bilambee

Yesterday’s iPadMadCamp was an inspiring experience, with interesting talks and stimulating conversations. In case you missed it, this is what we talked about.
If you can fill in some details, like where to find the presentation notes, drop us a line!

Manuel from (where?): Señoras que intentan hacer apps para iPad (y que mueren en el intento)

Creating seems complicated when you go into iPhone development from a design background. A lot of rapid prototyping can be done without code: setting background images, splash screens, app icons, custom buttons, custom tab bar icons. Amazingly these things are not explained in Apple’s introductory tutorials.

Javier from Vostok: Principios de diseño para iPad

This is what we have learned of user interface design for multitouch tablet devices. An awesome talk with great insights, such as:

• If web = lego, then iPad = duplo. Omit needless elements. Forget complicated information architectures.
• The iPad is heavy and the curved back makes it unstable on a table. One hand has to hold it still, so place controls near the bezel. Both hands on screen is uncommon.
• Place navbars on top to prevent “tummy taps.”
• Don’t assume knowledge of PC metaphors.
• Use navigation idioms: Vertical transition shows more elements of the same collection. Horizontal transition switches to a different collection.

Professionally delivered talk and well designed slides. I look forward to seeing more of your work, Javier!

Edit On the right, @sebadog‘s more visual notes from this and the following talk are a must-see :)

The talk provoked a long conversation. Some of the highlights were:

• Digital magazines now are designed like the first cars: take a horse-cart, remove the horse, add an engine. The future evolution will be interesting.
• Interesting idea: Comic books have developed a form of expression that is rich in graphics and easy to follow. The best iPad apps are like comic books in that respect. What we know about comics is directly applicable to app design.
• Content apps: Load content on-demand from a cloud service, or save everything in local storage? The iPad is not likely to get significantly bigger hard drives because Apple is like that. Apparently in a few years fast mobile Internet will be available everywhere, even on planes, so this will be a no-issue. But we’re not there yet.

Mark from Vostok: Uso de movimiento en iPad

Simulated inertia and friction feel more natural than constant speed in animated transitions. So does animating along a curved path versus along a straight line. Animation is best used sparingly, e.g. to provide continuity when the content of the whole screen changes.

This reminded me of the story behind the Switcher for the 512K Mac:

“I think it might be confusing to switch from one application to another without any feedback,” he told me. “What if someone switches accidentally? Maybe you could use animation to make a smoother transition.”

Part 2 is out now.