Android

android design guidelines
version 1.1
April 2011

table of contents
introduction ..............................................................3
sizes and resolution ..................................................5
UI elements ..............................................................7
icons ........................................................................13
dialog andlistview icons ..........................................23
widgets.....................................................................24
draw9patch ..............................................................27
gestures ...................................................................30
gingerbread ..............................................................30honeycomb..............................................................................33
naming conventions...............................................................42

Mutual Mobile Android Design Guidelines

2

introduction
The discipline of Android design.
In many ways, designing an Android application is the same as designing for any other mobile
app. Android applications follow the same user experiencerules that all mobile applications
should follow:
• Know your audience.
• Simplify your functionality when you can, keep it organized and neat when you cannot.
• Keep it intuitive and user friendly, understanding that you have mere seconds to win or lose
a user.
If there is one thing that complicates designing for Android, it is in the nature of dealing with
open source software. It iscommendable that Android was written for this intent - existing on
any mobile device without exclusivity. For a designer though, it creates a situation where due
diligence is necessary. If you jump into designing an Android application without educating
yourself first, you will find yourself in a frustrating tug of war of trial and error with your developer. But, by learning the structure ofthe operating system, having a base understanding of how
assets are used and what the naming conventions should be, it is absolutely possible to create
a stunning app.

Know your place.
Designing an Android app needs to be a constant collaboration between design and development. The look and feel of the app should be discussed by both parties from the beginning.
Additionally, specific phonesand operating systems should be targeted to keep expectations in
line. Since many assets can be created with XML, the design responsibility actually falls to both
parties. Once a look and feel is decided upon, the smart designer takes a tell-me-what-youneed-and-I’ll-make-it approach of collaboration.
An Android app can look as lush and stylized as an iPhone app with the right amount ofplanning. The process to achieve this, however will most likely be slower since assets need to be
created for multiple resolutions and functionality must be added and removed for specific
devices.

It is more than just removing the back button.
Android is its own culture with its own complexities and functionality perks. Too often apps are
ported directly from iPhone to Android without consideringthe larger landscape. It is incorrect
to consider an app portable from iPhone to Android. The differences are many and those principles and elements which work great for the iPhone don’t necessarily speak to Android peculiarities or functionality. Many of the differences are programmer-centric, however, asset management and user flows must be given a completely different treatment to do thedevice justice.

Mutual Mobile Android Design Guidelines

3

I was working on a “port” of an established iPhone app and learned the error of my ways. The
designs that I made were iPhone centric, as to be consistent with the app that they already had.
This turned out to be a headache for the developers and inevitably a set back for the client.
What I took away from this experience is that...