Android User Interface Design: Turning Ideas and Sketches into Beautifully Designed Apps

691 Pages·2013·32.38 MB·English

by  Ian G. Clifton

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Android User Interface Design
Turning Ideas and Sketches into Beautifully Designed
Apps Ian G. Clifton
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ISBN-13: 978-0-321-88673-6
ISBN-10: 0-321-88673-9
Text printed in the United States on recycled paper at R.R. Donnelley in
Crawfordsville, Indiana.
First printing: May 2013
Editor-in-Chief
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Acquisitions Editor
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Praise for Android User Interface Design
“Android User Interface Design is a truly excellent book, written by one
of the most experienced and knowledgeable Android developers. This is
a very practical, highly readable guide and a great how-to resource for
every Android developer. Each chapter reveals a clear and deep
understanding of UI design. I highly recommend this book to anyone
wishing to develop Android apps with superior UI.”
—Kyungil Kim
Software Engineer, Facebook
“I recommend this book for all Android developers who work alone and
want to give a professional look to their apps. The content of the book is
excellent and covers all aspects needed to understand how to design
Android apps that stand out.”
—Gonzalo Benoffi
CEO, Coffee and Cookies, Android Development “Design was never part
of a developer’s job until mobile app development started; now it’s a must.
This book gives a simple yet effective way to design your apps. It’s easy
for beginners and informative for experienced developers as well. This is
the best book I could ever refer to anyone who is in Android development.
A one-time read of this book covers the experience you might gain from
three years of learning development. I am amazed to see instructions on
how to design starting from wireframes, which is something no other book
has provided clear enough explanation of. (Some don’t even cover it.) I
really love it. Thanks to Ian for this wonderful contribution to the Android
developer community. Best, simple, and effective!”
—Chakradhar Gavirineni
Android Application Developer, Adeptpros IT Solutions Pvt Ltd.
“Ian’s book is an invaluable resource for everything there is to know
about designing, creating layouts, and rendering Android applications.
The ‘Common Task Reference’ appendix is an excellent addition that
makes this book a must-have. Make sure to keep this one within arm’s
reach of your desk.”
—Josh Schumacher
Software Engineer, HasOffers
“From the first few pages, this book provides a wealth of tips, tricks, and
techniques for developing Android user interfaces. If you are grappling
with all the various view types, then read this book—it really helps
cement when and why you should include the various UI components to
great effect (with worked examples!). Well worth a read by anyone
looking for inspiration to improve their user interface into a great user
experience.”
—Richard Sey
PassBx Developers
Dedicated to my family
Contents
Introduction
Part I The Basics of Android User Interface
1 Android UI Overview
A Brief History of Android Design
The Android Design Website
Core Principles
Standard Components
Supporting Multiple Devices
Notable Changes
Summary
2 Understanding Views—The UI Building Blocks
What Is a View?
Displaying Text
Displaying Images
Views for Gathering User Input
Other Notable Views
Listening to Events
Summary
3 Creating Full Layouts with View Groups and Fragments
ViewGroup
Fragments
Summary
4 Adding App Graphics and Resources
Introduction to Resources in Android
Resource Qualifiers
Understanding Density