Apple releases iOS Human Interface Guidelines on iBookstore
Apple on Tuesday made an iPad-friendly version of its latest iOS Human Interface Guidelines reference material available to the public as a free download through the iBookstore.
Covering general design and content rules, Apple's 228-page iOS Human Interface Guidelines was previously available only through the company's Developer Portal. The iBooks release was first announced by Apple senior writer Dave Addey and subsequently reported by MacStories.
As seen in the image above, Apple has made an effort to translate the developer information into iPad-friendly iBooks content. Text and images are laid out in an easy to read manner that fits both portrait and landscape orientation.
Along with the usual iBooks features like page numbers, resizable fonts and annotation support, Apple's reference guide includes embedded videos further illustrating important topics. For example, the explanation for iOS app animations is augmented with a short six-second clip.
Apple's iOS Human Interface Guidelines is a free 20MB download from the iBookstore and is compatible with iOS devices running iOS 4.3.3 or later and iBooks 1.5 or later. Mac users can also access the e-book with iBooks 1.0 or later on a machine running OS X 10.9 or later.
Covering general design and content rules, Apple's 228-page iOS Human Interface Guidelines was previously available only through the company's Developer Portal. The iBooks release was first announced by Apple senior writer Dave Addey and subsequently reported by MacStories.
As seen in the image above, Apple has made an effort to translate the developer information into iPad-friendly iBooks content. Text and images are laid out in an easy to read manner that fits both portrait and landscape orientation.
Along with the usual iBooks features like page numbers, resizable fonts and annotation support, Apple's reference guide includes embedded videos further illustrating important topics. For example, the explanation for iOS app animations is augmented with a short six-second clip.
Apple's iOS Human Interface Guidelines is a free 20MB download from the iBookstore and is compatible with iOS devices running iOS 4.3.3 or later and iBooks 1.5 or later. Mac users can also access the e-book with iBooks 1.0 or later on a machine running OS X 10.9 or later.
Comments
The bulk of the technology does not change over time. This isn't API documentation per say.
Very nice, but won't this very soon be replaced with iOS 8 information?
I seriously doubt if Apple is going to "undo" anything in iOS7. Perhaps a few cosmetic tweaks. Perhaps functionality and feature enhancements. But as far as HIG goes, I can't see anything changing drastically.
Very nice, but won't this very soon be replaced with iOS 8 information?
I have an early HIG -- on paper! -- from when I had a IIGS in the 80s. It's surprising how little things have changed, in broad strokes, since then!
I have an early HIG -- on paper! -- from when I had a IIGS in the 80s. It's surprising how little things have changed, in broad strokes, since then!
That sounds like a cool collectible.
Neat, I like reading about user interfaces.
Top download from the comedy section.
Maybe the Apple internal developers will read it - and not ignore it.
Get over it. It has been a year. They’re not changing iOS 7.
That sounds like a cool collectible.
I have an early HIG -- on paper! -- from when I had a IIGS in the 80s. It's surprising how little things have changed, in broad strokes, since then!
I've still got mine also. Mine was published by Addison-Wesley and has a 1986 and 1987 copyright (ISBN 0-201-17753-6). While the screens within all look pretty clunky, the basic concepts of a GUI are so well expressed ("you select something, then take an action on it") that I still find it useful when managing coders who have never really formally studied UI and just design on instinct.
I have an early HIG -- on paper! -- from when I had a IIGS in the 80s. It's surprising how little things have changed, in broad strokes, since then!
Common sense wont change much!
Its not Windows GUI or Android GUI. So...
I've still got mine also. Mine was published by Addison-Wesley and has a 1986 and 1987 copyright (ISBN 0-201-17753-6). While the screens within all look pretty clunky, the basic concepts of a GUI are so well expressed ("you select something, then take an action on it") that I still find it useful when managing coders who have never really formally studied UI and just design on instinct.
I agree entirely.
We moved last summer so I can't actually put my hands on mine at the moment, but I'm going to try to figure out which box it's in to get the year. I believe it was Addison-Wesley, too, but I'm not sure if that narrows it down to a specific edition or not. Wikipedia needs a page on this!
I have Apple's Human Interface Guidelines book from the 90s (?), and it really seems like Apple has lost the path entirely with iOS 7. Mac OS X screwed up for a while in its first few major versions, too, but eventually fell into place again. If the next revision is going to get that flat UI BS of iOS 7, they're going to again ignore their own very well researched and written professional guidelines.
I still have Apple's CD-ROM version of the book which was created using Hypercard, I believe.
Very nice, but won't this very soon be replaced with iOS 8 information?
Yeah - where's the indications for stick-thin unreadable fonts, infantile candy coloring, and ambiguous button design?