Designing for iPad
Evan Doll

Who am I? • Evan
Doll • Former Apple employee • 3 years on iPhone • Co-taught CS193P

Who am I? • Not
an Apple employee • Waiting in line outside the Apple Store just like you

Today • How iPad changes
everything • Where does it fit? • Designing great apps

Remember I am not an
Apple employee!

First Things First • I
don’t know any iPad secrets • No SDK discussion today

How iPad
Changes
Everything

Obligatory photo:

“Make the screen five inches
by eight inches, and you’ll rule the world.” - Alan Kay http://bit.ly/dAXgsQ

News Flash: Computers are still
too complicated

Those who design & build
computers are most likely to forget this

The Gulf of
Knowledge

Hackers
Bloggers
Tech columnists
You

Keep this in mind when
evaluating new technology

What’s wrong with the status
quo?

Files

“On Mac OS X, the
/System/Library/ folder... contains over 90,000 items, not one of which a typical user should ever need to see or touch.” - John Gruber http://daringfireball.net/2009/12/the_tablet

My mom has ~100 files
on her desktop

Mouse

Geeks still argue about 1-button
vs. 2-button mice

http://bit.ly/b5q9mK

The mouse is a bug,
not a feature

Your Stanford
C.S. Degree

To your family, this still
means “tech support”

Not just a
generation gap

Opportunity to
fundamentally
rethink computing

Where does it fit?

http://ohnodoom.com/ibap/

While driving At a restaurant
During the opera

While driving At a restaurant
During the opera

http://www.flickr.com/photos/arvindgrover/3163495351/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/missnita/2086268311/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/isurusen/3435278992/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/eneas/4028061789/

Laptops and iPhones are often
antisocial

iPad is more inviting and
shareable

Multi-user interactions

Presenter + Viewer

Multiplayer games

http://www.flickr.com/photos/poodleface/482570681/

Combine
iPhones + iPad?

Multiple Touches

Room for two (or more)
hands

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bekahstargazing/378678206/

Designing
Great Apps

(My) Three Rules

1. It’s not an iPhone
2. Don’t break the flow 3. Make it feel real

1. It’s not an iPhone

“It’s just a big iPod
touch!” - Someone on the Internet

Hardware? Maybe.
Software? NO!

Don’t just recompile your iPhone
app

Apps that do this will
not be well-received

2. Don’t break the flow

“One view onscreen” no longer
the only way

Use split views

Don’t abuse it

Use popovers for
modal content

Full-screen transitions can be disorienting
on a large display

3. Make it feel real

Direct manipulation

Tactile, physical
interface design

Postage Classics ConvertBot

Realistic
sound effects

Animations!

Not just eye candy

Help user to build a
mental map of your app

Some specific tips:

Read the
Human Interface
Guidelines

Work with a
great designer

4x the pixels = 4x
the ugly

Performance is
a BIG DEAL

Test on a real iPad
for performance and usability

Build a paper iPad
http://mashable.com/2010/02/08/paper-ipad/

Reading List • http://flyosity.com/ipad/the-ipad- is-for-everyone-but-us.php
• http://joehewitt.com/post/ipad/ • http://www.tomloverro.com/ 2010/02/06/ipad-analysis- history-repeats-itself/

In summary...

New platforms don’t come along
often

We are living in exciting
times

The possibilities
are endless

Go forth & develop!

Thanks!
@edog1203