Inspirational Mobile App UI Design Showcases: Top 10 Illustrations to Ignite Your Creativity
The Importance of a User-Friendly Interface for Mobile Apps
In the midst of an increasingly competitive digital market, having a compelling mobile app idea is far from enough. To ensure success, app developers must focus on providing a feature-rich, functional, and easy-to-navigate user experience, with an intuitive interface being a crucial factor. Neglecting this aspect can result in the failure of even the most innovative and trendsetting app concepts, as users will swiftly uninstall and move on to apps with more intuitive interfaces.
The app design and redesign stages are the most critical parts of the mobile app development process. They require attention to detail and a keen understanding of user needs and preferences. Mobile app interfaces must be unique, reflective of the brand, and up-to-date, with thorough research being essential to determine the ideal design for any given app.
In this piece, we'll examine ten mobile app design examples that have proven to be effective and inspiring for app development projects. However, before we delve into these examples, let us first understand the concept of mobile app user interface (UI) design.
What is User Interface (UI) Design?
UI, or user interface, serves as the point of interaction between humans and computers or devices. When a user taps on an app on their device, they are engaging with the app's user interface. In mobile apps, this interface is primarily touch-sensitive display and graphical. The user interface allows users to navigate the app, access its features, content, and functionalities.
The Importance of a Good UI in Mobile Apps
The quality of a mobile app's UI plays a pivotal role in determining whether users choose to continue interacting with the app. A poor UI will result in a subpar user experience, causing users to abandon the app. This can be detrimental, as experts recommend investing in UI/UX (User eXperience) designs to achieve an app with an impressive UI that attracts and retains users.
Recent research suggests that investing $1 in UI can yield an ROI (Return on Investment) between $2 and $100. Additionally, a study showed that 74% of visitors return to an app with a good mobile UI design[1]. These statistics underscore the significance of hiring skilled UI/UX designers for mobile app development projects to create an app UI that instantly appeals to users.
Top 10 Mobile App Design Examples
- Glo YogaGlo Yoga stands out as one of the most popular yoga teaching apps. With a minimalist design and cooler colors, it provides a calming experience for users learning yoga[2]. The app is easy to navigate, with clear instructions, illustrations, and functional keys.
- GrubhubGrubhub offers a fantastic food delivery app with a linear, highly simplified design and vibrant colors. The design elements are well-suited to the app's purpose, with clear CTAs (Calls to Action) and neat, clean layouts. Users can track their food orders, explore restaurants, and more using Grubhub's mobile interface[2].
- Fasting - Intermittent FastingThis health and wellness app tracks users' fasting habits and offers coaching and counseling. Its minimalist UI with a good color combination makes it stands out among other wellness apps[2]. Despite featuring detailed insights and analytics, the app's UI is not cluttered and the CTAs do not feel like marketing efforts. It offers features like body status, fasting plans, water trackers, and others[2].
- SpotifySpotify is a well-known music streaming app that has experimented with color gradients to create a more engaging user experience. The vibrant color gradients lend the app an emotional appeal[3]. Such color gradients can add a new dimension to apps that allow for such liberties[3].
- PayPalPayPal's sleek, uncluttered design breaks the mold for financial or banking app designs.The app is brighter, shinier, and more visually appealing than traditional banking apps, providing a refreshing and engaging user experience[3].
- RobinhoodRobinhood is a stock market trading app offering users insights into market predictions, risk assessments, and investment goals[3].The app doesn't experiment with colors but breaks the onboarding flow to keep users engaged. It offers a simple and effective design with a wholesome experience for users[3].
- CofeCofe is a coffee-ordering app with a minimalist UI design, making it easy for users to place orders. Its simple design with clear features and CTAs reduces the mental effort required to order coffee and improves user engagement[4].
- PocketPocket is a readers' app that offers an uncluttered and clean UI, earning it a Webby award for its UX design[4]. It features a user-centric design, with a focus on accessibility and ease of use[4].
- BigbasketBigbasket is a grocery delivery app with a clean and organized design that's easy to navigate. The app caters to various user needs by offering intuitive functionality that allows users to search for products, add items to their cart, and access their order history[5].
- UberUber's simple and clean design features a map, search bar, and available vehicles to facilitate easy and convenient taxi booking[5].
In Conclusion
The quality of a mobile app's user interface is vital to its success. Taking the time to research and optimize the app design can lead to a better user experience, potentially making the difference between an app's success or failure in the market. These ten examples offer inspiration for app developers looking to create user-friendly, visually appealing mobile apps.
[1] "UI/UX Design Principles for Flutter Marketplace." [our website]. [Accessed 24 May 2023].
[2] "Mobile App or Mobile Website UX Comparison: Which Engages More?" [our website]. [Accessed 24 May 2023].
[3] "Mobile Game Design: A Complete Guide on Designing Awesome Mobile Games." [our website]. [Accessed 24 May 2023].
[4] "UI/UX Design Principles for Flutter Marketplace." [our website]. [Accessed 24 May 2023].
[5] "Mobile App Design Inspiration: 25 Top App Design Examples for 2023." [our website]. [Accessed 24 May 2023].
Jignen Pandya, CEO of [our website].
- For a native mobile app development project, consider investing in user interface (UI) design to create an intuitive, user-friendly interface similar to the ones found in popular apps like Glo Yoga and Grubhub.
- In order to attract and retain users, it is crucial to focus on UI/UX designs, as shown in the success of apps such as Fasting - Intermittent Fasting and Spotify, where a well-designed UI can yield an ROI up to $100.
- To stay competitive in the market, consider experimenting with modern design elements like color gradients, as seen in Spotify and PayPal, to create a visually appealing and engaging user experience.
- When developing a financial or banking app, like PayPal or Robinhood, break away from traditional designs by offering a sleek, uncluttered, and visually appealing interface to provide users with a refreshing and engaging experience.
- To create an effective mobile app, follow the example of successful apps like Cofe, Pocket, Bigbasket, and Uber, by focusing on an uncluttered and clean user interface with clear features and calls to action, resulting in improved user engagement.
When developing mobile apps, a strong focus on UI design is essential to create a unique, brand-reflective, up-to-date, and user-friendly interface that caters to the needs and preferences of users, leading to increased success in the market.
