What is the recommended method of styling an iOS app?

Question

What is the recommended method of styling an iOS app? For example, if there are multiple labels or text views how can updating font style/color at one place update the style

Answer 1

Frankly, the best way to go about this is to use Interface Builder. While it might seem nice to change a single constant somewhere in the code and have the entire app change styles, it never quite works out that way. Here are my reasonings:

1) Developers don't write interface code as well as interface builder does. Interface builder is a tool that has been refined, tested, and intreated over years. It offers fonts, text alignment, shadow, etc. It is backwards compatible for as far back as you'd ever want. It provides a very simple way for any number of developers and designers to jump in and work on something very straightforward.

2) There are always edge cases that you'll have to account for. Sure, a simple constant will do what you want most the time, but you'll eventually have to hack something in here and sneak something in there. The "simple" interface code you wrote to start off will grow and grow and grow. Other developers will have to maintain that code. You will have to maintain that code. You will have to file and fix bugs, tweak this, except that, etc. It will inevitably become a steaming pile of mess.

3) The more code you write, the more bugs you write. Interface builder is for building the 'look' of most iOS apps. Use it. Don't get too clever.

NOTE: I understand that Interface builder cannot do everything for all apps. There are cases that coding an interface is the only solution. This answer is simply a general "best practice" I use in the bulk of my apps.

Answer 2

You could import a standard header file into all your controllers with several constants set for styling... example:

Styles.h

#define kFontSize 14
#define kFontFamily @"Helevetica"

Controller

#import "Styles.h" // at the top

myLabel.font = [UIFont fontWithName:kFontFamily size:kFontSize];

I personally think Interface Builder is the best way to style, however this answers your question directly.

Answer 3

Similar to Alex's idea, you could create a static class called ThemeManager:

typedef enum
{
    defaultStyle,
    redStyle,
} ThemeStyles;

@interface Level : NSObject
{
    ThemeStyles currentTheme;
}

All classes which can be themed will import ThemeManager. Then, you can create methods like:

+ (UIColor*) fontColor;

Which other classes would call when they want a color for their font. Then, if you want to change themes, you could implement fontColor as:

+ (UIColor*) fontColor
{
    switch (currentTheme)
    {
        case defaultStyle:
        return [UIColor blackColor];
        case redStyle:
        return [UIColor redColor];
    }
}

When you want to change the theme, you could have ThemeManager implement a method like:

+ (void) changeTheme:(ThemeStyles)newTheme
{
    currentTheme = newTheme;
}

Answer 4

I use plists. Just as I localize strings, I use the same procedure to change themes. I coded a singleton that loads a current theme plist and a fallback plist. Then I replace the names of resources with keys and macro functions that pull the real resource name from the singleton.

Cons: you have to set the resource for each element, not just set it in the NIB.
Pros: once you are done, most of the next theme involves photoshop and textmate, not IB or code.

Answer 5

You may need to look at this library. It supports multiple themes/skins on the fly. Supports images and colors currently. Font support will be added in future.

https://github.com/charithnidarsha/MultiThemeManager

Answer 6

You can use a third-party abstraction of UIAppearance:

• NUI: https://github.com/tombenner/nui
• Pixate: http://www.pixate.com

Using a Storyboard has a lot of benefits, but many style options aren't available, not the least of which is custom fonts. If you want a deeply-customized UI, you will need some style code to make it happen.