Mobile App Design Agency

App design agency services

App design combines the User Interface (UI) and User Experience (UX) to create the look and feel of the app. App design services providers take care of the app’s appearance (the colours, fonts, layout) while also focusing on usability and functionality.

What should you consider before starting app design?

App design is crucial in every app creation process, but it doesn’t start right away: a lot of preparation and research occurs before the app is designed.

Before you start drafting your app’s interface, ask yourself a couple of questions: What will your app serve for? What do your users need, and what is the problem your app is trying to solve?

The success of your app is in the correct answers to these questions. So make sure you conduct proper market research before looking for an app design agency.

How to define the best mobile website design?

The essence of creating a good app design lies in finding the perfect balance between a beautiful interface and good functionality. However, finding that perfect combination is not that easy, so the app design usually requires multiple changes and iterations before it is final.

It’s crucial to understand that app design is a continuous process that is constantly evolving and altering based on the user’s demands, expectations, and experiences. That’s why it’s important to entrust this job to a high-quality mobile app design agency.

Here are a couple of useful tips for creating a good app design:

1. Keep the App Design Simple

When we say a good app design, we don’t mean a mind-blowing interface with 3D visuals, abstract navigation options, motion animations, and sparkling buttons. Although there is nothing wrong with going a little extra, that choice is not for every app. Sometimes the best solution might be to keep it simple.

Remember that your users will view your mobile app on small devices, so you don’t want to overstuff it with visuals. Instead, leave a little space to breathe between the elements.

One more important thing to remember is that a complicated design also means that it will take longer to load. And you don’t want to irritate your users by making them wait for too long. Most app owners know how important the app’s speed is in keeping their users satisfied. High-quality mobile app design services providers also pay attention to this and create designs that don’t affect the app speed.

So, to be brief, unless you’re sure that a complex design is what suits your goals, try to keep the UI/UX of your app design simple. It will help your users to stay focused, as they won’t have too many distractions on their way.

2. Don’t Try to Reinvent the Wheel

Let’s be honest: you’re not the first one designing an app. Others have done it before you, and they have already come up with certain things that work and some that don’t. So instead of being a pioneer, why not make use of what has historically been proven to work?

You might have already noticed that most of the apps on your phone have started to look pretty similar. And trust us, it’s not a bad thing. Most successful apps have a similar design, and changing that already established norm of app design will make it harder for your users to figure out what’s what.

So what we suggest is to take a look at the most famous apps in your sector and try to understand which are the most popular design choices. You can use their layouts and elements as a reference for creating your own features and the overall interface.

Of course, it does not mean you need to limit your creativity. Just make sure you meet the common UX expectations: for instance, spreading two fingers apart on the screen means zooming in, and swiping the finger means moving to the next page.

If you try to reassign these functions, you will confuse your users.

And if you’re not sure about your app design choices, it’s better to consult with a high-quality mobile app design agency.

3. Remember about the screen sizes

Remember that your mobile app is going to be used on a multitude of screen sizes when creating the app design. Even smartphones from the same brand have various screen shapes, resolutions, and sizes. You can take a look at the most recent iPhone models as an example, and you’ll see that the difference is apparent.

Aside from smartphones, it would help if you also thought about other mobile devices, like tablets or Smart TVs. Remember that for the best user experience, you need your app to be optimized for all screen sizes.

By the way, if you also have a website, don’t forget to make it optimized for different screen sizes, too, by following the best responsive mobile website design practices.

4. Constantly update your app design

As we mentioned earlier, mobile app design is a continuous process that requires a lot of modifications and alterations on its way. That means that even when your initial design is finished, you can’t really lie down and forget about it.

On the contrary, developers and designers should always think of new ways to improve app performance. Otherwise, your app will soon become laggy and outdated.

However, you also want to avoid big changes, especially if your users are still new to your app. But even if they aren’t new, remember that the users do not always welcome a complete redesign of an app.

For instance, when Snapchat offered an entirely new design solution, its users were pretty hostile. They even opened a petition on Change.org to remove the newest updates, collecting over 1.2 million signatures.

Whether you’re working with an in-house designer or a mobile app design agency, make sure they monitor your app design regularly.

What is the mobile app design services process?

The mobile app design process usually consists of these key four steps:

1. Discovery and specification
2. Wireframing
3. Edits and revisions
4. User interface design

Let’s take a look at each of them in more detail.

1. Discovery and specification

Every app starts with an idea. In the app design world, the process of coming up with an app idea and putting it down on paper is called the discovery phase. This is where you decide on the main objectives of your app, how it will look and feel, and define your goals and expectations.

All this information is also essential for the app design agency so that they can create unique and fully tailored app designs.

The app discovery usually consists of the following stages:

Analysing the concept

Anyone can come up with a bizarre app idea. But not all those ideas can be turned into reality. So, first of all, establish the feasibility of your idea. Can your business afford to develop such an app? Is it technically possible to create the app you have in mind? Is there enough interest in your idea?

Researching the market

In the app discovery phase, you also conduct the market analysis, researching the industry and defining the demographics for your app.

Gathering the requirements

After the market research, you need to understand which features you want to include in your app. Remember to keep your end-users in mind while creating the list of desired features and functionalities.

When you’re done with these initial stages, you need to create a detailed app specification document that includes all the app requirements. In general, it helps the designers, developers, and app owners stay aligned with the project vision and clearly comprehend what should be done.

It also helps you to understand whether you can create the app yourself, or you need a help of an app design agency.

Some of the sections you can include in the specification document are the introduction, the app idea, features, timeline, budget, and target audience.

2. Wireframing

The second phase of app design is creating the wireframes. What is a wireframe? In simple terms, a wireframe is the 2D sketch of your app design that visually illustrates how the future app will look and work.
The wireframe does not have to include the complete design of your app. It is mainly representing the most crucial interface elements and screens.

The wireframe can be something other than a high-fidelity graphic design too. Think of it as an architectural plan for your app. It is the first sketch that helps you get the overall idea of the app design.

UX designers mainly create wireframes to help the developers start the work and refer to the wireframes as a guide. That’s why wireframes are kept simple: it allows the development and app design agency team and project owners to modify the design together.

Here is what wireframes generally include:

The content hierarchy
Distribution of space
Possible actions of the future app users
Main app features
The transition from one page to another
Anyone looking at a wireframe should understand the different features integrated into the app, how much space is allocated between these features, and the main navigation options available.

Usually, the app design agency provides them in a way that anyone without any design background can easily understand what’s going on.

3. Edits and revisions based on the feedback

The main goal of creating wireframes is to get feedback. So the logical continuation of wireframing is getting reviews and making edits and revisions to the app design.

Remember, feedback is fundamental. Most successful apps and designs go through hundreds of modifications based on others’ feedback and opinion. A high-quality mobile app design agency will offer several rounds of edits, based on the client’s feedback.

However, not everyone knows how to provide constructive feedback, and it’s especially challenging when it comes to something as ambiguous and abstract as app design.

So when reviewing the wireframe, make sure you remember the final goal. This will help you understand whether the functionality and structure of the initial design represented in the wireframe help fulfil the app’s main objectives.

If you’re not sure you understand the goal, here is what to ask yourself:

Is your app’s primary purpose informing or converting users?
What is your app’s main subject, and does it require long and detailed content or a concise one?
What kind of media do you want to have in your app?
Another thing that will help you conduct an objective revision of the wireframe is putting yourself in your users’ shoes. This will help you avoid giving opinionated feedback based on your likes and dislikes.

Try to understand what the app’s potential users would think about it. Which aspects will make them annoyed, and which features will make them stick with the app?

In the end, after constructive feedback is given, the designers(or the app design agency) will go through the edits and revisions based on it to make the wireframe better and finally get into the following.

User interface design

The user interface design process is one of the last steps in app design. It goes along with the UX design, as without supporting the app’s functionality goals, a good UI cannot be created.

Good UI/UX design is one that the users do not even notice, as when it’s done well, all the users’ focus is directed towards the usage of the product.

The following will help you design a better UI for your app:

1. Let your users be in control of the interface
   In order for your users to feel comfortable, let them have control over the app they use. Be forgiving and make all the actions reversible. You don’t want your users to lose anything important just because they can’t undo their actions.

If you don’t provide the backtracking option, your users will constantly fear failure, which will harm their experience with your app.

2. Make navigation easy
   The routes from one page to another should always be self-evident.
   Even if you have a B2B app full of features, you shouldn’t intimidate your users. Remember that a good UI is about making your users feel at ease with your app.
3. Make the UI consistent
   Stick to a clear colour palette, use fonts smartly, and keep consistency in your design choices. This will help your users connect better with your brand.

Talking about branding— don’t forget that you need to have clear branding guidelines before starting the app design. Here, at our app design company, we can help you with this critical aspect of app creation. Our app design agency will help you create a brand your users can identify and build a strong connection with.

You can trust both the branding and app design process to our professionals. We know exactly how to create the best app for your product, helping you get more converting users. So if you are looking for an efficient app design solution, look no further! Our app design agency is here for you.

How to choose a mobile app design agency?

There are so many app design companies out there that it’s often hard to find the best fit for you. To help you there, here are some tips that should help you pick a good app design agency that will create the best mobile website design for you.

Look at their portfolio

A professional mobile app design agency should have a solid portfolio to showcase its best projects and experience. Usually, companies put their portfolio on their website, so make sure to carefully check it to understand whether they can create what you want.

Pay attention to reviews and recommendations

These can also be very helpful, as reviews show whether the design agency’s past clients have left satisfied with the results or not. Check the reviews on the company’s website as well as on other sites and social media.

Contact their past clients

Who can tell about the app design company better than the past clients? Look through the agency’s website, and see if you can find the contact information of past clients. Connect with them, and ask questions to understand how well the design agency works. Make sure to learn about which kind of mobile app design services they offer, how satisfied are the clients with the company, how well they communicated together, etc.

Book a consultation

And of course, you need to talk to the agency itself to find out if they are the best fit for you or not. Some companies provide a free consultation, so use your chance. Think beforehand about the questions you need to ask them and make sure to discuss all the important details. Particularly, ask about what app design services they provide.

Also, trust your gut. If something feels wrong then it’s better to look for another design agency.

Talk to several agencies

Try to choose 2-3 companies and connect to them. When you talk to several design agencies, you will have the opportunity to compare them and be sure that you choose the right one in the end. There are a lot of companies providing mobile app design services, so you can explore the options and find the best app design agency for you.

Dont focus only on local companies

While it’s convenient when you can find a good app design company in the UK, I’d recommend not to focus on the location of the company as most app design agencies can work remotely and it’s not necessary to meet them in person. This way you will have more options which will increase the chance of finding the best design agency for your business.