My app design workflow

Here it is — my complete iOS, Android and Mac app design workflow, starting from the first time you open Photoshop, to the app release and beyond. Now seemed like a good time to document how I’ve been working, because my workflow is about to drastically change again, with the release of Skala.

Gradient maps

I love gradient maps. I really, really love gradient maps. You should, too, because they’re insanely flexible, accurate and easy to work with.

Strokes in Photoshop CS6

There’s two ways to apply strokes to shape layers in Photoshop CS6 — via layer styles, which have been around since version 6 (that’s the ancient version 6.0, not CS6), or via the all-new vector shape options. They may appear similar at first glance, but there’s some significant differences.

Just like print design

After some thought, I’ve decided that I agree with John Gruber and Dave Wiskus, but not for the same reasons. I don’t think Retina displays have much to do with it at all — in fact, Retina displays are even better at displaying subtle textures, lighting and shadows. Those extra pixels go a long way in providing additional suspension of disbelief for realistic user interfaces.

Layer tags

Photoshop CS6 introduced layer searching. Rather than a simple filter-by-name, Adobe elected for a far more elaborate execution, opening up some nice possibilities.

Photoshop Actions & Workflows

Over the last few years I’ve built a set of Actions that I use daily. They save a bit of time, but more importantly, they remove the need to remember best practices for each step.

Other articles

My app design workflow
Gradient maps
Strokes in Photoshop CS6
Just like print design
Layer tags
Using algebra to create paths
Sub-pixel text rendering
Photoshop Actions & Workflows
Scale Patterns to 100% script
Text in Photoshop CS6
Masking in Photoshop CS6
Illustrator and app design

Vector shapes in Photoshop CS6
Photoshop CS6 improvements
Pixels per inch is just a tag
PNG compression and iOS apps
Everything is a grid
Smart Objects
Exporting from Photoshop
Iterate Podcast
Pixel perfect rotation
Pixel perfect vector pasting
Pixel perfect vector nudging
What if iChat was one window?

Gradients
Designing for Retina display
Designing for Retina display, part two
A new Drobo Dashboard icon
Noise and textures
Photoshop CS6 wish list
What to do with all those extra pixels?
Photoshop roundrect roundup
Colour management and UI design
How many layers are in my PSD?
Dissecting iTunes and App Store links

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