What this book covers

In the Preface, we'll touch upon the basic features of iOS and the common tools that we'll use as interface designers. If you're uncomfortable with the thought of being considered a designer, start your reading here.

For Chapter 1, Getting Started: Prototyping, Proper Tools, and Testing our Design, we'll touch upon the first steps of interface development. We'll start out with early design sketches, then progress on to the point where we put our app onto a device or offer a test build for beta users.

In Chapter 2, Customizing our Icon, the Navigation Bar, and the Tab Bar, we'll tackle the first thing the user sees when using our app: the icon. This 512 pixel square will be an essential piece of the puzzle if we want to see success, and we'll discuss some ways in which our work can stand out from the crowd.

Chapter 3, Different Ways To "View" our Application, is all about the different content presentation views that are available for our application. We'll discuss web views, Twitter views, modal views, and much more.

What's the difference between a Tab Bar and a Navigation View? In Chapter 4, Utilizing Common UI Elements, we'll tackle the various navigational interface elements that exist for our use in iOS.

Chapter 5, All About Games is action packed, as we tackle interface challenges that exist for games on iOS. Unsure about how to best go about game play mechanics or a heads up display when working with a touch platform? These recipes will help you gain a high score in interface design.

First impressions and final goodbyes are the topics that we'll take on in Chapter 6, Starting, Stopping, and Multitasking. From the Default.PNG to multitasking in iOS 4 and 5, we'll learn about the best ways to design our application for the stop and go nature of iOS.

Chapter 7, Notifications, Locations, and Sounds helps teach interface principles requirements that come into play when we design to include push notifications, badges, iCloud, location services, or iAds into our app. These are all common app features, and our app will be more successful if we use each correctly in our interface.

We'll discuss app configurations, copy and paste, and accessibility in Chapter 8, Accessibility, Options, and Limited Opportunity to Help our User. While often overlooked, the features discussed in these recipes are often responsible for the extra polish that pushes an app into the top sales charts.

Finally, for Chapter 9, Migrating to the iPad, we'll grow up a bit and talk about the iPad. Interface design for the larger screen and wider aspect ratio can be a bit different than the work we produce for the iPhone, and we'll discuss those differences here.

Looking for a bit more help? We'll tackle the problem of direct manipulation and the importance of application responsiveness in Appendix A,

As a final encore, we'll discuss the interface challenges that arise when designing a touch based operating system in Appendix B, If you need a stylus, you blew it. Software designed around use with a finger instead of a mouse can be a bit tricky, but we'll help you master the subject.