You've probably seen +Taylor Ling 's excellent second Android Design Challenge. Congratulations to the winners and thanks to the judges and everybody who participated.

While working through the 40+ submissions, I realized some problematic patterns, that appeared over and over. Instead of pointing fingers, let me try to add some valuable tips for young designers, participating is such a design challenge: 


Stay away from big technology brands

Companies like Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram spend a lot of time and money on their well-known apps. While you probably can point out plenty of personal issues in their layouts or design language, be aware that those companies employ some of the best designers worldwide. And they come with a certain expectation. It's hard to grasp their complexity or to improve their app with a couple of quick mockups.


Spend your time on apps that can actually benefit from it

There are plenty of smaller, lesser known apps that desperately need some UI polish or interaction design. Those are probably much better suited for you to show off your skills, since they don't come with high expectations. And compared to the big brands, they will actually value your work, and possibly even implement it. Instead of Evernote, Last.fm or Spotify, have a take on something fresh.


Don't just follow the guidelines—stand out

Android's design guidelines are a very solid set of rules to start from. But they are meant to be used as a guide for OS consistency, not to be seen as dogma. Don't just copy patterns from the Play Store, but build upon them. Use them to push aesthetic and interaction to a unique level—try to differentiate if you want the attention. 


Keep it short, keep it sweet

With more than 40 entries, it can quickly become a burden to judge all those slides and ideas properly. Don't try to showcase your skills with sheer quantity and 20 screens-mockup that all look the same. Instead, try to impress with a couple of well crafted highlights and exceptions, like Glass or Android Wear UIs. Skip the boring lists and about screens. Your judges will appreciate it.


How about responsive?

+Juhani Lehtimäki pointed out the lack of responsive approaches to the design challenge. Almost all entries focused on ~4" portrait devices. Responsive design is a core component of every Android design project. If you want to be taken seriously in the community or by project owners, don't skip this challenging part. Show how your UI concepts scale across landscape and portrait mode, and from 4 inch to 10 inch devices.

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There are certainly plenty more areas to consider when approaching an Android app redesign. But those tips should at least help you get a foot in the door of a company or a challenge like this one.

What are your thoughts?

Observation

Something remarkable happened the other day. Over at a friends’ house, we were exchanging YouTube videos. In the video list recommended for me, I noticed a special band I had never listened to, right on top. As it turned out, that band was a particular favorite of my friends, and they enjoyed it frequently. 

This could have just been a coincidence, but I doubt it. Apparently, Google’s recommendations factor location data into YouTube suggestions, completely independent of personal tastes. 

At first I was amused. Then the correlation slowly started to become creepy. As long as I got additional entertainment suggestions, I’d be fine. But imagine what could happen if specific local information was detained from me? What if a particular group of people with a similar mindset in location X received a different set of data than another in location Y? I’m thinking especially about more unstable places that aren’t just love, peace, and harmony all over, places where control of information is crucial.

Thinking about the impact of location-specific information control is horrifying, especially on an economic or political level. Correlations between sets of data can be very valuable, as long as they can be determined and controlled by a human.

In the case of the YouTube example, a small label like “this video was recommended because ...” would bring back the control needed to strengthen trust in the service. Probably together with some option for further calibration.

What are your thoughts?

 Your attention is precious. Don’t squander it. Don’t throw it away. Don’t let companies and products steal it from you. Don’t let advertisers trick you into lusting after things you don’t need. Don’t let the media convince you to covet the lives of celebrities. Own your attention — it’s all you really have.

Sure, I'm quoting a quote here, but this message will become quite a theme in 2014. Found via Offscreen Mag this morning.

Being one of Android's most iconic UI elements, the overflow has lead to quite some heated discussions. Recently an icon with round dots has appeared on Google Now and some other apps. While this is not yet to be seen as the standard overflow icon, we got a couple of requests for the alternative.

Here's a free, rounded overflow icon in 5 sizes and all 14 colors.
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/462883/androidicons.com_overflow_round.zip (updated)

 If you don't have the full Android Icon Developer Set yet, get it from
www.androidicons.com

So in classic disruption theory, the hybrid model is eating its way up through the complexity chain. I’d argue that the majority of information-based apps today can be successfully implemented through this approach with varying levels of the native/HTML split.

While I had plenty of heated conversations with Android- and Web-Developers over the years, it's good to get some insights of people who know what they are doing, without being religiously biased.

Basecamp's David Heinemeier Hansson discusses their hybrid approach, instead of choosing one technology over the other.

If product design is about solving problems for people within the constraints of a specific business, then it simply feels that many people calling themselves product/UX designers are actually practicing digital art. They are Artists. They are Stylists. Executing beautiful looking things, certainly an important skill, but not practising product design.

I appreciate that we slowly understand that a beautiful interface is just a small piece of what we call User Experience. Clear words, good read.

High-rises going up at an incredible pace. Thousands of living spaces being built to house the tech workers of San Francisco. The people who burn the midnight oil day after day. Making applications to help you locate which bar your friends are at. To help you call a car to go meet them. To help you find a mate for the evening. Applications that make it easier to voice your displeasure at having to pass the people you’ve displaced as they attempt to make their homes in the corners of society you haven’t decided to take over yet.

+Mike Monteiro shares a short story of the other side of our crazy technology world, right in time for Christmas. If you plan on flooding your home with yet another wave of the latest and greatest gadgets, stop for a minute and think. There are plenty of opportunities around you, that deserve your energy, creativity, passion and money more than the next tech giant.

Enjoy.