Published on | Prototyping: From UX to Front End — Medium Gary Photo By William Iven

A strong toolkit when developing iOS apps can help big time, especially when you’re new to the game. I started learning iOS development about five months ago and I have been hooked ever since. After a rocky start, I am finally figuring out how to solve problems and to find resources to help me through the battle. Long story long, here is the list of several resources I use daily when developing apps.

Design

Design can be the most challenging aspect for new developers. I try to approach the process with gusto and creativity.

iOSUp — Before developing an application I like to create a mental model of what the application is going to look like and function. Other times my mind draws a blank and I need some inspiration.
Sketch — Design the layout of the application, there are endless plugins and assets to help design the layout of the views (P.S. Sketch offers student discounts).
The Noun Project — Stop stressing over icons and other assets during development. The Noun Project has what you are looking for (pro tip: Download the Mac App and drag and drop straight into Sketch).
Material Colors — What colors should I go with? Says no one ever 😉.
Invision App — Before I begin coding I like to send a prototype to my friends and Invision makes that easier than ever. Import your finished Sketch project and link up the views.

Development

I use a handful of plugins to increase my productivity during development. Also, I recommend going through Xcode preferences and editing your development environment to automate some trivial tasks for you.

App Code — An alternative IDE which offers smarter completion and project navigation. If Xcode is not your cup of tea, check out App Code (Note: you still need Xcode).
Paint Code — Convert image assets and colors into Swift or Objective-C code.
Git Tower — I personally find the command line annoying when it comes to source control. Git-Tower is a smart alternative with a list of features to0 long to write.
Text Expander —DRY! Let text expander autocomplete your most common typed functions, comments, etc.
Alcatraz — A package manager that holds the 🔑 to plugins and color schemes for Xcode. Simply install Alcatraz, restart Xcode, and navigate to Window>Package Manager (Shift CMD 9). Here is a list of the ones I am currently using.

DBSmartPanels — Auto-hide the navigation area and utility area.
KSImageNamed — Stop misspelling your assets names during development.
Luft — Warns you when your view controller gets to0 long.
RTImageAssets — Generates app icon sizes.
SCXcodeMinimap — A sublime minimap that lives on the right side of your views.

Books and Tutorials

I try to do about three hours of tutorials a day. Normally, I switch between video tutorials and books to keep my mind fresh and not rely on one Medium (no pun intended).

Websites

When I am not browsing articles on Medium, I go to serval websites to stay on top of iOS news. If you have time to lean you have time to read iOS articles (cough sign up for the newsletters cough cough).

Scoop.it — A curated list of Github libraries, articles, and tutorials.
Artsy.github.io — Overall helpful articles for iOS developers.
iAchieved.it — iOS development tips and tricks.
Natasha The Robot — iOS tutorials and development tips.
iOS Dev Weekly — iOS news and articles.

Bonus

Staying productive can be challenging when developing apps. I use two apps to help me block out distractions and keep my 👀 on the prize.

Forest — A Pomodoro style application for your mobile phone. Simply stay focused and help the environment in the process (I’m close to planting my first real tree 🌴).
Focus — A Mac application that blocks distracting websites. I personally set a work schedule and turn on hardcore mode.

Conclusion

When it comes to developing apps having a strong toolkit can improve workflow. I know tools are not everything when it comes to development, but they can help with the obstacles that are thrown at us.

If you found these resources helpful or you’re an awesome person hit the 💚.

garytokman.me 🤘😜

Junior iOS Developer Tool Kit was originally published in prototypr on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Junior iOS Developer Tool Kit

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