Mobile app design for products people open every day
A mobile app gets seconds of attention, on a small screen, often on an unreliable connection. We design apps around the one or two jobs people open them for, and make those jobs fast, forgiving and native to each platform.
Why mobile apps lose users
Onboarding asks before it gives
Account creation, permissions and preferences before the app has shown any value.
Permission prompts at the wrong moment
Notifications and location requested on first launch, without context, and refused for good.
Navigation built for a desktop product
Too many tabs, deep menus and actions out of thumb reach.
Forms that fight the keyboard
Wrong input types, tiny targets and validation that only fires after submit.
Fragile on real networks
Blank screens on a weak connection, lost input on a dropped request, and no offline state at all.
What we design
Core flows
The one or two jobs people open the app for, made as short and forgiving as possible.
Onboarding and activation
A first session that delivers value before asking for commitment, with permissions requested in context.
Navigation and information architecture
Structures that fit a thumb and a short attention span, tested with real users.
Interface design across states
Loading, empty, error, offline and permission-denied states designed, not left to engineering.
Tablet and large screens
Layouts that use iPad and tablet space properly rather than stretching the phone design.
Design systems for mobile
Components and tokens shared across iOS and Android while respecting each platform.
iOS and Android: same product, native behaviour
Your brand should be consistent across platforms; navigation and controls should feel native to each.
iOS and iPadOS
Designed to Apple's platform conventions.
- Navigation, gestures and sheets that match iOS expectations
- Dynamic Type and accessibility settings respected
- iPad layouts that use split views and larger canvases
Android
Designed for the device range people really use.
- Material conventions for navigation and system back
- Layouts tested on mid-range screens and densities
- Behaviour on low memory and intermittent connectivity
Designing for real devices and networks
Much of the audience in the markets we work in uses mid-range Android hardware on unreliable connections. That shapes real decisions: image weight, how much state lives on the device, what works offline, and whether an animation is worth its frame cost.
We review designs on representative devices and throttled networks, not only on a designer's laptop, because that is where most mobile usability problems hide.
Mobile app design process
Research
Interviews, app-store reviews and analytics to find the jobs people actually open the app for.
Flows and architecture
Navigation and core flows, validated before visual design.
Interface design
Platform-appropriate UI for iOS and Android, with every state specified.
Prototype and test
Clickable prototypes tested on real devices with people matching your users.
Handoff and QA
Specs for both platforms, an engineering walkthrough and design QA on builds.
Mobile app case studies
Adda247
Homepage revamp for the iOS and Android app
A cluttered feed turned into a home organised around Watch, Practice and Read.
Adda247
Community module
Peer learning inside the app: a discussion feed, study groups, profiles and recognition.
Adda247
Studio app for smart boards
An in-house teaching app for recording, annotation and content sharing.
How much does mobile app design cost?
Mobile app design is quoted against a written scope. The main drivers are the number of core flows, whether you need both iOS and Android designs, and how much research and testing the product needs.
Other factors: tablet layouts, offline behaviour, accessibility requirements, a mobile design system, and the depth of build support. For more context, read the cost of UI/UX design for a mobile app in India.
Frequently asked questions
Should our iOS and Android apps look the same?
Your brand, content and core flows should be consistent; navigation patterns, controls and system behaviour should feel native to each platform. People notice when an app ignores the conventions of their phone.
Do you design for tablets and iPad?
Yes. Larger screens deserve layouts that use the space, such as split views and side panels, rather than a stretched phone design.
Can you redesign an existing app without disrupting current users?
Yes. We start from analytics and user research on the current app, keep what people rely on, and sequence changes so existing users are not forced to relearn everything at once.
Do you design for offline and low-bandwidth use?
As a default case. We design loading, partial and offline states explicitly and test on throttled connections.
Do you build the app?
We design and specify the app and support your engineers or development partner through build with design QA. Development itself sits with your team or partner.
How long does mobile app design take?
It depends on the number of flows and platforms. A single core flow can be designed in a few weeks; a full app across iOS and Android with a design system takes longer, and you get written dates before we start.
Let's look at your app on a real phone
Send us your app or prototype. In 30 minutes we'll walk the core flow on a mid-range device and tell you where people are likely to drop.