Designer Gavin Nelson discusses prototyping, interaction design, and learning SwiftUI. Topics include designing app icons, creating physics-based interactions, designing for power users at Linear, using code for prototyping, and the interplay between custom and stock components in mobile design.
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Quick takeaways
Learning SwiftUI enabled Gavin Nelson to design physics-based interactions for app development.
Prototyping with code allows for creating realistic simulations and effective feedback collection for design refinement.
Starting with designing app icons led Gavin to progress into product design, emphasizing user-centric mobile app experiences.
Deep dives
Making Bold Decisions: Building in Framer Without Experience
The speaker took a risky bet by deciding to build a website in Framer despite having zero prior experience with the tool. Over a year into the project, the decision has proven successful, emphasizing the intuitive nature of Framer's spatial canvas and component handling.
Effective Prototyping for Real User Testing
Prototyping high-fidelity designs, even if they contain elements like 'spaghetti code,' allows for effective feedback collection by creating indistinguishable simulations from a production environment. This 'universal language' can mimic real-life user interactions and refinement.
Journey Toward Design: Icon Creation to Product Design
Starting with icon creation led to a deeper interest in design and problem-solving, eventually merging into product design and addressing larger user challenges. The speaker's progression through exploring tool functionalities and online learning showcases the evolution from creating icons to developing complete product solutions.
Mobile Design Insights: Enhancing User Experience
Understanding the context of mobile usage, such as short interaction bursts and limited thumb-based interactions, underscores the importance of frictionless and user-centric design. Simplifying the mobile app experience through intelligent defaults and intuitive gestures enhances user productivity and engagement.
Learning Swift UI and Interaction Design
Experimenting with Swift UI led to exploring interaction design concepts like a watchOS app grid simulation, showcasing app icon transitions and parallax effects. The speaker's hands-on learning approach involved iterations, code experimentation, and seeking guidance from AI tools like chat GPT to enhance Swift UI proficiency.
Gavin Nelson is currently designing the Linear mobile app in addition to the best app icons on the internet. So this episode is a deep dive into prototyping and interaction design:
Gavin’s journey learning SwiftUI
How Gavin got into designing app icons
How to design physics-based interactions
What it’s like designing for power users at Linear
Why interaction design is so important for mobile apps
Why Gavin uses code almost exclusively for prototyping now
When it makes sense to prototype at the beginning of your process
The interplay between custom and stock components in mobile design