The Little Things Matter
Kyle Bragger
Lesson 35
As the bar for great design keeps getting higher and higher, having a keen attention to detail will help your products stand apart from the crowd. Your app should delight its users, whether that's through a beautifully executed feature, organic interface design, or even just having a bit of fun.
Of course, as part of this process it's important to make sure everything is done thoughtfully and with the utmost respect for your users. That being said, sweating even the tiniest of details can take your app from good to great, or from great to exceptional.
Here are five things that I think show off what it means to have a great fit and finish.
-
Little Big Details – IFTTT
A settings screen that flips around is certainly not unique to IFTTT, but they've added a cheeky detail: the logo is visible from behind.
Try to find a few more examples of this kind of touch in the apps you use every day. -
Stripe
Stripe lets you skip signup and dive right into actually using the product with real credentials. If you like the service, you can activate your account later without losing your data.
Think about how you could apply this kind of "un-signup" to your app. -
Flinto
Show, don't tell. Instead of a homepage full of static imagery, Flinto lets you actually play around with the same interactions you'll find in their app.
How can you show, not tell, your users about your product? -
Transitional Interfaces
Transitional Interfaces refers to a set of thinking around using organic motion from the real world and applying it to app interfaces, to make things feel more fluid and natural.
Where could you apply a few of the Transitional Interface concepts in your app? -
Little Big Details – American Express
Amex dynamically changes the greeting depending on the time of day. It's a small touch that makes their app just a bit more human.
Where are some places in your app that could benefit from a touch of humanity?
