When Doug Bowman, former creative Director for Google resigned, he posted a quote on his blog that sums Google up perfectly.
Yes, it’s true that a team at Google couldn’t decide between two blues, so they’re testing 41 shades between each blue to see which one performs better.
Android is the creation of technicians and analytical minds, super genius programmers who someday will probably unlock the secret to creating human life with code, modern day Robin Hoods who give mobile carriers an open source doorway to the kingdom of apps. But Apple often beats them on user experience because their is no unified foundation for Android design.
Android has been so grossly ignored by the design community that the phrase “Android design” is almost an oxymoron. While Apple’s exhaustive Human Interface Guidelines hold designers’ hands through the process, Android designers are left in the dark.
Our Android Human Interface Guidelines were born out of our own struggles with the Android platform. Early on we made the decision that “porting” an app was a faulty term that was resulting in iOS apps being squeezed and refashioned into something that almost works on Android. Often these refashioned apps would carry over Apple design standards, sometimes even ignoring Android’s hardware buttons and sending users into navigational dead ends.
These guidelines are a living document and will continue to evolve as the platform evolves. We hope other designers will use this tool to innovate in Android design and begin to give it the type of attention and innovation that has been showered upon Apple for so long. Let us know how we can improve this guide and what resources you’re using to push Android design further.
UPDATE: Android Design Guidelines Version 1.1, April 26, 2011
Download the Android Design Guidelines PDF
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