Creating a basic PSD for developing an Android user interface for an mdpi, 320 / 480px device

Question

I am starting my first work on the design of an Android phone. I have some experience with the iPhone, iPad design, but Android is completely different, I'm not even sure how to create a basic template.

Here is the device information I'm going to create. an application that will only work on this device does not need multiple screen compatibility.

• Mdpi
• 256K color
• 3.5 "
• ~ 165ppi pixel density
• 320px / 480px

So, can I create my photoshop file for resolution 320px / 480px, 72px, rgb?

It helps to appreciate !!!

Answer 1

Google has created a whole site dedicated to your needs: http://developer.android.com/design/index.html

In your case, the PSD settings should be configured as follows:

NOTE / EDIT: Note that DPI is set to 72 by default. This is because DPI is the metadata for printers. When you read DPI in phone specifications, they talk about a physical idea of ​​how far the LCD is packed from each other. Image resolution (320x640) is the only thing you need to take care of.

Answer 2

Have you viewed the Android Design website? It is specially designed for ... designers.

Check out the device section, which also supports multiple screens , to get an idea of ​​what the general categories of screen sizes are and what are the acceptable size and range for them.

Android generally uses DIP (Independent Pixel Display), so the actual pixels per inch depend on the screen you create the artwork on. You must design for large, large, medium and small screens with different densities. The general advice is to start with medium-density screens, and then you can increase the density and decrease it in your works as needed. The link above gives the total dp sizes for each screen size and screen density ranges of different types of screens. There should also be information about converting dp to pixels.

While Google is unhappy with what you ask for (design for one device in particular), you said that the device should be 166ppi, so you can just use 165 pixels / inch in the settings and set the PSD height and width depending on the size your screen (regardless of its width and height in inches).

This Smashing Magazine Android development article should really help. It is old, but relevant.

Answer 3

Android is very different. If you learn to use the properties offered by android correctly, this works fine.

Quote from developer.android.com

Each screen size offers different opportunities and challenges for user interaction, so in order to really satisfy and impress your users, your application should go beyond just supporting multiple screens: it should optimize the user experience for each screen configuration.

There are some tools you should know, such as draw9patch

The best thing to do is simply create a layout in Photoshop to make the layout smaller. It doesn't matter what size it is if you have a rectangular shape. Make your own layout, and then start embedding it in Android.

Lots of great online tutorials, but as I mentioned earlier. Create your layout, then start customizing it for android using tools like draw9patch

Answer 4

Because you said your screen was ~ 165ppi, ppi = pixel per inch. In addition, Android docs describe 160dp as the common size for MDPI. - Ali February 7 at 22:22

so why in Google samples (for example: IDEName \ AndroidSDK \ samples \ android-8 \ NotePad \ res \ drawable-hdpi) if there is an open image (for example: app_notes.png) in Photoshop and press ctrl + alt + i to see the resolution its 72dpi! but Ali says that MDPI = 160dpi, HDPI = 240, ...

therefore, it should be 240dpi, not 72dpi.

Answer 5

The requirement of a bitmap is similar to preparing graphics for printing compared to a network. If you have experience with printing, you will see that the 72 PPI image will look very uneven and blurry when scaling and printing. Instead, you will need to redo the image as a vector image or use a high-resolution photo, and then set the file resolution to about 300 PPI to print without loss of image quality. The screen density for Android works similarly, except that the file resolution is not changed, only the image size (that is, the standard 72 PPI is fine).

Android smartphones and display sizes