Putting it all together

Figure: Visual design examples

An understanding of devices, technologies, and design principles provides a solid foundation to enable good visual design, but in the end, it’s all about the execution. When you are designing for a small device with many contexts of use, visual design has an opportunity to work hand-in-hand with engineering, interaction, and product design to ensure that users’ needs are met and respected every step of the way.

It may be tempting to believe that given its many constraints, design for mobile is far too limited to truly be creative. This is far from the case. As a visual designer, you will have many opportunities to contribute to the success of a project, and it’s often in the details that visual design truly shines. Mobile design can be challenging, but within the challenges, there are many opportunities to rediscover and focus visual design on what really matters — the creation of thoughtful, well-conceived, and easy-to-use products and services.