Things to remember when building the next Tinder, Uber, or Netflix. A designer's perspective.

January 2016.

We live in a time where we can do extraordinary things with our smartphones.

All without ever dialing a number or speaking to another human.

Going out?

Want to make a reservation at your favorite restaurant? 

Bon Appetit! Open Table.

Want a ride to your favorite restaurant? 

Hail to the UBER.

Want a new date to take to your favorite restaurant? 

Tender kisses Tinder. 

Staying in?
Want to make it a Blockbuster night, I mean Netflix night? 

No problem!  All your desires and needs are covered for that as well. 

All the applications, or apps, I have mentioned here have become household names within a matter of 2-3 years. How? Why? What separates them from the competition? 

Three reasons:

First and foremost, they were the first to disrupt their respective industries and changed how business was done. Secondly, they narrowed their focus and thirdly, they invested heavily in UX and UI.

For all of you not familiar - UX stands for user experience and UI stands for user interface design. 

Why should one care? As a consumer you prefer good design over bad. And if you are a business owner looking to adapt your business to the current trends, or an entrepreneur trying to launch a new company, your digital presence (or lack thereof) plays a fundamental role in your success or failure.

Simple is better. Logos for some of today's most popular apps.

Let's break it down. Let's start with the logo.

Why is this important? Because it prepares the user for what's to come. If a company adopts a clean, simple, brand identity, that design ethos usually permeates throughout the consumer experience. Don't forget, the main reason why these companies are so successful is because their apps are invariably simple and intuitive to use. If you are engaged with a beautifully designed interface you are prone to come back to it again and again. How many times have we been to a website or downloaded an app only to abandon it within the first click because of its bad design? 

Back when the renowned Paul Rand said "Design is everything," he wasn't exaggerating. 

It amazes me how many smart business owners play designer without having the first clue about basic design fundamentals, hierarchy or user experience.  They feel that by adding a logo on the top left corner, matching the colors and adding a photo or two will suffice. 

Great design is cultivated. Achieving sophisticated simplicity is not as simple as one may think.

I love the tagline Swiss watchmaker Audemars Piguet used for a while..."To break the rules, you must first master them." 

So the next time you interact with an app or visit a website, take note of how it makes you feel. Is it easy to use? Does it load quickly?  Intuitive? How about colors? Composition? Legibility? In the case of a website, is it mobile friendly? Personally, when I am on my smartphone and I do a search on Google and a result for a certain website does not show as "mobile friendly," I will avoid visiting that website all together. Life is too short for navigating outdated websites. Google knows that. And that's why they changed their algorithm to give more credence to mobile friendly responsive and fast loading quality content websites.  

If you have not designed your new website or app yet, do your research as to what the current trends and guidelines are. 

So are you ready to create the next best thing? Here is some humble advice:

Disrupt the way things are done in your industry. Narrow the focus. Keep the visual communication simple and elegant. Adhere to design and technology trends and before you know it, you will have some designer praising your company in one of his or her blogs.