Designing an iOS Tablet Casino App

UX to Wire-framing to final UI

Interactive PDF Clients are finding it increasingly beneficial to actually click or tap through a proposed user journey. With Adobe Acrobat and the UX Design Tool Omingraffle, here I create a clickable prototype. Simply download the PDF below, launch full screen in Acrobat either on your PC monitor or tablet for tailored interactivity.

Caveat: Its a prototype, so inevitably there will be some gremlins!

 CCW_iOS_Tablet_Casino_Redesign

Welcome to the world of tablet casino gameplay

Contrary to popular belief, casino players are not the wildest bunch. Serious players are only interested in one thing, the game. The route to that game isn’t so important. Fancy UI, extravagant menu systems with all the bells and whistles are not the way forward. More and more white space and using bigger type sizes, hit areas and buttons not only help this type of user but are very touch friendly translate across-platform and avoid a lot of refactoring.

So, key drivers here were familiar menus, mass content and game play.

Handling Cross-Channel Consistency

As with every project, there is always some baggage. This one came in the form of its baby brother, the iOS mobile version. Although only on its infancy itself, there was a president already set for the UX.

Easy access to every game using an simple user journey

Treat your home page as a shop window

Using the ‘shop window’ metaphor, this was the place to exhibit your wares. To show off your new releases, latest promotion s and tour game categories. I have been using “Kiosk style” buttons more and more recently – i.e rather than present 4 radio buttons options, opt for the more visual display of text in rounded corner boxes (which actually aids in spatial recall and creates a bigger hit target)

Showcase your ‘Game page’

Immediate immersion vs laborious registration processes – this comes from the game design world where you follow with account info after someone’s “played” or interacted with you service.

Quick access with mini lobby functionality

In game access to all other games. Drop-down and slide out drawer options are currently en vogue. Load them with information and graphics with “minimal” styling – keep in mind greys or desaturated colours and use bright colours to draw attention..

Increased focus on intelligent and well placed legible typography. Consideration around extra long game title and of course, language translations are top of the UX list here.

On-Boarding

The users first interaction with your experience, so make a good first impression! Big type sizes, big hit areas and big buttons with plenty of white space – so that Web apps might also be touch friendly w/o a lot of refactoring.

Last Played / Favourites

What I’ll call “As you need it” functionality – instead of functionality being exposed by default, it’s presented in a series of sequenced moments (clicking on “add a comment” link or box turns into expanded box with more options, OR rating something exposes a comment field

Auto save functionality (vs big “Save” button)

Login and Open an Account

Inline expanding areas for additional information/actions and single column layouts – less distracting and mobile ready with  friendly, conversational language around form elements. Here there is also a focus on content being given proper information design treatment font hierarchy and type sizes, caps and shading, etc. to aid in understanding, all wrapped in appropriate and well chosen typography.

Conclusion

Overall I was keen to push very subtle textures and draw lite contrasts that guides the eye through a page. Fortunately modern screens can handle these delicacies better than the monitors I’m designing them on!

Keep things consistence, and keep them simple. Reflect back to sister applications and build some parallels. Appreciate pre-defined paradigms, and follow existing patterns to drop that cognitive load. Take a lead from retail, and exploit the ‘shop-window’ metaphor and finally, make your registration gradual and progressive. Slowly ease the user ‘through the casino doors’ by making login seamless.

A big ask I know – but this is the challenge of the modern-day UX-er.