The reason is that unlike the real program a GUI mockup needs not be functional, adapt to different display proportions or resolutions, and need not accommodate variable data, like text of varying length. And while the same can be done when implementing a user interface, it is deprecated by many platforms. Each element is fixed in position and size. And though he arranges these elements in relation to one another, the relation remains implicit in the design. The designer stacks various shapes, bitmaps and chunks of text on a grid. The mockup the designer draws might look identical to the actual application the user sees, but they are in fact structured quiet differently. In fact, even designers might shun them for the very same reason and confine themselves to all-purpose graphical tools like Adobe Photoshop or specialized tools for mockup design. In fact an adept designer can rearrange the layout right before the eyes of the customers to meet their requirements-If he is proficient with the tool!įor a beginner these tools are still to complicated.

Visual GUI construction tools, like the one that comes with the Android SDK, enable designers to layout the user interface without having to write a single line of code and leave it to the programmer to bring their vision to life. Programming a user interface is not very complicated, especially if the GUI is mostly static and uses stock controls.

That should give some insights into GUI construction with the Android SDK.

The only requirement is, that it must execute on a real phone.

The GUI needs neither to be useful nor slick, not even functional. First stop on my journey into mobile app development is creating a basic graphical user interface (GUI) for the MP3 player app.

Gimp inkscape app