Professional UI/UX Design for Apps: What You Get, Step by Step

Professional UI/UX Design for Apps: What You Get, Step by Step

> Quick Summary: A UI/UX design service turns an idea into screens that can be built: user flows, wireframes, a visual design, a clickable prototype and a developer handoff. For a typical mobile app the design phase takes 2 to 4 days per round, depending on the project. Tap targets should be at least 44 by 44 points on iOS and 48 by 48 dp on Android, and body text needs a contrast ratio of at least 4.5 to 1.

Alongside development, we offer professional UI/UX design as a service of its own. I work with professional UI/UX designer partners, and the same team that designs the screens also builds them. This page lists what the service contains and the numbers we design to.

What the service covers

• User flows: every path a user can take, drawn before any screen is designed.
• Wireframes: plain layouts that settle what goes on each screen and in what order.
• Visual design: colours, type, spacing, icons and imagery applied to every screen and every state.
• Clickable prototype: the screens linked together so you can tap through the app before a line of code is written.
• Design system: the colours, type styles and reusable components collected in one place, so the tenth screen matches the first.
• Developer handoff: a Figma file with measurements, assets and notes that a developer can build from directly.
• Figma to code: if we also build the product, the design is implemented as designed, including animations and responsive layouts.

The steps

1. Brief. The problem, the users, the main flow and any existing brand material.
2. Flows and wireframes. You approve the structure before any visual work starts.
3. Visual direction. Two or three key screens designed in full, so the look is agreed early.
4. All screens and states. Including empty, loading, error and success states, which are the ones most often forgotten.
5. Prototype and review. You tap through it on a real phone and send feedback.
6. Handoff or build. The file goes to your developer, or we start development.

In my own process the design and prototyping step usually takes 2 to 4 days, depending on the project.

The numbers we design to

• Tap targets: at least 44 by 44 points on iOS (Apple Human Interface Guidelines) and 48 by 48 dp on Android (Material Design).
• Text contrast: at least 4.5 to 1 for body text and 3 to 1 for large text (WCAG 2.1 level AA).
• Text size: iOS body text defaults to 17 points; Android body text is commonly 14 to 16 sp. Layouts must still work when the user increases the system text size.
• Spacing: a 4 or 8 point grid, so every margin and gap is a multiple of the same unit.
• Safe areas: nothing interactive under the notch, the Dynamic Island or the home indicator.
• Dark mode: designed as its own set of colours, not an inverted copy.
• Right-to-left languages: layouts mirror for Arabic and Hebrew if the app will be localised.

What you receive

• A Figma file with every screen and state
• A clickable prototype link
• A design system page: colours, type styles, components
• Exported icons and images in the sizes each platform needs
• App icon and store screenshots, if they are part of the scope

What changes the scope

• Number of screens. The biggest factor. A login flow alone is usually five or six screens.
• Platforms. iOS and Android can share one design or follow each platform's conventions separately. A web or tablet version adds layouts.
• Brand. Starting from an existing brand is faster than creating one.
• Custom illustration and animation. Both are separate pieces of work.
• Rounds of revision. Agree the number at the start.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

If you want a design for an app, a game or a web platform, send a short brief with the problem, the users and the main flow, and we will take it from there.