Unfamiliar Territory

One of the more interesting aspects of developing something of my own is that I'm not just responsible for the coding now. I am also responsible for, among other things, the design of the UI elements in the app.

At work the product I develop is mature enough that all the UI design cues have already been decided on and implemented. So if I need to create a new control, there are plenty of examples that show me what it should probably look like in order to fit in. 

Not having anything to draw on for my own work is a considerable challenge for me. I am a fairly creative person to begin with. I used to draw comic book superheroes for years while in school. I designed several web pages with their own graphics and Javascript animations. 

But the world of iOS apps is super competitive to the point that how an app's icon looks like amongst its App Store competitors can make or break it. A simple Google search on how to get your app noticed yields dozens upon dozens of articles talking primarily about "discoverability." 

When the analytics provider Distimo released new data about apps in December, it rightly concluded that the exploding growth in the marketplace makes it more difficult for new developers to have their work discovered. Last July, the new Apptrace tool found that 400,000 of the then-650,000 iOS apps were “zombies” that had not been downloaded even once. (devsbuild.it)

For someone like me, with just enough time in the evening to look over my task list and code a small amount of functionality before I pass out from exhaustion, having to ensure the discoverability of my app - once it debuts in the market place - on top of ensuring it actually does something useful - is terrifying.

Such is the state of the market. People want beautiful and delightful apps. I want to make gorgeous apps. I like using outstanding apps. I get it and I totally buy into it. 

I have done a search for open-source icon sets that are free for use in apps. There are a few sets that almost hit the mark for the look I'm going for and the breadth of icons. Some have all the icons I'd want while not having the look I want; other sets are the opposite. 

So it seems there is nothing left for me to do but to bite the bullet and learn Inkscape. But beyond learning a new graphic design tool, the actual challenge is sitting down and drawing icon prototypes that will 1) make my app look damn good, and 2) make people want to buy mine instead of the one using unmodified UIKit. 

Lead developer; lead tester; lead UI designer. Those are a lot of roles to have to play.