there are firms that specify native ui, but if you are not developing for those firms, please, donât stick with native ui. iosâs flat paradigm is largely ugly and makes every screen look like a 1990âs web page. material design is interesting, but looks like everywhere you turn, it was just trying to not be ios. windoze is dreadful (but, even in windows there are elements to copy - for example, windows was the first os that used asymmetric radio buttons/sliders, which are much, much clearer than the original ones).
even at firms that demand ânativeâ, my experience is that rule is the first one to be tossed. make your apps compelling, and then let the zealots come for you. âHowabout, âNoâ,â has gotten me through more design reviews, because, in the end, the zealot loses to all the users saying âOooh, shiny!â
i disagree with @andyb, that you need an expensive designer to achieve that goal. if you canât or donât want to do it yourself, then, sure, you probably need someone who can. are they really that expensive? maybe i picked the wrong career. good design isnât cheap. GREAT design is only slightly more difficult than good design. a long time ago, i realized that it takes me, all told, between the design, fiddling, coding, re-fiddling, prototyping, perfecting, theming, yadda/yadda/yadda an average of about eight hours per screen. i can confidently price every app, accordingly. every screen, no matter how simple or complex, will average eight hours, when it doesnât suck any more. the compliments i receive upon delivery confirm that itâs time well-spent (and, letâs be honest, itâs the hardest, most intense, most fulfilling and the most fun part of building any app).
i tend to briefly review platform design guidelines, and revisions for all platforms (because there are good ideas and terrible ideas in every one), then steal good ideas from apps/designers/physical objects that i come across, mix in some screwing around, and then invent my own thing.
the result is that no two apps i have ever built (and, iâve built a lot) look alike. theyâre all different. they do not go out the door if they arenât gorgeous, because they hurt my eyes if they arenât. they all end up being different because the users have different needs, different color palettes, and as time goes on, i stumble upon objects in the real world, and app designs/elements/controls that i think deserve to be copied, and then also terrible elements that need to be discarded and avoided at all costs. many design elements make it from one project to another. some even live through several projects over multiple years.
native is easy. you can settle for easy. easy is probably good enough. i canât stand good enough.
