Android User Interface Design ─ Implementing Material Design for Developers

Build Android Apps That Are Stunningly Attractive, Functional, and Intuitive

When Android was a new mobile operating system, most of the app developers were tinkerers at heart, curious what they could do with such a powerful and open platform. Early apps were focused on features or just getting branding out in the world. Years went by and the importance of good design grew rapidly.

Flash forward to June, 2014 when Google unveiled a preview of Material Design and Android 5.0 (called Android “L” at the time). It was the most radical visual change to Android in its fast-paced life. This new design ideology was backed with guidelines covering the visual appearance of Android apps but not all the steps to get to create a design nor the implementation details.

Now, leading Android developer and user experience (UX) advocate Ian G. Clifton shows how you can create a beautiful Android application with just a bit of development knowledge and no design experience. Learn the entire process of creating a stunning Android app from wireframes and flowcharts to a complete application with polished animations and advanced techniques such as PorterDuff compositing.

· Learn how Android has evolved to support outstanding app design

· Integrate app design with development, from idea to deployment

· Understand views, the building blocks of Android user interfaces

· Make the most of wireframes and conceptual prototypes

· Apply the User-Centered Design process throughout

· Gain knowledge about typography and iconography

· Use custom themes and styles for consistent visuals

· Create beautiful transition animations for a better UX

· Utilize advanced components like spans and image caches

· Work with the canvas, color filters, shaders, and image compositing

· Combine multiple views into custom components for efficiency and ease

· Develop fully custom views for unique drawing or interaction requirements

· Design compelling Google Play and Amazon Appstore assets to maximize downloads

One step at a time, this guide helps you bridge the gap between Android developers and designers so you can work with colleagues to create world-class app designs...or do it all yourself!

Ian G. Clifton is a professional Android application developer and user experience advocate. He has worked with many designers and led Android teams, creating well-known apps such as Saga, CNET News, CBS News, and more.

Ian’s love of technology, art, and user experience has led him along a variety of paths. In addition to Android application development, he has done platform, web, and desktop development. Prior to doing development professionally, he served in the United States Air Force as a Satellite, Wideband, and Telemetry Systems Journeyman. Throughout it all, he has created quite a bit of art with pencil, charcoal, brush, camera, and even wood.

You can follow Ian G. Clifton on Twitter at https://twitter.com/iangclifton and see his thoughts about mobile development on his blog athttp://blog.iangclifton.com/. He has also published videos for aspiring Android developers, most recently releasing “The Essentials of Android Application Development, Second Edition,” which is available athttp://www.informit.com/store/essentials-of-android-application-development-livelessons-9780134068145.