Things you should (and must) know before you design and develop cross-platform applications. And even if you are developing your app only for one platform, it is always essential to know the official design principles for the platform you are designing and developing for.
For designers and developers (devigners?) ;)
Follow these Cross-platform guidelines from Google, Apple, and Microsoft (there are guidelines even for Linux distros) before you develop your application, note that there are also guidelines for the wearable devices (smart-watches etc.). Check out the attached URL’s below, And you are more than welcome to add your own links.
Microsoft
- Microsoft Windows Fluent Design principles
- Windows UWP Guidelines for developers
- Windows UWP Effective pixels (responsive)
- Windows UWP and Windows.UI framework
- Android Mobile guidelines
- Android Wearable guidelines
- Android TV guidelines
- Universal Material Design guidelines
Apple
- iOS guidelines
- watchOS guidelines
- TvOS guidelines
- MacOS guidelines
What about Linux?
Well, there are Design guidelines even for Linux, in fact, each desktop environment has its own unique guidelines. And there are so many Linux Distros (distributions) with so many UX approaches and philosophies, but I’m gonna focus only on the popular desktop environments that I tried myself.
As a professional UX designer, I love Elementary OS, and Ubuntu Mate, because you get that Mac-like UX out of the box (Pantheon & Cupertino Desktop).
Elementary OS
- ElemetaryOS UX Guidelines
- ElementaryOS Dev center
- The best Linux Distro for Mac users!
Gnome
- Gnome UI elements
- Gnome Design principles
- Gnome Design patterns
KDE
- KDE Design principles
- KDE Visual design
Canonical
- Canonical’s Ubuntu Convergence (Canceled: they’ve switched to Gnome)
- Canonical’s Ubuntu Convergence Visual design
Update:
If you are a UI/UX designer or a UX developer: Check out my article about the best FOSS and Free alternatives for professional design and creative tools.
Originally published by Avi Barel at StartUX on August 2, 2015.
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