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From Sketch Design to iOS App with Swift and Xcode (Udemy.com)

Master Creating Custom User Interfaces for Your Apps: Design a Cool iOS App and Build it From Start to Finish

Created by: Brian Advent

Last updated April 2020

Our take

Based on the ratings of 270 students and a sample of their written reviews, the syllabus, the course as of April 2020. No course pays to be reviewed.

This is a short, project-based course that takes one app idea from Sketch mockups through to a working UIKit app in Xcode. Under an hour of the 4 is spent in Sketch on design basics and mockups; the rest is Swift. So it belongs to iOS developers who want to learn how a design becomes real code, with custom collection views, scroll views and an animated view controller transition. Pure designers hoping for a Sketch tutorial will find the design part thin.

Brian Advent runs a big Swift YouTube channel, and several reviewers arrived as fans. They praise his clear explanations, tidy coding style and the practical tricks around animations, scroll views and transitions. The complaints are real, though. The course was last updated in April 2020, so it is UIKit only, and one reviewer from late 2024 says Sketch has changed enough that some steps needed Googling. Others wanted more time on the mockup section, which felt abrupt, and noted the finished code has no comments. A couple of low-star reviews say questions went unanswered.

With 1,700 students and 270 reviews at 4.4 stars, it is a small course, and the rating breakdown is healthy: 236 of 270 gave four or five stars. It sits next to Sketch courses that are about the design tool itself, while this one spends most of its time in Xcode. For Swift developers who want a nicer-looking UIKit app, it is a solid four hours. Anyone who wants to learn Sketch itself should pick a neighbor.

Best forSwift developers comfortable in Xcode who want to see a design turned into custom UIKit views and animated transitions.
Skip it ifYou want to learn Sketch itself, or you build in SwiftUI; the design section is short and the code is 2020-era UIKit.

Pros

  • Follows one app from Sketch mockup to finished code, so design and implementation connect.
  • Custom view controller transitions and scroll view tricks that reviewers call very useful.
  • Brian Advent's clear explanations and clean coding style earn repeated praise.
  • Short and dense at 4 hours across 42 lectures, easy to finish in a weekend.

Cons

  • Last updated April 2020: UIKit only, and Sketch's interface has changed since.
  • Sketch gets under an hour; one reviewer found the mockup section abrupt, another called it brief.
  • No code comments in the project files, and a few students say questions went unanswered.
Brian Advent is an excellent teacher. He explains complex structures clearly. This is a very information dense course. I highly recommend it.
William Lund, a student

Intermediate is accurate: needs working Swift, Xcode and Auto Layout basics; not a first iOS course.

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What you will learn

  • Build a cool app, starting with designing it in Sketch and then build it from start to finish with Swift and Xcode
  • Customize UIKit components like CollectionViews
  • Implement cool and custom transitions between ViewControllers
  • Translate a UI design into a real app
  • Understand and apply the basics of prototyping in Sketch
  • Design user interfaces in Sketch

Course content

9 sections · 42 lectures · 4.1 hours of video

  1. 1Introduction 2 free previews2 lectures · 6 min
  2. 2Design and Sketch Basics 1 free preview8 lectures · 37 min
  3. 3Idea, Mockups and Prototyping 2 free previews3 lectures · 20 min
  4. 4First Development Steps2 lectures · 12 min
  5. 5The Overview Screen 2 free previews7 lectures · 41 min
  6. 6Custom ViewController Transitions 1 free preview7 lectures · 46 min
  7. 7Image Selection Screen & UIScrollView8 lectures · 55 min
  8. 8Final Steps and Sharing Cards4 lectures · 24 min
  9. 9Conclusion1 lecture · 3 min

Who it is for

The instructor says it suits

  • iOS developers who want to learn how to translate a UI design into a real app
  • iOS developers who want to learn how to customize their apps
  • iOS developers who want to learn the basics about designing with Sketch
  • iOS developers who want to learn more about design and iOS design principles
  • iOS developers who want to learn how to create custom ViewController transitions

What you need before you start

  • Have a good understanding of the Swift programming language
  • You should know your way around the Xcode IDE
  • You should know the basics of Auto Layout

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Quality Score

No CourseDuck member has rated this course yet. Taken it? Give each part a thumbs up or down.

Content Quality
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Video Quality
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Qualified Instructor
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Course Pace
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Course Depth & Coverage
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Overall Score : 88 / 100

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Course Description

This course is going to guide you through the complete process of designing a cool iOS app and then also build it from start to finish.

If you want to create apps that stand out you need the ability to translate a great user interface design from its concept stage as wireframes, mockups or interactive prototypes into a fully functional app.


Among other things you will learn:

  • The fundamental iOS design principles

  • Basics of designing and prototyping in Sketch

  • How to design an app and then create it from start to finish

  • How to customize UIKit components like buttons, collection views or the navigation bar

  • How to work with custom views and xib files

  • How to create awesome transition animations: implementing a custom and animated view controller transition from a collection view cell to a new view controller

  • How to create simple animations


Become a more skilled developer

This course is suitable for you if you have already made your first experiences in building apps using Xcode and Swift. You won’t have to be an expert developer or an experienced designer. You will however learn a lot of useful tricks and techniques that will also broaden your general knowledge around the processes of designing and developing iOS apps with the powerful tools Sketch, Xcode and the Swift programming language.


Our Roadmap

Before writing our first line of code we are going to have a look at fundamental iOS design principles followed by a quick introduction into Sketch. Sketch is a powerful tool for designing and prototyping and after completing this course you will be able to design your own application with it. Before building a complete iOS app, we are going to make a solid development plan starting with an app idea, the design of several mockups followed by a the creation of a simple prototype. Not until then are we going to launch Xcode.

In the actual development part of this course you are going to setup the user interface in Interface Builder, work with a modern data model, customize different UIKit components, and even create an awesome custom animated transition between two view controllers. For more detailed information about the content of this course have a look at the curriculum and the free videos.

You get this course complete with all the necessary project files, so that you’ll be able to work alongside the author as you work through each concept. In addition you will receive a verifiable certificate of completion upon finishing the course.

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Instructor Details

Brian Advent

Brian runs one of the largest YouTube channels on Swift development and has over a decade of experience developing software for different Apple platforms and consulting. Brian is an accomplished online trainer with thousands of students from around the world. His expertise is valued by many companies, universities, museums and government institutions.

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Reviews

4.4

270 ratings on Udemy

Select a bar to show only those reviews.Select the bar again to show every rating.

By Сергей on 10/23/2024

In principle, a good course. But at the moment, October 2024, a lot of things have changed in sketch. I had to sit and sort out the Googling information, well, on the edge of the gpt chat. The basics of using design are there, but there is only one example that swings throughout the course. Would I recommend it for today? Yes! But we'll have to sit and figure out some things. Thanks!

By Anonymized User on 9/15/2020

I liked the course. It could be updated to the latest iOS and swift versions (not talking about SwiftUI), the author showed concepts of how things could work. Sometimes there was a lack of theory but everything is pretty clear anyway. This course is short and informative, exactly what i expected and needed. There are certain problems with screen rotation and other little things but it was good.

By Juriiio on 9/6/2019

Sketch nur kurz angeschnitten und das selbe spiel dann auch bei Xcode. Im großen und ganzen kann man hier etwas lernen aber die Kurse von Angela Yu finde ich das um einiges besser.

By Dmitriy Karabetskiy on 6/24/2019

Overall, this is a good introductory course for mockup creation in Sketch and its implementation in Xcode. I've learned quite a few very useful tricks with animation, scrollview implementation and beautiful transitions along the way. Buying this course I perfectly realized that it's impossible to go in depth and be able to make it in 4 hours, however it would be nice if this course had a little bit more attention to the mockup design part in Sketch - for me this section felt a little bit abrupt. Also the pacing seems is a little bit hasty for my personal preference. Otherwise, I recommend this course as the means for getting a grasp on basic planning and design principles. However I would recommend to find more in-depth material as soon as you finish it.

By Charles Martin Reed on 1/6/2019

Well paced, well designed and offers a sorely needed look into the importance of sweating the details and making good visual design a part of your application from day one. I'm glad I finally got to pay for some of Brian's knowledge given how much he's given away for free over the past few years!

By Jamie Eastwood on 11/30/2018

I have previously purchased a course from this tutor and, really more so than with most of the other courses that I've completed I've had opportunity to think - while doing later courses or while coding for myself - what was the way that Brian did it and then going to the previous course as a refresher. Engaging, well paced and really helped me out with my use of Sketch and the importance of prototyping before 'just getting into Xcode and coding first' (which is one of my bad habits.)

By KrisDa SiangChaew on 11/26/2018

Great content, well-paced delivery. Especially liked the instructor coding style. So I picked up on good programming practice and style in addition. I have about 6 months of iOS programming. Some codes like animation were beyond my experience. But after going thru the code and re-watching the video, I was able to follow thru. In summary, it was a great course that got me started on exploring design and user interface programming.

By Rob Haertel on 11/25/2018

Just finished Brian's course, for more experienced iOS developers suited to go smoothly through it, also because of Brian's great way of explaining, always in a calm and easy way, not messy but with huge clarity and detailed approach. For whatever level, a lot of topics, from small to bigger (scale transition really great to learn) being very useful and valuable. Enjoyed it a lot!! A grateful thanks, Rob Haertel

By Vojta Bohm on 10/1/2018

I love Brian. I have been watching his videos on YouTube for a while and the quality is top notch. The same goes for this course. It is the same style like his videos on YT so you can get an idea before you buy this course. The content is clear, fun, easy and of course the narration is exquisite - easy to be played @ 2x playback speed for those timesavers like myself. Really enjoying this course.

By Ron Greer on 9/15/2018

It's hard to beat Brian Advent as an iOS instructor. He has the teacher's voice, apex knowledge and explains complex concepts in a way as not to offend the student's ignorance (doesn't talk down to the student). Seems to be trying to inspire his students to create "greater things than these".

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