Mobile app design, tested with real users
Our mobile app design services turn an app idea into clear requirements, user flows, wireframes and a clickable prototype for iPhone and Android. You can put the prototype in front of real users before any production code is written, so the big decisions are tested while a change still costs hours, not weeks.
What mobile app design services include
Mobile app design covers two layers. UX design decides how the app works: who it is for, what the first version must do, and the path people take from opening the app to finishing the task they came for. UI design decides how it looks and feels: type, color, icons, buttons and motion, adapted to iPhone and Android so each version feels at home on its platform.
We design before anyone writes code because a prototype is the cheapest place to be wrong. Moving a step in a booking flow takes an afternoon in a design file and weeks in a finished app. The tested prototype then becomes the brief for development: every screen, every state and every error message is drawn, so developers can quote accurately and build exactly what was agreed.
Signs your app needs design first
- You have an app idea but no screens yet
- Developers keep asking questions nobody has answered
- People get lost or give up in your current app
- You want to test the idea before paying for code
- Your iPhone and Android apps feel like different products
What’s included in our mobile app design services
Strategy, UX and UI design, from the first workshop to a prototype tested with users.
App strategy and requirements
Who the app is for, the jobs it must do and a first version scoped to what matters, agreed in writing.
User flows
Every path through the app mapped, from first open and sign-up to the task people came to do.
Wireframes
Simple layouts for every screen, so structure and content are settled before visual design starts.
UI design for iPhone and Android
Type, color, icons and reusable components, adapted to your brand and to each platform’s conventions.
Clickable prototype
Linked screens that open on a phone and behave like the real app, ready to show users, staff or investors.
User testing and handoff
Test sessions with people from your audience, changes made from what we see, then specs ready for development.
Mobile app design in depth
Three parts of app design that decide whether people keep using the app after the first week.
UX decisions that come before any visuals
Most apps lose people at the same moments: a long sign-up form, a permission request with no explanation, an empty screen on first open, an error message that doesn’t say what to do next. We map these moments in the user flows and wireframes, decide what the app asks for and when, and design the empty, loading, error and offline states alongside the main path. That work is invisible in a screenshot and very visible in reviews.
Designing for iPhone and Android
Apple’s Human Interface Guidelines and Google’s Material Design differ in navigation, back behavior, controls and system dialogs. We design one product with one brand, then adapt the details so each version behaves the way its users expect. Accessibility is part of the design from the start: readable contrast, touch targets large enough for any thumb, text that scales with the phone’s settings, and layouts that work with VoiceOver and TalkBack.
Testing the prototype before code
A clickable prototype lets real people try the app on a phone. We give them a few realistic tasks, such as booking an appointment or finding an order, and watch where they hesitate. A handful of short sessions usually shows the biggest problems. We fix them, test again where needed and only then hand over the design, so development starts from something that has already worked in front of users.
How our mobile app design process works
Discovery to a tested prototype in clear phases, with a progress update every week and a monthly report.
- Step 01
Discovery
Goals, users and the first version agreed, with a scope and a price for the design work.
- Step 02
Flows and wireframes
Every screen mapped and laid out, reviewed with you in short rounds.
- Step 03
UI design and prototype
Your brand applied to every screen, linked into a clickable prototype for iPhone and Android.
- Step 04
Test and hand off
Sessions with real users, final changes, then specs and assets ready for development.
Why Griffon for mobile app design
The people who design your app work in the same team as the developers who build it and the marketers who launch it, so every screen is designed with the build, store review and the first users in mind. We also publish and support apps of our own on iPhone and Android, so our plans cover the months after launch.
Once the work is paid in full, the designs, the prototype and the source files are yours. We can build the app with you, or your own developers can work from the specs without starting over.
Part of our Mobile app development ↗2 hours
our usual reply to a new inquiry, one business day at most
Weekly
progress updates, plus a monthly report with the data and the work done
One team
strategy, design, development and marketing under one roof
You own it
the design, code and accounts are yours once the work is paid in full
Questions about mobile app design, answered
What do mobile app design services include?
Requirements, user flows, wireframes, UI design for iPhone and Android, a clickable prototype and testing with real users. You finish with a tested design and the specs developers need to build it.
Why design the app before development starts?
Because changes are cheap in a prototype and expensive in code. A tested design also lets developers quote accurately and build what was agreed, which makes the budget far easier to hold.
Can we test the app before it is built?
Yes. The clickable prototype runs on a phone and behaves like the real app. We put it in front of people from your audience, watch where they hesitate and fix the design before production code.
How long does mobile app design take?
It depends on the number of screens and flows. We agree the scope and timeline in discovery, before design starts, and you get a progress update every week until handoff.
Who owns the designs?
You do. Once the work is paid in full, the designs, the prototype and the source files are yours, whether we build the app or another team does.
Get a free app proposal
A 30-minute call. No deck, no pressure. Bring the site, the numbers and the goal, and leave with a plan and a price.