As Android development has matured and grown increasingly competitive, developers have recognized the crucial importance of good design. With Material Design, Google introduced its most radical visual changes ever, and made effective design even more essential. Android 6 and the design support library continue to push mobile design forward.

In , leading Android developer and user experience (UX) advocate Ian G. Clifton shows how to combine exceptional usability and outstanding visual appeal. Clifton helps you build apps that new users can succeed with instantly: apps that leverage users previous experience previous experience, reflect platform conventions, and never test their patience.

You wont need any design experience: Clifton walks you through the entire process, from wireframes and flowcharts to finished apps with polished animations and advanced compositing. Youll find hands-on case studies and extensive downloadable sample code, including complete finished apps.

Integrate Material Design into backward compatible Android 6 apps

Understand views, the building blocks of Android user interfaces

Make the most of wireframes and conceptual prototypes

Apply user-centered design throughout

Master the essentials of typography and iconography

Use custom themes and styles for consistent visuals

Handle inputs and scrolling

Create beautiful transition animations

Use advanced components like spans and image caches

Work with the canvas, color filters, shaders, and image compositing

Combine multiple views into efficient custom components

Customize views to meet unique drawing or interaction requirements

Maximize downloads by designing compelling app store assets

Step by step, this guide bridges the gap between Android developers and designers, so you can collaborate on world-class app designs...or do it all yourself!

--Dr. Adam Porter, University of Maryland, Fraunhofer Center for Experimental Software Engineering

--Cameron Banga, Lead Designer, 9magnets, LLC