Career Trends in Mobile Interface Design

Episode #15 Transcript

PUBLISHED ON DECEMBER 7, 2010

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Peter Clayton:Welcome to an all new episode of the Onward Search Career Cast.  This is episode #15.  This is Peter Clayton reporting and joining us today is Terra Dehnert, account executive from Onward Search’s brand new San Francisco office to discuss with us the very hot topic of mobile interface design. 

Terra, it’s great to speak with you.

Terra Dehnert: You too. Thanks for having me.

Peter Clayton: First, Terra, I think we’re all familiar with the evolving mobile industry but when it comes to apps, what’s the difference between designing for mobile interfaces and others?

Terra Dehnert:  There’s the obvious things.  I mean, obviously you’re working with a smaller user interface, you have less space to use.  You’re also going to do more simple interactions with the user versus a website where you may have Flash integration or APIs with Google maps or crazy things like that but there’s also the newer interactions that are built into touch screen functionality versus somebody who’s clicking a mouse or working on a browser.  The animatics and user flows and wire frames that I’ve seen around mobile interfaces are much different because you’re thinking about the user actually touching the screen using their hand to either zoom in, zoom out, or work 3D application that they’re working with.

Peter Clayton: What about designing for various mobile operating systems, what do designers need to remember when they create an app for an iPhone versus,  let’s say, the Android platform?

Terra Dehnert:  The navigation and the UI are very different for each phone.  Some things are going to be similar.  I’ve seen some applications that designers have put out where you can tell what they’ve done is created an iPhone app and then just ported it over into Android to be used on that platform as well.  And really, those are the ones that end up breaking the most both because the Android does have external buttons whereas the iPhone’s interface is just solely within the UI and that’s what the user’s interacting with.

So you really have to think about first your basic design and have one that translates to all of the different platforms.  And then, from there, break it down to each platform separately.  I think that’s something that’s really important that people maybe don’t think about doing.  There’s also a lot of different UI requirements for each phone’s functionality.  So people can go online, you can find all of those requirements on each site for each phone.

The Twitter app, for instance, there’s a lot of similarities on every phone but you can very obviously see the differences of people out there get a chance to take a look maybe at that one, that the Android app is very different in its functionality than the iPhone app so that it’s easy for that user working on that phone.

Peter Clayton: And, of course, when you speak about the Android, there are different Android phones and they don’t all work the same.  Correct?

Terra Dehnert:  Exactly.  Yes.  So you really have to figure out are you developing just for one phone, you can look into who your audience is, or designing, I should say, or are you designing for multiple phones and really take that into consideration when you’re creating your design.

Peter Clayton: Talk to us about the specific skills a designer must have to successfully design an app on one of the OS’s versus another.

Terra Dehnert:  Yes.  Definitely.  Each OS will put out templates that designers can use.  Now, I will say, and I’ve heard a lot of mobile designers say this, that don’t get married to the templates because you’ll end up creating experience that looks just like everything else in the app store.  It will be very generic but it gives people a good idea of what to build their app on.  So you can look up those online, they’re really easy to find. 

It’s also really good to know specific prototyping tools for each OS.  Some of the ones for the iPhone include Interface Builder, LiveView, and there’s a very obvious one for Android called the Android App Creator.  There’s been a lot of talk around the new Windows phone as well so people can look up the UI requirements around that.  And also just even do basic – even HTML or prototype – paper prototyping for a newer phone like that that they aren’t familiar with.

Peter Clayton: Terra, what do you recommend for designers who want to break into this very hot and growing field?

Terra Dehnert:  I would say just learn, learn, learn as much as you can so that way  when your current clients come to you to be a consultant in this space, you know what you’re talking about.  You’re not just kind of doing what they want you to do which maybe they’re wrong saying you’re actually telling them what they should be doing that.

One of the best ways to learn and one of the things that I’ve always done is just create a project on your own.  Think of something that you would find useful.  You don’t even have to build it to the end where it’s actually approved in an app store but learn to create that and go through the motions of that and do your research online as it’ll actually bring up a lot of information.  The other thing too is that then once you’re done with that, you can even put it up on your portfolio site, get feedback, and show that as a project that you’ve done.

Another really good resource is Meetup.com just for looking for mobile networking groups in your area.  I know there’s a lot in San Francisco that even Onward Search is involved with now and I went to one at Google last week that Suzanne Ginsburg, who is an iPhone designer, had put on.  She was presenting there and she wrote a book called Designing the iPhone User Experience, which is another really good guide and talks of course specifically about the iPhone but also talks about prototyping, different things around mobile interface design.  So there’s a lot of really good resources online but really the best place to start is start a project and kind of dig up those resources as you go.

Peter Clayton: I think that’s some really great advice.  So once you’ve established yourself in this field, what kind of skills do you recommend designers focus on to stay sort of ahead of the curve and in high demand?

Terra Dehnert:  I would definitely say and this is something that I meant to mention previously is always have a couple of really strong developers that you work with.  Obviously, you can design everything you want but if you can’t get it developed, you’re going to have a big problem actually putting it out there in the world.

So right now, developers are mainly focusing on just iPhone or just Android or creating web-based applications which would be built in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.  So that’s something to really stay on top of is having developers you can go to and also go to for knowledge and new information in the development space.  I’d also say just constantly be looking for inspiration on projects.  Look at the app stores regularly and keep on top of the UI requirements for new phones; those will always be coming out and as changes are being made to the different OS’s, they will change the UI requirements that they list online.  The new Windows phone actually has a really, really good UI requirement which is great to know, so hopefully they’ll have a lot of new designers out there for that phone.

Another thing to think about along the development end is that there’s a new web app platform that was just launched called Sencha, and it was kind of an extension of jQTouch which is a JavaScript development for the mobile platform, to put it in kind of a simple sense.  So there’s things like that in the mobile space that are constantly coming out.  I think Sencha was just launched in July or August of this year.

Peter Clayton: I think the point here is you really have to stay on top of this because things are changing constantly. 

Terra Dehnert:  You do.  Definitely.

Peter Clayton: Let’s pivot just a little bit here, Terra, and talk to us about any advice you might have for companies who are deciding whether to build a web application, again to your point HTML, CSS, JavaScript, or a native app – Android or iPhone or something for the Blackberry platform or the new Windows platform, for their products and services.  What advice do you give your client companies?

Terra Dehnert:  There’s a lot of research you can do.  There’s a company called Flurry  here that does a lot of user testing for mobile devices and mobile applications.  You can figure out what phone your user-base is really using.  If you’re creating more of a business-focused application, they may be heavily on the Blackberry or iPhone.  If you’re creating gaming, they could be heavily on another platform.

So that’s something to look at initially and also just what the company or designer wants to accomplish with the application.  There are some components that are only available in native applications.  Multi-tasking, for example, like I think the Skype application originally had to be open at all times for people to use it.  They couldn’t multi-task on their phone and that was a big issue because people weren’t obviously always going to have just that application open.  For multi-tasking, you would have to build a native app; you wouldn’t be able to build just a web application.  Payment systems are a lot easier with native apps.

The app stores have things built into them for payment systems which is – there’s already a framework there for you.  You don’t have to build it from scratch.  Most of the time, companies really can build just a web app and they – if they just don’t know it, I think they focus on ‘I need an Android app and an iPhone app and a Blackberry app and I need all these separate things’ and really sometimes the information that people need to get to is simple enough or the web apps and technology behind them like things like Sencha are coming up so strong that you can build something like that and it’s more cost effective than building a native app.  Developers who build on the native platforms are definitely more expensive than people who are going to come in and build a web application that can be viewed in a mobile device.

Peter Clayton: Sort of on that same topic, how important are prototyping and testing various user interfaces when designing these apps?

Terra Dehnert:  Very, very important.  If you talk to some of the best mobile designers out there, the best interaction designers in general, they will always prototype no matter what.  Even if your best friend or your wife or your husband is sitting there and they’re your focus group and you’re sitting on the couch and you’ve got a couple of pieces of paper in front of them and that’s the way that you’re prototyping, it’s better than not prototyping and testing it at all.

I think no matter what – and I’ve heard so many funny stories about this – but someone else will inevitably break your application that you’ve built and will notice something that seems so obvious to them that you never saw because you’ve been looking at the same application while you’ve been designing that this whole time.  With the option of really basic simple paper prototyping all the way through to some of the tools I talked about previously or if you have the skills to do an HTML prototype that’s clickable or even a prototype in Flash; I’ve seen some really cool prototypes that have been done by Flash designers that are very interactive – there’s really no excuse to never ever test your application because you can always, like I said, get a group of friends together to be your focus group.  You don’t necessarily have to pay a usability company to come in and do that for you.

Peter Clayton: Where are you seeing the most demand for these designers?

Terra Dehnert:  Everywhere.  I’d say there’s obviously a lot, in social media, there’s a lot of gaming, there’s a lot – there’s a lot in retail because I think a lot of the retail clients are trying to simplify their web experience for mobile devices versus having to dig through a whole list of pictures and everything. 

Actually it’s funny but Victoria’s Secret has a really good one that you can tell they really simplified the contents so it’s much faster on a mobile device.  There’s a demand for it in every industry though.  There’s a lot of B2B companies like Salesforce and other ones like that that are building applications for sales teams and other entities  within their business. 

Peter Clayton: Where do tablet devices like the iPad and the new Samsung Galaxy tab fit into this, Terra?  Tablets have become such an explosive market all to themselves, so are they considered part of the mobile platform?

Terra Dehnert:  I’m not sure if they’re necessarily considered part of the mobile platform.  I think that a lot of companies who are looking to do tablet work are using something more like Sencha or just building a web application because the tablets are a much larger UI that you’re dealing with.  If you pulled something just directly from a mobile device and do a tablet, it may almost be too simplified for the tablet experience.

It’s something I think a lot of designers and interaction designers and mobile designers I’ve talked to are still exploring.  Definitely a new space.  So I think probably within the coming year, we’ll see a lot more creativity and a lot more case studies around that space as people start designing for it more.

Peter Clayton: I know that Onward Search is brand new out there in San Francisco, are you working on any hot jobs at the moment?

Terra Dehnert:  We are!  We’ve got a lot actually.  We’re really working with some great clients out here already.  I do have a couple of information architecture opportunities in San Francisco.  We are doing actually a lot of Flex development as well which is another framework and also have, speaking of, a Sencha development opportunity with a retail client so, of course,  talked about Sencha a lot.  We’ve been doing a lot of research into that space.  We’re also working with a really cool agency – strategic agency and design agency client that they’re new to the west coast as well.  So we’re looking for interactive designers and information architects for them as well.  We’re really excited to be working with them.  They’ve got a really cool client list too.

Peter Clayton: That’s great.  So you’re working with both corporate clients and agencies?

Terra Dehnert: Oh yes. San Francisco’s a great market to be in.  We have a lot of fun out here.

Peter Clayton: It sure is. You’re sort of in the epi-center of the whole mobile industry right there.

Terra Dehnert: Yep, yep.

Peter Clayton: I don’t want people to think that we’re really hyping this.   I mean this is the hot market.  There’s just no question about it.  Everyone I talk to, every conference I go to, everything I hear is about mobile.  In the New York Times, the top article for days was the top 10 must have apps for iPhone.  For days!

Terra Dehnert: Oh yeah, it’s huge.  It’s an area that people still are beginning to explore, I think.  Of course the web is always evolving but mobile is this brand new creative space that people are really being able to explore at the time.  So I think that’s why it’s been really hot but yes, I feel extremely blessed and lucky to be in this market.  When you can go to a mobile design Meetup at Google, you’re pretty good. 

Peter Clayton: Yeah, that’s pretty cool.

Terra Dehnert: You’re doing pretty good. 

Peter Clayton: Terra, thanks so much for taking time to speak with us on the Onward Search Career Cast and best of luck and we look forward to touching base with you again real soon.

Terra Dehnert: Thank you so much.  And thanks again for having me.

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