https://itunes.apple.com/pl/app/listastic/id710535295?mt=8

76Ted, iOS, Android, http://www.ted.com/

77Umano, iOS, Android, http://umanoapp.com/

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8. CONTEXTUAL AWARENESS

The most obvious things that make mobile devices so different from desk-

top computers is their size and the fact that you literally always have them

with you. The other thing is they have loads of sensors and this is what

makes them different from ‘almost gone’ phones, too. They are smart.

Imagine how many situations you find yourself in every day. You drive a car,

work at the office, go out to grab some lunch, meet up with friends in the

evening, and you finally come back home to sleep. Does it affect the way

you interact with your smartphone? Yes, it does, indeed!

Your smartphone can easily know where it is, especially now thanks to

Bluetooth Low Energy, also known as Bluetooth Smart. It knows loads of

other stuff, too...

Knowing, however, is not enough. Modern apps need to leverage this infor-

mation and provide users with an enhanced experience tailored perfectly to

their current situation. Only then can they really become smart apps.

We have been getting there for years, however, surprisingly slowly. It

changed in 2013, though, and the trend is now on the rise. You see solu-

tions provided by Shopkick, Estimote and Nest getting awesome traction.

The trend will hit it big in the coming years!

79Shopkick, iOS, Android, https://www.shopkick.com/

80Nest, iOS, Android, https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/nest-mobile/id464988855?mt=8

81Estimote, iOS, https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/estimote-virtual-beacon/id686915066?mt=8

82SmartThings, iOS, Android, http://www.smartthings.com/app/

83Automatic, iOS, Android, http://www.automatic.com/

84AroundMe, iOS, Android, http://www.aroundmeapp.com/

85Google Search, iOS, Android, http://www.google.com/homepage/mobile/

86Ambilight+hue, iOS, Android, https://itunes.apple.com/nl/app/ambilight+hue/id640081408

87SoundHound, iOS, Android, Windows Phone, http://www.soundhound.com/

88Flightradar24 Pro, iOS, Android, Windows Phone, http://www.flightradar24.com/apps

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9. LARGE IMAGES

At the beginning of the mobile design era, designers were trying to copy

interaction patterns from the web/software world. Simply, a tap was meant

to represent a click, which led designers to plan simple and straight-forward

interactions.

Have you noticed how fast the screens of mobile devices keep being im-

proved? I am amazed by their extremely high resolution, perfect brightness

and colors.

I bet you love photos. Remember having those colorful pieces of paper in

your hand? They are now being replaced by your smartphones and tablets.

They finally look beautiful on them and this is why attractive imagery and

video make many mobile apps so appealing.

Swiping through images and pinching them is a great experience and adds

great experience to clean and simple interfaces, no matter the platform.

You can easily find great examples and among them incredible apps like

Airbnb, Arsty, Fotopedia or extremely attractive Ultravisual.

Have a look below and be amazed.

90Fotopedia, iOS, http://www.fotopedia.com/products

91Flipboard, iOS, Android, Windows Phone, https://flipboard.com/

92Pose, iOS, Android, http://pose.com/d

93Artsy, iOS, http://iphone.artsy.net/

94Airbnb, iOS, Android, https://www.airbnb.com/mobile

95Paleo Plate, iOS, https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/paleo-plate/id737369088?mt=8

96Pull&Bear, iOS, https://itunes.apple.com/pl/app/pull-bear/id388614277?mt=8

97Instagram, iOS, Android, http://instagram.com/

98The Rolling Stones Official App, iOS, Android, http://www.rollingstones.com/official-app/

99AllSaints Spitalfields, iOS, https://itunes.apple.com/cz/app/allsaints-spitalfields/id353487066?mt=8

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10. BLUR

Together with beautiful large images came the issue of putting text and

other content over them. There were some solutions but one of them

caught on very quickly - blurred images and translucent elements over

them. It received a huge boost as it has become the trademark of iOS 7.

It solves the problem of legibility perfectly and puts the content first, while

still giving the application a great visual appeal. More than that, it is so easy

to apply, you can almost never go wrong with it!

This trend is not exclusive to mobile apps as it appears often on websites,

however, not to such an extent and is not that attractive visually. The reason

behind it is that apps are more responsive to interactions which are also

more direct, and therefore more tempting, as you play with the interface

with your bare fingers.

Have a look at Jukely, where it is applied perfectly, and check out Rdio to

see for yourself how it changes the way you perceive the whole interface. It

now has a stylish and deeper feeling. It simply has “something” in it.

101Rdio, iOS, Android, Windows Phone, http://www.rdio.com/home/apps/

102Snapguide, iOS, http://snapguide.com/download/

103The Huffington Post, iOS, Android, https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/the-huffington-post/id306621789?mt=8

104Clique, iOS, https://itunes.apple.com/pl/app/clique/id673371827?mt=8

105Heyday, iOS, Android, http://www.hey.co/

106Luvocracy, iOS, Android, http://www.luvocracy.com/

107Slacker Radio, iOS, Android, Windows Phone, http://www.slacker.com/mobile

108Inspire Truth, iOS, http://nye-inspire.me/

109Memoir, iOS, http://www.yourmemoir.com/

110Yahoo Mail, iOS, Android, Windows Phone, http://mobile.yahoo.com/mail/

111Beat - Music player, iOS, http://www.beatapp.cc/

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11. INFOGRAPHIC

If you use the internet on a daily basis, you probably haven’t missed thou-

sands of infographics appearing every day for the last couple of years on

the web. It turns out this is also a great solution for smaller screens through

which you experience mobile apps.

The reason is simple, they are a great way to represent information even if it

is a complicated set of data. When designers don’t have much space to put

the data in, they need to make it much easier to read and more appealing.

Only then will users want to scroll through it and play around with it. The

results can be truly amazing. You may find your content is actually con-

sumed more, people can actually understand and remember it.

Below you will see excellent examples of beautiful, usable and useful info-

graphics from Nike apps as well as Fitbit and Jawbone.

You wonder why so many of them are fitness and physical activity apps? It

is because their designers wanted these important chunks of information

they provide to be digestible on the go.

They succeeded and you may learn from them.

113Jawbone UP, iOS, Android, https://jawbone.com/up

114Fitbit, iOS, Android, http://www.fitbit.com/

115Nike+ Running, iOS, Android, http://nikeplus.nike.com/plus/products/gps_app/

116Nike+ Fuel, iOS, https://itunes.apple.com/pl/app/nike+-fuelband/id493325070?mt=8

117Endomondo Sports Tracker, iOS, Android, http://www.endomondo.com/download/

118RunKeeper, iOS, Android, http://runkeeper.com/running-app

119Foresee, iOS, https://itunes.apple.com/pl/app/foresee/id597382937?mt=8

120Reps & Sets, iOS, http://www.repsandsetsapp.com/

121Sky Live, iOS, https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/sky-live-stargazing-forecast/id693905898?mt=8

122Check - Bills & Money, iOS, Android, https://check.me/

123Ration, iOS, https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ration/id705229829?mt=8

124Level Money, iOS, Android, https://levelmoney.com/

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12. MICROINTERACTIONS

Although they have “micro” in the name, they should not be ignored. The

magic is in the details and good designers are aware of this, trying to nail

every piece of their product. At the end of the day, this is exactly what

makes a great app different from a good app, not to mention average

ones…

Microinteractions are all about clarity and usability, making a product

easily understandable to users. According to Dan Saffer’s book “Microint-

eractions”, they are composed of triggers, follow some rules and provide

feedback.

I will not dig in deeply on this subject here, however, I strongly advise you

to get your hands on the aforementioned book to attain the ability to build

wow-ing experiences. You can obviously get it on Amazon.

Instead, I will provide you with outstanding real-life examples of how micro-

interactions can be leveraged to provide users with moments that change

the way they perceive and use apps.

Ready? Enjoy!

126Google Maps, iOS, Android, http://www.google.pl/mobile/maps/

127Shazam, iOS, Android, Windows Phone, http://www.shazam.com/

128Fancy, iOS, http://fancy.com/mobile

129Paper, iOS, https://www.facebook.com/paper

130Instagram, iOS, Android, http://instagram.com/

131Facebook, iOS, Android, https://www.facebook.com/mobile/

132Path, iOS, Android, https://path.com/

133Siri

134Touch ID

135Mail

136

13. MOBILE-POWERED CUSTOMER

Some of the most popular apps on every platform are those with a goal to

enhance your experiences when doing what all of us do literally every day. I

mean buying stuff, being a customer.

Online sales are huge and growing rapidly, and although mobile commerce

still lags behind, it is apparently not going to forever. Even big retailers who

were not so quick to adapt to changes driven by the ubiquitous internet

connection, have realized that mobile is the way to go.

They now provide exceptional solutions to inspire you, help you make the

right decisions, and transact. Have a look at Target’s app, which is truly well

designed and provides such features as coupon alerts, store finder and

barcode scanner. Have you tried Starbucks app already? Ever used apps

developed by independent companies such as Red-Laser?

They simply help you buy smarter and quicker. Others, like Amazon, Grou-

pon and Wanelo provide you with additional perks like coupons and make

participating in loyalty programs easier.

Literally every company selling any kind of stuff, and any consumer buying

anything can benefit from mobile. Check out my selection of great exam-

ples below and see what I mean.

137Target, iOS, Android, http://www.target.com/spot/mobile/landing

138Apple Store, iOS, https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/apple-store/id375380948?mt=8

139Etsy, iOS, Android, http://www.etsy.com/mobile

140Wanelo Shopping, iOS, Android, http://wanelo.com/about/downloads

141Amazon, iOS, Android, Windows Phone, https://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?docId=1000625601

142eBay, iOS, Android, Windows Phone, http://mobile.ebay.com/

143Kickstarter, iOS, https://www.kickstarter.com/mobile

144Groupon, iOS, Android, http://www.groupon.com/mobile

145H&M, iOS, Android, https://itunes.apple.com/pl/app/h-m/id589351740?mt=8

146Yelp, iOS, Android, http://www.yelp.com/yelpmobile

147

14. BONUS: 10 MUST-HAVE METRO APPS FOR WINDOWS PHONE

Although I focused only on the two most popular platforms, which are iOS

and Android, I am a huge proponent of competition and therefore I would

like you to have a look at some great Windows Phone apps below.

This is a system that already had a say in and made a difference to the ap-

proach to mobile design. For one, it doesn’t rely on icons, instead of which

tiles are used. This is quite a step from the usual approach, isn’t it? I have a

huge respect for the brave designers who made such a decision.

If you are considering an upgrade to your smartphone or simply have not

had a chance to play around with any Windows Phone device, please scroll

down and see the 10 apps I think of as must-haves.

1486tag, Windows Phone, http://bit.ly/1d7E3pY

149Skype, Windows Phone, iOS, Android, http://www.skype.com/en/download-skype/skype-for-mobile/

150Vine, Windows Phone, iOS, Android, https://vine.co/

151DualShot, Windows Phone, http://dualshotapp.com/

152Metrotube, Windows Phone, http://metrotubeapp.com/

153Netflix, Windows Phone, iOS, Android, http://netflix.com

154WhatsApp, Windows Phone, iOS, Android, http://www.whatsapp.com/download/

155Pandora, Windows Phone, iOS, Android, www.pandora.com

156

ABOUT UXPIN & MOVADE

157

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Built for Teams

www.uxpin.com

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