A guide to get you started in iOS development

Thread. Learn SwiftUI. It’s the easiest way to get an app out. It’s like CSS+JS reinvented and you can do so much out of the box. Here’s a video to start: developer.apple.com/videos/play/ww… - you’ll need Xcode 13 and macOS Big Sur or Monterey.

This is how I would start UI design for iOS in 2022 👇 Learn UI patterns. Redesign your favorite apps. Here’s a resource for studying the most common screens: mobbin.design/browse/ios/apps

I really got into VR lately because of the Quest 2 and Valve Index. If AR is as immersive and not via the phone aka AirPods Max with a screen, I’m in. It could also work directly with AirPods/iPhone and offer a standalone glass. Part of me wishes it can switch between AR and VR because of immersion vs utility.

An early designer will try to follow rules. An experienced designer will learn to break rules. What makes you an expert isn’t your ability to execute based on predefined rules but to know when to break them and make new ones.

Last year, it felt like I was experimenting with SwiftUI. This year, it feels like I’m building a real app. First, I’m embracing the Sidebar, which means everything has to work with the Nav bar and alternatively the Tab bar. A side effect is that your app looks more consistent with the OS with little effort and navigation can go very deep.

A UI thread on iOS 14 and Big Sur.

First, it’s clear that the Tab bar/Nav bar will be replaced by Sidebar/Toolbar on iPad and Mac. Tab bar is great for small screens, one-tap navigation and thumb reach. Skeuomorphism isn’t fully back yet, but the Mac has been persistent at keeping it. 7 years ago, it was way too flat and with each year, we’ve been unflattening with more shadows, gradients and blur. For icons, that’s another story.

Since I’ve been focusing on SwiftUI, I haven’t had the chance to teach UI design much. But here’s a thread on what I’ve observed about iOS 13. Since phones are taller, most interactive items are on the bottom portion of the screen. That’s why the Tab bar is recommended, along with Share/Menu UIs coming from bottom. Bottom card UIs are being increasingly used, following the footsteps of Maps.

I received over 300 job applicants over DMs and email because of a tweet. I went through all of them. This has been my experience so far. Thread. Most applicants are early designers/coders just needing some mentorship. Some want to switch roles. They started design or code roughly 9 months ago using online courses, boot camps or as part of 100 days of a design/code challenge.

The React course saved us from shrinking our team. We’re self-funded. It’s incredibly hard to sustain one person working full-time, let alone 9 people. The crazy thing is that we’re going to grow now. I learned so much as a founder over the past year. Thread. The biggest lesson I learned was to rely more on my team. Relying more doesn’t mean working less. It just means that I can shift to creating more. I will personally write more courses, and my team will increasingly contribute to the courses and products we build.

When I was 30, I moved to SF to pursue my dream. It was, for a year. But then I was denied a visa to continue work. My world was shattered, and I decided to travel. I wasn’t going to let that decide what I should do with my life. I wrote a book. Thread. I didn’t expect much. Never wrote anything more than a 5-min article. But it did so well that it allowed to travel for 2 years. At the end of that long journey, we wanted to start a family. We were then blessed with a baby boy, so we settled back in Canada, near Montreal.