UI/UX

Top 10 Mobile App UI of September 2017

September 26, 2017

It’s nearly the end of the month and you know what that means—it’s time for our monthly roundup of the top 10 mobile app UI designs! Fall is finally here, and as we get ready for cool weather and shorter days, a great selection of intricate designs can keep us smiling. Let’s get started on these apps.

1. Hypno Cam by HYPNO®

We live in an increasingly visual world. We snap pictures and videos everywhere we go and share them on social media with friends, family, and strangers alike. Hypno Cam takes videos from your camera roll (or videos you take in-app) and gives them a different feel based on the filter you choose. But it goes beyond just a different color tint; the hypnotic filters give videos trippy, celestial vibes that are instantly shareable. The mobile app UI itself is incredibly simple. It includes a few buttons to time the video, switch your camera view, add a filter and music, then download to share it out. Simple. Fun. What’s not to love?

A photo of Hypno Cam, Top 10 Mobile App UI of September 2017Source:  iTunes

2. tbh by Midnight Lab

Bullying is a big problem among young people, especially with social media at their fingertips. A new app aiming to kick bullying to the curb is tbh, and it’s spreading like wildfire. It’s an app that has friends and peers interact anonymously, but only through compliments. It sends around anonymous polls and helps determine who the best party planner is, for example. It’s like an addictive game in that users can complete fun surveys about people they know and collect “gems” when they’re chosen according to survey results. The mobile app UI is full of emojis and bright colors, perfect for its middle and high school target market. It presents the surveys as games and has a bright background, emoji that goes with the question at hand, and four friends as options to pick from. They smartly keep the gems users collect in the top right corner to act as an ever-present incentive to keep playing. This app is already a big hit among youth, and as it becomes available in more states, it’s sure to continue its upward trajectory.

A photo of tbh, Top 10 Mobile App UI of September 2017

3. Trove by StyleApp Inc.

If you love fashion, this app is for you. Trove is a style experience app on which users can follow top fashion bloggers to get the inside scoop on outfit ideas that are immediately shoppable. Discover new styles, products, and more with this fashionable app. Save all the items you like in your “personal closet” and checkout when you’re ready or just keep them there for inspiration. As you can imagine, Trove is very image-centric. User feeds are full of outfit ideas and it is all pulled together in a sleek and minimal design, with pastel accents for call-to-action buttons.

A photo of Trove, Top 10 Mobile App UI of September 2017Source:  iTunes

4. Swiipe by Alex Goodison

Swiipe is a news app fresh off the press by a 14-year-old developer. This youngster isn’t doing any swiping on Tinder, but he certainly gets the design trend. The idea is simple: users can easily catch up on the news by swiping left to bypass a news story, swipe right to save it for later, and tap it to read the article right then and there. It’s an interactive take on news consumption, and I’m keen to see if this new concept takes off. The design helps users focus on the news, with tabs for new and saved stories, categories along the top, and settings to change the publications you follow quickly. Even if the app doesn’t take off, this kid is sure to have a bright future after the great reception this project received.

A photo of Swiipe, Top 10 Mobile App UI of September 2017

5. Bloom by brainbow

Adults no longer have to miss out on the arts and crafts fun—coloring books and apps are now for everyone. Bloom is a fun coloring book app that also lets users match colors they find out in the world and add them to their repertoire. After you capture the colors that pique your interest, you can put them to use in your intricate designs by respected artists. This app is a ton of fun because it helps you unwind and also has an element of personalization with the color capture feature. The color selection wheel is my favorite part of the mobile app UI design because it lets users spin through the color options and stop on the one they wish to use. Overall, Bloom is a beautifully designed app that fits in perfectly with their aim to help users relax.

A photo of Bloom, Top 10 Mobile App UI of September 2017Source:  iTunes

6. Islands by Islands Media

Like tbh, Islands is taking students by storm, only this time it’s college students. Yik Yak had been a popular choice for anonymous campus chatter, but it had a number of problems that slowly led to its demise. Islands is the newest way to interact with your campus, such as getting the scoop on where the best party of the weekend will be. The creator calls it “Slack for College,” since users create channels and use them to communicate with those around them. This app packs a lot in, from group chat forums to share pictures with your followers to DMing folks. Islands has been a great success at the limited schools where it has launched so far, and if that continues, it might just go nationwide. The colorful color palette it follows makes it a very enjoyable mobile app UI that college kids are sure to like.

A photo of Islands, Top 10 Mobile App UI of September 2017

7. Style Music by Julian Ostarek

Style Music is a music and radio app that helps Android users stream music. It has light and dark modes, depending on your preferences, which change the entire theme of the app. The app helps you discover and listen to radio stations from all over and add songs to your queue. If you want to move away from your phone, it can also stream music to your other devices. The music player puts minimal material design at its core and aims to reduce clutter so that users can focus on the music they’re listening to.

A photo of Style Music, Top 10 Mobile App UI of September 2017

8. Marco Polo Video Walkie Talkie by Joya Communications

In such a globalized world, we have friends and family thousands of miles away. Staying in touch with those near and far just got easier with Marco Polo. It features a bright turquoise contact page with images of all of your chat buddies on Marco Polo. You can choose to video chat with one person or a whole group of friends. Once in the chat, the fun begins. Users can doodle on their face, use filters, and more to personalize video chat further. There is a button to add more people to the chat in the top left corner of the screen. Along the bottom are all those included in the video chat. It’s a very straightforward mobile app UI that improves the video chat experience.

Get Marco Polo on Android and iOS.

A photo of Marco Polo, Top 10 Mobile App UI of September 2017Source:  iTunes

9. Fabulous by The Fabulous

Sometimes we all need an extra little kick to stay motivated. Fabulous is a motivation app that helps users improve habits and decrease stress. The app helps with a number of things, such as encouraging users to drink more water, take a moment to meditate, and take action to lose weight. It has a very animated UI, with color schemes that go along with the goal it aims to help the user with. For example, the meditation section has more muted colors, while the sleep improvement section has dark colors that fit a nighttime theme. It even won Google’s Material Design Award for Most Charming Engagement!

Get Fabulous on Android and sign up for iOS beta here.

A photo of Fabulous, Top 10 Mobile App UI of September 2017Source: The Fabulous

10. Gratus by Francisco Franco

In today’s world, it can be so easy to get caught up with all the negative news and energy out there. But we all need to be able to remove ourselves from that and focus on the positive to strike a balance. Once you log into Gratus, it asks you what you’re grateful for. Users can upload images and write text, then tag friends who also use the app to get notified. Get reminders when you need them of things you’re grateful for, especially when you’re having a bad day. Scroll through your feed of grateful notes and look on the bright side. Gratus has charming hand drawn icons to add to notes you make within the app. All of this comes together in a simple mobile app UI design, with just a few buttons to add new notes, “like” them, and adjust your settings.

A photo of Gratus, Top 10 Mobile App UI of September 2017Source: Google Play

That wraps up the apps for September, but if you’d like to explore some of our other favorite mobile app UI designs, check out our August installment.

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