How Big Should the Buttons Be?
Posted in Usability | May 4th, 2010
Designing interfaces for an iPhone, iPad, Android, or any gestural device has been a guessing game until now. LukeW has posted a great article on the best practices for button sizes.
In the iPhone Human Interface Guidelines, Apple recommends a minimum target size of 29 pixels wide 44 pixels tall. Since physical pixel size can vary by screen density, Apple’s pixel specifications apply best to the iPhone’s 320 by 480 pixel, 3.5 inch display (164ppi).
In the Windows Phone UI Design and Interaction Guide (PDF), Microsoft goes further and suggests: a recommended touch target size of 9mm/34px; a minimum touch target size of 7mm/26px; a minimum spacing between elements of 2mm/8px; and the visual size of a UI control to be 60-100% of the touch target size.
