With the action-packed latest keynote stream at the Steve Jobs theatre, Apple unveiled a smorgasbord of innovation. Starting from the top dog, the new series of iPhone range from the 10.2-inch retina display iPad, the Series 5 Apple Watch to Apple arcade and Apple TV+; CEO Tim Cook got the Apple devotees all worked up at the event.
Unleashing the new range of Apple iPhones:
Featured with an ultra-wide triple camera, a super-powerful bionic A13 chipset with focus on Machine learning across the chip; and 4K video capturing with image stabilization at 60fps; Tim Cook introduced the new iPhone and then handed off to Phil Schiller for the walkthrough.
Starting from a price range of $699 and being available in three variants i.e. iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max, Apple’s new launch took the adherents by the big billow. Losing share to local rivals in China seems to be betting that a lower-price point on its iPhone series and improved marketing can help move the needle.
Now selfie is a word of the past. With 12 MP slo-mo selfie capture at 120 fps or 4K at 60fps Apple gave the Gen Z a new buzz word, “Slofie”. The sleek compact design with a super retina XDR display makes the phone splash-proof, water-resistant and even dust resistant.
As per critics, the iPhone 11 is somewhat an upgraded version of iPhone XR. How badly do you want to save $100, is the biggest question of the hour.
Apple Watch Series 5:
The redesigned, bigger and smarter upgrade with customisable watch faces of the Apple Watch marks the beginning of the end of the war on bezels. The Apple Watch Series 5 marked the return of ceramic and the introduction of titanium.
Health and fitness are always the major focus, with communications being the minor. Apple in its new launch of smartwatch, besides the always-on retina display and compass, added the feature of a complete fitness band.
Apple iPad:
Creating more hustle and no hassle for the consumers. Apple launches it’s 10.2- inch retina display iPad with A10 fusion power chip for gaming. Powered by an 8MP back camera and a face time HD cam the new Apple iPad, now has a battery life of 10 hours.
Accessorised with a full-size smart keyboard and an Apple pencil makes it suitable for many productivity tasks from school assignments to official presentations; making it a struggle-free option for every situation.
Apple Arcade and Apple TV+:
Unlike any other game subscription services, the Apple Arcade comes with more than 100 incredibly exciting new sets of games. Designed by the top innovative developers of the world. With unlimited access to all the games, Apple Arcade is priced at a monthly subscription of only $4.99.
Not much to offer for the mass Indian consumers at the moment; Apple TV+ would be an upcoming American ad-free subscription, video-on-demand web television service.
TV+ will have far less than the deep catalogues offered by Hulu and Netflix. Though priced at $4.99/month, it will be years before Apple TV+ helps the company’s bottom line.
Apple’s September event was coupled with some hardware tweaks and surprising price drops.
Let us know what grabbed your attention about this year? If you missed the other major events of the year read our snapshots of Facebook F8 2019 and Google i/O 2019.
To know us in person, drop a Hi at hello@mantralabsglobal.com
Knowledge thats worth delivered in your inbox
Next Post
Design Systems: Building and Maintaining Consistent UI/UX
In the world of product design, consistency is the cornerstone of delivering a seamless user experience. As digital products evolve and scale, the challenge of maintaining design consistency across multiple platforms, teams, and touchpoints becomes more complex. This is where design systems come in. A design system is a comprehensive set of guidelines, components, and tools that help designers and developers create a consistent and cohesive user interface (UI) and user experience (UX). From a designer’s perspective, building and maintaining a design system requires a strategic approach to ensure scalability, flexibility, and alignment with business goals.
Why Design Systems Matter?
Design systems are more than just style guides or pattern libraries. They offer a unified language for design and development, bridging the gap between creativity and functionality. Here are a few reasons why they are critical:
Consistency Across Products
One of the primary goals of a design system is to ensure uniformity across different platforms and devices. When users interact with a product, whether on a website or a mobile app, they expect a consistent experience. A well-implemented design system ensures that visual elements, interactions, and behaviors are aligned, offering a familiar and intuitive experience for users.
2. Faster Iteration
With a design system in place, teams can reuse components and patterns rather than reinventing the wheel for each new feature. This speeds up the design and development process, allowing teams to focus on solving new problems instead of reworking existing designs. For designers, it means less time spent on repetitive tasks and more time dedicated to innovation.
3. Scalability
As products grow and new features are added, maintaining a coherent UI/UX without a design system can become chaotic. A design system provides a scalable framework, enabling teams to add new elements or modules without compromising the overall consistency of the product.
4. Improved Collaboration
A design system fosters collaboration between designers, developers, and other stakeholders by providing a shared language and reference point. This ensures that design decisions are communicated effectively, reducing friction and misunderstandings between teams.
Building a Design System: A Designer’s Perspective
Designing a system from scratch can seem like a daunting task, but with a clear roadmap and understanding of core principles, it becomes a powerful tool for creating scalable and user-centered products.
1. Define the Core Principles
Before diving into visual components, it’s essential to establish the core principles of your design system. These principles serve as the foundation and guide decision-making throughout the process. Ask yourself:
• What are the key values of your brand?
• How should the design reflect the needs and emotions of users?
• What goals are you trying to achieve with your design system (e.g., accessibility, flexibility, innovation)?
For instance, if accessibility is a top priority, you’ll need to ensure that your design system accommodates users with different abilities, by providing color contrast guidelines, clear typographic hierarchies, and accessible components.
2. Create a Unified Visual Language
Once the principles are established, the next step is creating a cohesive visual language. This includes defining elements such as:
• Color Palette: A well-structured color palette ensures harmony across different UI components. It’s crucial to include primary, secondary, and accent colors, along with usage guidelines to avoid inconsistency.
• Typography: Define a typography system that establishes hierarchies and clarity, including font styles, sizes, line heights, and spacing. Consistent typography helps users navigate content effortlessly.
• Spacing and Grids: An established grid system ensures a balanced layout and harmony between different UI elements. Proper spacing guidelines prevent crowded or misaligned components.
• Iconography and Illustrations: Design guidelines for icons and illustrations help maintain visual consistency. Icons should follow a standard style (outlined, filled) and size, ensuring they align with the overall visual language.
(I
Iconography and Illustrations: Design guidelines for icons and illustrations help maintain visual consistency. Icons should follow a standard style (outlined, filled) and size, ensuring they align with the overall visual language.
3. Design Reusable Components
A design system is incomplete without reusable UI components. These components include buttons, forms, modals, and navigation elements that can be used across various features and pages. Each component should be:
• Modular: Components should be flexible and adaptable for different contexts. For example, a button should have variations for different states (hover, active, disabled) and types (primary, secondary, destructive).
• Documented: Each component needs comprehensive documentation that explains how it should be used, its variants, and the rules governing its application. This ensures consistency when different team members use the same component.
4. Implement Accessibility Guidelines
Accessibility should be at the forefront of every design system. As a designer, consider:
• Color Contrast: Ensure sufficient contrast between text and background for readability.
• Keyboard Navigation: Ensure that interactive components are navigable via keyboard for users who rely on keyboard shortcuts.
• Responsive Design: Components should be responsive, adapting seamlessly across different screen sizes and devices.
• Assistive Technologies: Design components should be compatible with screen readers and other assistive technologies to provide an inclusive experience.
Maintaining a Design System: Evolving with the Product
Once a design system is in place, the work doesn’t stop there. Maintaining it requires ongoing effort as the product evolves and new design challenges emerge. Here’s how designers can ensure the design system remains relevant and effective:
1. Regular Audits and Updates
A design system should be treated as a living document that evolves with the product. Regular audits are necessary to identify outdated or unused components. Designers should collaborate with developers to ensure new features are aligned with the existing design system, and updates should be documented to avoid fragmentation.
2. Version Control and Documentation
Version control is essential for keeping track of changes in the design system. Documenting why and how changes are made ensures that the design system grows in an organized manner. It also helps onboard new team members quickly, as they can reference updated guidelines.
3. Foster Collaboration Across Teams
Designers need to maintain an open line of communication with developers and other teams using the design system. Tools like Figma, Sketch, and Zeplin allow designers to share components and guidelines in real-time, fostering collaboration and ensuring that everyone is aligned.
Some well-known examples of design systems that have set benchmarks in the industry:
Overview: Google’s Material Design is one of the most comprehensive design systems available. It provides guidelines on how to create visual, motion, and interaction design across platforms and devices. Material Design is known for its grid-based layouts, responsive animations, and depth effects like shadows and lighting.
Features:
Comprehensive color palettes, typography, and iconography.
Overview: Salesforce’s Lightning Design System provides a comprehensive library of UI components and resources to help build applications on the Salesforce platform. It ensures a consistent experience across Salesforce products and enables developers to create custom apps easily.
Features:
Ready-to-use components, design tokens, and code snippets.
Comprehensive accessibility guidelines to ensure inclusivity.
Detailed documentation for developers to integrate components into Salesforce applications.
Overview: Fluent Design is Microsoft’s design system, created to provide an engaging and scalable UI across all Microsoft products. It is heavily focused on interaction, animation, and motion while ensuring accessibility across various device ecosystems.
Features:
Focus on depth, motion, and light to create modern and interactive UIs.
Cross-platform components supporting web, desktop, and mobile applications.
Accessible components with detailed guidelines for developers.
Conclusion
Building and maintaining a design system is an investment that pays off in the long run. It ensures consistency across your product, improves collaboration between teams, and allows for faster iteration and scalability. For designers, a design system is more than a collection of reusable components — it’s a framework that enables you to create user-centric products with confidence and clarity. By embracing modularity, documentation, and accessibility, you’ll ensure that your design system remains a valuable asset as your product grows.
About the Author:
Shristi is a creative professional with a passion for visual storytelling. She recently transitioned from the world of video and motion graphics to the exciting field of product design at Mantra Labs. When she’s not designing, she enjoys watching movies, traveling, and sharing her experiences through vlogs.
Knowledge thats worth delivered in your inbox
Next Post
Loading More Posts
Connect with Us!
Thanks for reaching out
Our Sales Team will be in touch with you shortly.
Hello Stranger! Please fill in a few details,and you’ll receive a link to this case study.