Mobile apps are hot. Everyone’s got one, from grocery stores to travel companies to whisky distillers. Last week Rob Giggey began an interesting discussion about whether or not agencies/departments within a single government entity should have their own mobile apps.Should we separate a public library database search from emergency services and general info into their own independent apps or should they be under one large, overarching local government piece of software?

(Interesting stuff here….click to read the full post)

I discussed the design aspect of mobile apps with Jack Hernandez, my graphic artist at Red Boot Media. With nearly 15 years of professional graphic design experience and local government contact, Jack had an interesting take on mobile app design:

Structure and hierarchy need to be established. Before designing the actual apps, design guidelines for your organization. This step is more critical in today’s online landscape because of the accessibility to tools that give departments the capability to create apps, blogs and web pages instantly. Realize that an app is not a Website. It’s more like an interactive tool — specific to a user’s interests. With this in mind, we can’t approach the design of an app and expect to integrate everything but the kitchen sink into it. There should be a primary “hub” app that acts as a launching pad to a number of apps specific to departments or topics. Users can choose which apps to install according to their interests.

 

What’s your feeling on app design and content? What kind of content would be most valuable in your hand?