The document outlines 5 principles of designing killer mobile apps for iOS: 1) Great design is invisible, 2) Conventions keep moving, 3) Remove choices, 4) Social is not magic, and 5) Count your clicks. It discusses trends in iOS design conventions and provides tips for designing intuitive, social, and engaging mobile apps with minimal clicks and choices. The principles are illustrated with examples of popular iOS apps and their evolution over time.

1. 5 PRINCIPLES OF KILLER MOBILE APPS:
HOW TO THINK ABOUT
PRODUCT DESIGN FOR IOS
CHIA HWU & EVAN KIRCHHOFF, QUBOP INC.
SPRINT OPEN SOLUTIONS CONFERENCE 2011
NOV 4 2011 - WWW.QUBOP.COM

2. CUMULATIVE USERBASE, EARLY 2011
VS.
NOV 4 2011 - WWW.QUBOP.COM
(IN MILLIONS)

3. 1. GREAT DESIGN IS INVISIBLE
2. CONVENTIONS KEEP MOVING
3. REMOVE CHOICES
4. SOCIAL IS NOT MAGIC
5. COUNT YOUR CLICKS
NOV 4 2011 - WWW.QUBOP.COM

4. 1. GREAT DESIGN IS INVISIBLE
2. CONVENTIONS KEEP MOVING
3. REMOVE CHOICES
4. SOCIAL IS NOT MAGIC
5. COUNT YOUR CLICKS
NOV 4 2011 - WWW.QUBOP.COM

5. ACCUMULATING
TINY CHANGES
From http://stam-design-
stam.blogspot.com/2011/10/
ios-5.html

6. ACCUMULATING
TINY CHANGES
From http://stam-design-
stam.blogspot.com/2011/10/
ios-5.html

7. From http://stam-design-
stam.blogspot.com/2011/10/
ios-5.html

8. THINK OF APPLE AS YOUR INITIAL AUDIENCE.

9. NOV 4 2011 - WWW.QUBOP.COM

10. THE PROMOTIONAL REAL ESTATE IS VERY LIMITED.
NOV 4 2011 - WWW.QUBOP.COM

11. APPLE’S HUMAN INTERFACE GUIDELINES DO NOT DESCRIBE THEIR TASTES:
PULSE NESS BAND OF THE DAY
NOV 4 2011 - WWW.QUBOP.COM

12. (IGNORE THE ADVICE AGAINST SPLASH SCREENS)
PULSE NESS BAND OF THE DAY
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13. CUSTOM UI THAT NOBODY NOTICED
(NOT THE NATIVE CAMERA INTERFACE)
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14. 1. GREAT DESIGN IS INVISIBLE
2. CONVENTIONS KEEP MOVING
3. REMOVE CHOICES
4. SOCIAL IS NOT MAGIC
5. COUNT YOUR CLICKS
NOV 4 2011 - WWW.QUBOP.COM

15. THE 5-TAB SOCIAL APP WITH CENTER ICON
INSTAGRAM PATH COLOR
NOV 4 2011 - WWW.QUBOP.COM

16. HIPSTER SOUNDTRACKING FOODSPOTTING
THE CENTER TAB ANSWERS THE QUESTION,
“WHAT DO I DO WITH THIS APP?”
NOV 4 2011 - WWW.QUBOP.COM

17. EVERNOTE PINTEREST PHOTOVINE
THE CENTER TAB ANSWERS THE QUESTION,
“WHAT DO I DO WITH THIS APP?”
NOV 4 2011 - WWW.QUBOP.COM

18. FOURSQUARE (PREVIOUS) FOURSQUARE (NOW)
NOV 4 2011 - WWW.QUBOP.COM

19. PULL TO REFRESH
TWITTER BOXCAR FACEBOOK SEESMIC
MESSENGER

20. SIDEWAYS SLIDERS
PULSE COLOR GOWALLA
(LATEST REVISION)
NOV 4 2011 - WWW.QUBOP.COM

21. THE ICON GRID (EARLY 2011)
FACEBOOK LINKEDIN YELP SCVNGR
NOV 4 2011 - WWW.QUBOP.COM

22. THE ICON GRID IS DYING (LATE 2011)
FACEBOOK LINKEDIN YELP
NOV 4 2011 - WWW.QUBOP.COM

23. 1. GREAT DESIGN IS INVISIBLE
2. CONVENTIONS KEEP MOVING
3. REMOVE CHOICES
4. SOCIAL IS NOT MAGIC
5. COUNT YOUR CLICKS
NOV 4 2011 - WWW.QUBOP.COM

24. DO THE RIGHT THING
NOV 4 2011 - WWW.QUBOP.COM

25. NOV 4 2011 - WWW.QUBOP.COM

26. SOUTHWEST AIRLINES IPHONE APP
(NOVEMBER 2011)
NOV 4 2011 - WWW.QUBOP.COM

27. ASSUME NOBODY READS ANYTHING
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28. ASSUME NOBODY READS ANYTHING
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29. (EXCEPT IN JAPAN)
NOV 4 2011 - WWW.QUBOP.COM

30. MOBIMILEAGE:
THE BATTLE FOR ZERO CONFIGURATION
NOV 4 2011 - WWW.QUBOP.COM

31. NOT THE RIGHT THING:
SET ACCURACY
LOW HIGH
NOTE: HIGHER ACCURACY
REDUCES BATTERY LIFE
NOV 4 2011 - WWW.QUBOP.COM

32. 1. GREAT DESIGN IS INVISIBLE
2. CONVENTIONS KEEP MOVING
3. REMOVE CHOICES
4. SOCIAL IS NOT MAGIC
5. COUNT YOUR CLICKS
NOV 4 2011 - WWW.QUBOP.COM

33. TWITTER IS EASY TO INTEGRATE IN IOS 5
...BUT NOW ALL THE APPS CAN DO IT EASILY
NOV 4 2011 - WWW.QUBOP.COM

34. FACEBOOK FILTERS BY USER INTEREST
...AND THEY MAY NOT BE INTERESTED IN YOUR APP
NOV 4 2011 - WWW.QUBOP.COM

35. (AT LEAST THE FACEBOOK APP NOW PROMOTES IOS APPS INTERNALLY)
NOV 4 2011 - WWW.QUBOP.COM

36. SOCIAL SHARING: NOT IN THE FLOW
NOV 4 2011 - WWW.QUBOP.COM

37. SOCIAL SHARING IN THE UI FLOW
NOV 4 2011 - WWW.QUBOP.COM

38. EVEN BETTER: A FUNDAMENTALLY SOCIAL PRODUCT
NOV 4 2011 - WWW.QUBOP.COM

39. DO YOU WANT FACEBOOK
TO BE YOUR LOGIN?
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40. DO YOU WANT TO FORCE USERS TO LOG IN?
VS.
NOV 4 2011 - WWW.QUBOP.COM

41. 1. GREAT DESIGN IS INVISIBLE
2. CONVENTIONS KEEP MOVING
3. REMOVE CHOICES
4. SOCIAL IS NOT MAGIC
5. COUNT YOUR CLICKS
NOV 4 2011 - WWW.QUBOP.COM

42. HOW MANY CLICKS?
NOV 4 2011 - WWW.QUBOP.COM

43. 1
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44. 2
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45. 3
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46. 4,5,
6,7
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47. 8
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48. NOV 4 2011 - WWW.QUBOP.COM

49. NOV 4 2011 - WWW.QUBOP.COM

50. THINK ABOUT WHEN TO SAVE AND RESTORE STATE
- (void)applicationWillResignActive:(UIApplication *)application
- (void)applicationDidEnterBackground:(UIApplication *)application
- (void)applicationWillEnterForeground:(UIApplication *)application
- (void)applicationDidBecomeActive:(UIApplication *)application
- (void)applicationWillTerminate:(UIApplication *)application
(INCLUDING DIFFERENT SHUTDOWN SCENARIOS)
NOV 4 2011 - WWW.QUBOP.COM

51. THE MOBILE APP USER LIFE CYCLE
-38% 1 DAY
-50% 1 WEEK
-90% 6 MONTHS
NOV 4 2011 - WWW.QUBOP.COM SOURCE: FLURRY

52. THANKS!
CHIA HWU
CHIA@QUBOP.COM
TWITTER: @CHIAH
EVAN KIRCHHOFF
EVAN@QUBOP.COM
TWITTER: @THEEVANK
WWW.QUBOP.COM