移动应用设计7大主流趋势编辑本段回目录
移动应用领域处在快速发展阶段。越来越多用户开始通过智能手机和平板电脑消费和创造内容，不论是外出体验，还是在家享受。iOS App Store和Android Market都聚集成千上万款应用。
同网页或桌面应用一样，移动应用设计通常跟着趋势走。移动平台过去几年不断完善，有些传统设计惯例已为新风格和新技术所替代。
我们仔细研究App Store和Android Market领域，总结如下7大移动应用设计主流趋势。
1. “Instagram”效应
photosharing mobile from mashable.com
巴勃罗·毕加索曾说过，“优秀艺术家靠借，伟大艺术家靠偷。”这个格言符合多数创造活动，自然也能够应用至手机领域。
过去几年来，我们目睹iPhone版Facebook和Twitter深刻影响移动应用发展方向和UX（游戏邦注：即用户体验）模式。2008年布里切尔在其首版iPhone Tweetie中引入“拉动刷新”手势，该技术随后开始广泛流传，为很多应用平台和应用所采用。
Instagram可谓是2011年的Tweetie或Facebook。图片分享应用如今开始大量涌现，而Instagram在功能和用户界面方面略胜一筹。
何以证明？不妨参考最近重新设计的iPhone Picplz，该应用的导航结构在功能方面完全同Instagram如出一辙（这是件好事，因为我们功能轻松使用两款应用）。此外，该应用如今也以类似方式操控5个过滤器。
我们衷心期望2011年各图片应用能够借鉴Instagram导航结构、信息浏览界面以及即时效果预览模式。
2. 使用醒目红黄蓝颜色和渐变色彩
gradients mobile bold from mashable.com
越来越多开发商通过色彩突显应用，取得竞争优势。
首批瞄准触屏设备的应用都是模仿苹果iOS原生内容。这在常理之中。毕竟所有元素都囊括在Xcode的Interface Builder之中。
但我们发现越来越多应用开始放弃iPhone蓝色基调和渐变条纹背景，转而使用醒目红黄蓝颜色以及渐变色彩。Web 2.0时期普及的光滑按键如今相比无光饰面就显得黯然失色。
应用使用亮丽色彩能够获得用户情感共鸣，有时会让应用更令人印象深刻。用户记住应用，便会再度回访。
3. 复古图片取景器
hipstamatic mobile from mashable.com
Hipstamatic和8mm Vintage Camera之类的应用就是现代技术以复古形式呈现的典型例子。
8mm的实时视频特效能够形成同通过老式模拟摄影机捕捉画面类似的效果。同样地，Hipstamatic的小型镜头视窗（游戏邦注：这会掩盖捕捉区域，就像个真正的玩具照相机）与使用老式Holga大同小异。
8mm iphone from mashable.com
观察Instagram和Picplz之类的应用，我们会发现，运用过滤器是促使图片分享趣味横生的有效方式。当捕捉到图像或视频时，及时使用过滤器的应用通常能够提供更多复古-现实设计选择。
4. 图片纹理
texture mobile apps from mashable.com
除使用醒目红黄蓝颜色外，应用开发商也开始在应用背景中融入纹理和花样。
木镶板是个普遍选择，半透明菜单选项在这些背景下视觉效果更优。诸如Jamie Recipes之类的许多应用也在层叠元素中使用纹理。
基于纹理的应用设计通常使用插入文本和各种幻灯片。
textures mobile from mashable.com
纹理能够在应用中融入大量个性色彩，但开发商应留心文本和按键元素在背景上的视觉效果。错误色彩选择会使内容难以辨认，按键难以识别。
Android GO Launcher就是纹理背景和木镶板范式应用至标准Android主页面的典型例子。
5. 流畅、清晰渐变色和深度阴影效果
mobile shadows depth from mashable.com
移动应用设计的某些趋势源自网页设计。网页设计的一大趋势是借助清晰卡通漫图案。
移动应用领域亦是如此（游戏邦注：特别是在菜单和导航标题）。开发商并非使用标准iOS或Android菜单范式，而是设计自己的版面，这既便于操作，又更加精致。
使用阴影效果创造深度感能够带给这些按键和界面元素“可触摸”外观和感觉，同时吸引用户眼球。
这些阴影元素在应用（其没有简单列表视图界面）中的效果非常显著。例如，在XfinityTV应用中，左边频道栏能够脱离主编程界面。和单使用网格不同，Xfinity通过添加阴影清楚显现两块区域。用户能够立即发现此元素独立存在，能够单独控制。
6. 文本推动界面
text driven mobile from mashable.com
微软及其Windows Phone 7促使文本成为移动设计趋势。
当然最早的应用大多基于文本，因为文本能够在缓慢连接过程中快速加载，同时无需高级渲染引擎。
现代移动应用无需依靠文本，但就像微软说明的那样，若使用得当，文本推动界面可用性颇高，视觉效果突出。
典型文本模式应用当属那些在背景中合理使用文本的内容。大型文本运作效果最好，便于阅读，不受其他界面元素干扰。
例如，Weather Quickie是少有的天气应用，其只能基于当前情况判别天气情况。例如，“比昨天冷”或者“明天会比今天暖和”。通过避免显示特定温度或预测天气情况，应用更便于阅读，易于理解。图标能够添加天气情况描述，如雨或雪。
同样，Twitter应用Trickle能够以可读方式展示微博，一个页面一条微博。滚动至下条内容前，你可以选择收藏或转发。通过一个页面呈现一条微博，应用相比传统Twitter客户端，使用起来更便捷。
7. 超薄灯芯字体
thin serif mobile from mashable.com
随着移动应用的发展，开发商逐步放弃标准应用字体，转而使用自定义字体宽度、风格和尺寸。同阴影和深度轮廓一样，很多移动应用的排版设计关键都来自网页领域。
超薄灯芯字体（游戏邦注：通常伴有些许阴影效果）在桌面网页设计中越来越普遍。
在移动设备中，超薄类型和高分辨屏幕的结合通常能够促使内容更具可读性。其同时还能促使应用差异化。超薄灯芯字体通常同文本推动设计和背景纹理设计相结合。
虽然有些应用开始融入商标自定义字体或标题元素，但单调整字体宽度和尺寸会使系统默认（iOS的Helvetica Neue和Android的Droid Sans）呈现不同结果。
游戏邦注：原文发布于2011年1月26日，文章叙述以当时为背景。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，作者：Christina Warren）
7 Hot Trends in Mobile App Design
by Christina Warren
The Mobile App Trends Series is sponsored by Sourcebits, a leading product developer for mobile platforms. Sourcebits offers design and development services for iOS, Android, Mobile and Web platforms. Follow Sourcebits on Twitter for recent news and updates.
The mobile application space is exploding. Users increasingly turn to smartphones and tablets to consume and create content, whether on the go or on the couch. The iOS App Store and the Android Market both have app collections in the hundreds of thousands.
Like web or desktop apps, mobile application design is often trend-driven. As mobile platforms have evolved over the last few years, some of the common design practices of the past have ceded to new styles and techniques.
We’ve scoured the App Store and Android Market to highlight seven of the hottest trends in mobile app design.
1. The “Instagram” Effect
In the words (we think) of Pablo Picasso, “good artists borrow, great artists steal.” That adage is true for most creative endeavors and it can certainly be applied to the mobile phone space.
In the past few years, we’ve seen apps like Facebook for iPhone and Twitter (new Tweetie) influence the direction and UX paradigms in mobile applications. Loren Brichter introduced the pull-to-refresh gesture in the first version of Tweetie for iPhone back in 2008, and the technique has since become so commonplace, it has been adopted on multiple app platforms and applications.
Instagram is already proving itself to be the Tweetie or Facebook of 2011. Photo sharing apps are exploding right now, and Instagram is leading the pack in terms of features and user interface.
Need proof? Check out the recently redesigned Picplz for iPhone. The navigational structure of the app has been augmented to mirror Instagram in terms of functionality (which is great, because that makes it easy to use both apps). Likewise, the app now handles filters in a similar way.
We fully expect to see photo apps adopt Instagram’s navigational structure, feed browsing display and instant effects preview well into 2011.
2. Bold, Primary Colors and Gradients With Minimal Gloss
Color is becoming an increasingly popular way for developers to make their apps stand out from the competition.
The first wave of apps created for touchscreen devices often mimicked Apple’s native iOS applications. This makes sense. After all, those components are included within Xcode’s Interface Builder.
What we’re seeing more of, however, is a move away from the iPhone blue and gradient stripe background and a shift to bolder primary colors and gradients. The glossy button look popularized by the Web 2.0 era has been eclipsed by more matte finishes.
Having strong colors in an application can create emotive responses from users, sometimes deeming an app more memorable. If a user remembers an application, he just might pick it up again.
3. Retro Photo Viewfinders
Apps like Hipstamatic and 8mm Vintage Camera [iTunes link] are a great example of how modern technology can be retrofitted to the past.
The real-time video effects within 8mm help create the experience of using an old analog movie camera to capture video. Likewise, the smaller lens window in Hipstamatic — which obscures the full capture area, just like on a real toy camera — is a dead ringer for using an old Holga.
Apps like Instagram and Picplz have shown that applying filters is a great way to make sharing photos more fun. The apps that apply filters in real time, as an image or video is being captured, usually invoke more retro-realist design choices.
4. Texture, Texture, Texture
Along with the trend of bolder primary colors, app developers are also shifting to using textures and patterns in their application backgrounds.
Wood panels are a popular choice and semi-transparent menu items often look great on these types of backdrops. Some apps, like Jamie’s Recipes use textures in the overlapping elements as well.
Texture-driven app designs often use inset text and various levels of transparency.
Texture can add a tremendous amount of personality to an application, but developers should be mindful of how text and button elements look on top of the background. The wrong color choice can make content unreadable or buttons hard to find.
GO Launcher for Android is a good example of how a textured background and shelf paradigm can be applied to the standard Android homescreen.
5. Smooth, Clean Gradients and Shadows for Depth
Some of the trends in mobile app design can be directly traced to the same trends in web design. A big trend in web design is a move towards clean, minimalistic designs.
We’re seeing this in mobile apps as well, particularly with menu and navigational headings. Rather than using the standard iOS or Android menu paradigm, developers are creating their own layouts that, while still appropriate for a finger, look more elegant.
Using shadows to create the perception of depth can give these buttons and interface elements a more “touchable” look and feel, while also appearing more striking.
These shadows can work particularly well in apps that don’t have a simple list view interface. For instance, in the XfinityTV app, the left channel bar can move independently from the main programming section. Rather than just use a grid, Xfinity added shadows to clearly designate both sections. The user can instantly sense that the elements are separate and can be controlled independently.
6. Text Driven Interfaces
We can credit Microsoft and its Windows Phone 7 for making text a mobile design trend.
The earliest mobile apps, of course, were largely text based because text loads quickly over a slow connection and doesn’t require an advanced rendering engine.
Modern mobile apps don’t need to rely on text but as Microsoft has shown us, when used appropriately, text-driven interfaces can be highly usable and great on the eyes.
The best apps that embrace a text-centric approach are those that use text appropriate in context. Text works best when it is large, easy to read and unencumbered by other interface elements.
For example, Weather Quickie is a very sparse weather app that simply tells the weather in the context of current conditions. For instance, “colder than yesterday” or “tomorrow will be warmer than today.” By not showing specific temperatures or forecast conditions, the app is easy to read and understand on the go. Icons can add context for conditions like rain or snow.
Likewise, Trickle is a Twitter app that display tweets in a very readable way, one tweet per screen. You can then choose to favorite or retweet that message before scrolling off to the next. By showing only one tweet per page, the app can be used much more passively than traditional Twitter clients.
7. Thin Sans Serif Fonts
As mobile apps evolve, developers are shifting away from the standard app fonts and utilizing more custom weights, styles and sizes. Like shadows and depth contours, many of the design cues for typography in mobile apps come from the web.
Thin sans serif fonts — usually with some level of drop shadow — are increasingly common place in desktop web design.
On mobile devices, the combination of thinner type and high resolution screens often makes for a more readable experience. It also helps differentiate apps. Thin sans serif fonts are often coupled with text-driven designs or with designs that utilize background texture.
Although some apps are including their own custom fonts for logos or header elements, simply changing the weight and size of a font can make the system default (Helvetica Neue on iOS and Droid Sans on Android) appear totally different.（Source：mashable）
