Whip your pixels into shape: theme development – part 2

In our previous discussion we looked at what type of audience you should prepare your theme. Today we will look at design. Design plays probably the one of the most important rolls in theme development. A design can very quickly make or break a theme.

What makes up theme design and development?

Audience
Designing
Development
Testing
Pricing
Examples

2. Design – designing a theme is a challenge and comes in two (2) core parts.
(1) First, what type of theme do you do? What color scheme? What do I hope to achieve by using this theme? Do more people use a today area, or do most prefer icon screens, or is it the “L” theme most enjoy? The list goes on, but those are the primary questions. When developing a theme it is wise to poll your audience. There are several places and ways theme developers go about doing this. They post polls on Twitter (twtpoll is my favorite) or a lot of developers use the CrackBerry.com forums to find out what their users desire. When you have your polling location setup, send a link to anyone and everyone you know who uses a BlackBerry.

(2) Second, decide for what models you’re going to design the theme to be used on. Is this going to be strictly a Pearl theme? Do I really want to design for all (7) current models (oh yes, there are seven variations that will be discussed later)? Don’t just sit idly by when the results roll in. Use all of those results to form the best theme possible. Try different layouts in a design program such as Ulead PhotoImpact or Adobe Photoshop before committing to a final design. Poor over the web for inspiration in everything from other phones to websites to print ads. Spend lots and lots of time perfecting every little detail down to the very last pixel of placement.

Be very careful when creating your design. Pay attention to every detail, leave nothing undone. Do not rush through a design just for the sake of getting it complete.

Design complaints – below are a few of the major complaints that I have either seen or have had complained to me in past designs.

Incomplete design – This is when there are a few icons changed, and some different backgrounds.
Uncustomizeable home screen – I have seen lots of people say that they love the theme but because the icons on the home screen are not changeable to suit a user’s needs.
Uncustomizeable fonts – This is probably the biggest complaint that I have ever received and the biggest I’ve ever seen. Users prefer to have their phone setup the way they want. What may seen like a great font choice in your opinion may not be big enough or small enough for every user.

If your overall goal is to appeal to as many as possible, make sure you keep those few complaints in mind.

I hope this has provided you with some insight into how to go about choosing a design and to be patient when designing. You don’t have to be creative to design a great theme. Passion and a will to learn will show through just fine.

Stay tuned for Development.