If you want to become a mobile designer, you must be curious about what it’s like to work in this role and which tasks you have to deal with every day.
To help bate your curiosity, I will share a day in the life of a mobile designer right here. So, before trying to follow this career path, let’s check this guide out!
Who Is A Mobile Designer?
A mobile designer develops apps for mobile devices, such as cellular phones and tablets. The apps can work on Android, iOS, or multiple platforms.
It’s not easy to build a mobile app. So, to nail the job, a mobile designer has to:
- Research to learn user needs
- Sketch the wireframes to visualize the product
- Decide on typography, imagery, and color schemes to design the app
- Work with users, stakeholders, and developers to optimize the design
- Test the app before publishing it to the market
- Fix technical issues
- Keep the app updated
A Day In The Life Of A Mobile Designer
As a mobile developer, I have a busy schedule with tons of tasks. Here is how I spend my day:
Plan The Day
First, I enjoy a cup of coffee to fully charge my battery. I have had this habit for years as a way to kickstart my day.
After that, I don’t start working immediately. Instead, I set a duty list that includes all the major and minor tasks for the day. This way, I can keep everything organized without missing deadlines.
I always prioritize the most important tasks to ensure they are on the right track. I also split them into smaller parts so I can handle them better.
Do Research
The first step of designing a mobile app is to research user needs. This task involves multiple steps as follows:
- Find the market trends: Research tools like Statista and Google Trends help me learn about the market trends and demand for mobile apps. Using these tools, I can tell why my target audience is using apps and understand the value of the apps.
- Collect data: I often conduct online surveys to get data. Social media is helpful in this case as it helps my company increase its online presence and reach more users.
- Analyze competitors: I can learn a lot from my competitors. Thus, I analyze their strengths and weak points to get a clearer picture of our industry.
- Analyze the result: After collecting the necessary data, I do a SWOT analysis to optimize my app’s core. I also have to send reports to my managers. Once they approve, I can move to the sketching part.
Sketch Prototypes and Wireframes
Now, I have user insights for the conceptualization stage. During this crucial phase, I sketch basic layouts of the app to represent the placement and structure of its elements on the screen. These layouts are wireframes that help me picture the user flow clearly.
After that, I use specialized software to develop interactive prototypes. These tools allow me to refine and test ideas for the app.
Design Visual
Visual design is an important part of app development. So, after putting prototypes and wireframes in place, I spend a lot of time on this task. There are a few things to focus on:
- Color: I put effort into color theory to ensure my design can convey the intended message. The color I choose must create a specific mood and tone for my graphics design.
- Shapes and lines: These elements give my design stability and structure. I also use them to divide sections so they look harmonious and are easy to follow.
- Texture: Proper texture allows for more depth in the design. They should look intriguing and not overwhelm the screen.
- Space: Like shapes and lines, space helps divide elements in the app. If I don’t pay enough attention to it, the design will look messy or too empty.
While working on those elements, I keep the brand’s identity in mind. Besides, the design should be usable with accessible principles.
Work with others
Mobile app design is a complex process. Thus, I have to work with other people to bring out the best of it.
For example, before every project, my development team gathers to brainstorm ideas for the app. We also have frequent meetings to discuss its features and ways to optimize them.
I work with end-users, too. They give me guidelines to design the app. And, when working on it, they send me feedback to refine my design.
Test The App
Before releasing the app, I must test it to ensure its functionality. Here are some key types of testing to perform:
- Functional test: This test checks if the app can function properly based on the specified requirements.
- Compatibility: I use this test to tell if the app can work smoothly on different devices and operating systems.
- Usability: The app should be user-friendly and detect bugs to maximize customer experience.
- Performance: I let the app work with a particular load to see how it performs.
- Security: I also perform security checks to guarantee the app can work well with different permission requests and project user’s data properly.
- Storage: Many users store a huge amount of data on their phones. Thus, the app should allow them to keep data and retrieve it smoothly on the hard disk.
Stay Up-to-Date
The field of mobile app development is evolving. New techniques and tools emerge so often that you may miss some if you don’t pay attention. Hence, as a mobile designer, I like to attend webinars and read news to keep myself updated.
I also take online courses. Continuous learning is the best way to stay ahead of the competition. And once I have got certification, I can easily climb up my career ladder.
Conclusion
A day in the life of a mobile designer is exciting because you always have something to expect. Yet, it can be tricky, too. There are many challenges, and you must be excellent at your job to overcome them.
I love my job as a mobile designer. If you find the tasks above worth trying, don’t hesitate to take this role. Good luck with your journey!
