AMMO Rack, for iPhone and iPad
Document managemant application for iOS from Amphetamobile.
AMMO Rack, 01 of 03
In May, 2011, thanks to Bojan Janjanin, I had an honor of working with the team behind Amphetamobile on their new document management app for iOS.
When Amphetamobile asked for my help, they already had a working prototype of the app and a general idea what they wanted it to become. Together, we took their ideas as a starting point and refined them. As a result, AMMO Rack was featured by Apple in U.S. App Store for over a week.
After initial exploring and reviewing different approaches we decided to go with a rack metaphor. The goal was to create a visual identity that communicates sturdiness. We wanted for the device to become a rack when it is used.
Application is able to store multiple categories of media, PDFs, photos or books, and we wanted to present that data all upfront. By using a rack metaphor where one shelf presents one category we where able to solve that problem.
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Shelfs
Every category has its own shelf and browsing is done by swiping left or right. Appearance and behavior of the shelfs communicates that swiping is possible without the need of using any progress bars or any other indicator.
See how it works
AMMO Rack, 02 of 03
When in Edit mode we can rearrange, add, or even remove entire shelfs, but we still wanted to create a quick and delightful way to "hide" those shelfs that we do not want to show or use.
The guys from Amphetamobile had an idea of collapsable shelfs that I really liked and decided to explore further. We wanted to make sure that the solution would be tap friendly and wouldn't get in a way of main tasks.
In the end, we created a solution that is available only when needed, while the rest of the time it is neatly tucked out of our way.
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Collapsing shelfs
Swiping right will reveal Collapse button, and tapping on the arrow will close the shelf. Tapping the row (doors) again will expand the shelf and reveal items on it.
See how it works
AMMO Rack, 03 of 03
Solutions we designed for reading books, PDFs or viewing photos is something I am particularly proud off.
I am a big believer in following the conventions of platforms we design for. Once we truly understand all of the rules, only than we can start bending that rules, shaping them to our needs, build upon them or even brake them. And that is exactly what we did here.
Building on foundation of "one shelf equals one category" we designed a way to swap an item without leaving the current screen, and without the need to go back on the Rack just to select another document.
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Slide in shelf
When reading a document we can quickly swap to another for reference, and back again, without ever leaving the screen. Tapping anywhere on the screen will call UI elements, together with all the documents on the current shelf.
See how it works -
Selecting another item
In previous case we can notice that while all elements fade in, shelf slides in and reveals the items it contains, which is specially important to help us build the sense that the shelf can be additionally moved. From there sliding and selecting another item is just a tap away.
See how it works