Hi, I'm Jeremy Foo.
I write software to make lazy people lazier.

Too often we get too caught up with features and frameworks available to us that we go overboard with using everything. There are many developers that overuse custom user interface elements, and others that misuse system user interface elements.

When I was developing Traversity, I was looking around to see how best to make the App look good. Of all the Apps on my iPhone, one that stood out the most was Tweetie. It was simple, thoughtful and very Apple-esque. That was where it hit me that the thoughtful or lack of usage of custom elements provides an infinitely better experience. That is unless you are Bjango or Tapbots.

Instead of throwing all your custom elements onto your app to showcase your design prowess, consider that perhaps user experience is more important than just plain aesthetic appeal. A picture is still a picture unless it does something after all.

Apart form following Apple’s guidelines, there are some additional things that should matter when thinking about design for iPhone applications.

• Progressive Disclosure
  If there is not data to be displayed, removed the section completely from the tableview.
• Custom, but not so custom
  Add features, not graphics to UI elements provided. Users expect familiar controls, but also will be delighted to know if they also provide additional solid functionality. Cue Facebook’s usage of a UIButton in the Nav bar to bring you back to the home view.
• Performance
  No one wants a slow performing application. 
• Flow
  At the end, it is also largely about information architecture. How and where you display/gather information and how they are related to each other. This provides context and easy understanding for the various functions of your App.

You don’t have to be an design god to make applications that work fantastically. Even little tweaks can help immensely.