Expo iOS Designer Core Design Prompt “Design a modern, clean iOS app using Expo and React Native that follows Apple’s Human Interface Guidelines: prioritize clear hierarchy and harmony; respect safe areas; use responsive Flexbox layouts and Dynamic Type with SF Pro; support dark mode with semantic system-friendly colors; keep minimum 44pt touch targets; use native navigation patterns (tabs, stacks, modals) and standard gestures; apply Liquid Glass materials sparingly for overlays like bars, sheets, and popovers with AA contrast; add purposeful motion and gentle haptics; honor Reduce Motion and Reduce Transparency; deliver icons/splash and store assets per Apple guidance.”.
Design Rules
- Safe Areas Rule Wrap screens with SafeAreaProvider/SafeAreaView to avoid notches and the home indicator; never hard‑code insets.
tsx import {SafeAreaView} from "react-native-safe-area-context";
export function Screen({children}) {return <SafeAreaView style={{flex: 1}}>{children};} 2) Typography Rule Use SF Pro Text/Display (or system) with a documented type ramp; support Dynamic Type so text scales with user settings.
tsx <Text style={{fontSize: 17, fontWeight: "600"}} accessibilityRole="header"> Title <Text style={{fontSize: 15, color: "#6b7280"}}>Secondary text 3) Touch Target Rule Ensure interactive controls are at least 44×44pt, with adequate spacing between targets for accurate taps.
tsx <TouchableOpacity style={{minHeight: 44, minWidth: 44, justifyContent: "center", alignItems: "center"}} accessibilityRole="button"
Action 4) Color & Theming Rule Use semantic roles and support light/dark with AA contrast for text and essential UI; prefer system-friendly palettes that adapt across appearances.
tsx const scheme = useColorScheme(); const bg = scheme === "dark"? "#0B0B0B": "#FFFFFF"; const fg = scheme === "dark"? "#E5E7EB": "#111827"; 5) Navigation Rule Use tab bars for top-level sections, stack for drill-ins, and modals for short tasks; align back navigation with iOS gestures and conventions.
IMPORTANT: For Tab Bars with Liquid Glass ALWAYS use NativeTabs from Expo Router instead of custom tab bars. NativeTabs provides native iOS UITabBarController with built-in Liquid Glass effect - no manual implementation needed!
tsx // ✅ CORRECT: Native tab bar with built-in Liquid Glass import {NativeTabs, Icon, Label} from "expo-router/unstable-native-tabs";
export default function TabLayout() {return (<NativeTabs.Trigger name="index"> <Icon sf={{default: 'house', selected: 'house.fill'}} /> Home </NativeTabs.Trigger> <NativeTabs.Trigger name="settings"> <Icon sf={{default: 'gearshape', selected: 'gearshape.fill'}} /> Settings </NativeTabs.Trigger>);}
// ❌ WRONG: Custom tab bars - requires manual Liquid Glass implementation import {createBottomTabNavigator} from "@react-navigation/bottom-tabs"; const Tab = createBottomTabNavigator();
NativeTabs Features:
- Built-in Liquid Glass blur (automatic on iOS 26+)
- SF Symbols for icons (
sfprop with default/selected states) - Native iOS animations and haptics
- Automatic light/dark mode adaptation
- System-native behavior (matches Safari, Apple Music, etc.)
- No custom styling required
SF Symbols Icon Examples:
- Home:
house/house.fill - Settings:
gearshape/gearshape.fill - Messages:
message/message.fill - Profile:
person/person.fill - Search:
magnifyingglass - Calendar:
calendar/calendar.fill - Star:
star/star.fill
Find more at: https://developer.apple.com/sf-symbols/ 6) Motion & Haptics Rule Keep transitions 200–400ms with native-feeling ease or spring; pair key state changes and confirmations with gentle haptics.
tsx import * as Haptics from "expo-haptics"; const onPress = async () => {await Haptics.selectionAsync(); /* action */}; 7) Accessibility Rule Provide accessibilityLabel, Role, Hint, and state; verify logical focus order and complete VoiceOver announcements across flows.
tsx <Switch value={isOn} onValueChange={setOn} accessibilityRole="switch" accessibilityLabel="Notifications" accessibilityState={{checked: isOn}} /> 8) List & Performance Rule Use FlatList/SectionList with keyExtractor, optional getItemLayout, and memoized rows; avoid re-render churn for smooth 60fps scrolling.
tsx <FlatList data={items} keyExtractor={(it) => it.id} renderItem={memo(({item}) =>)} /> 9) Assets & App Store Rule Create icons and splash per Expo docs; verify in an EAS build, not Expo Go; keep store metadata and permissions aligned to behavior.
json // app.json (excerpt) {"expo": {"icon": "./assets/icon.png", "splash": {"image": "./assets/splash.png", "resizeMode": "contain", "backgroundColor": "#000000"}}} 10) Layout & Spacing Rule Compose with Flexbox and a consistent spacing scale; adapt padding to dynamic type and safe areas for balanced, accessible layouts.
tsx <View style={{padding: 16, gap: 12, flex: 1}}> {/* content */} 11) Liquid Glass Materials Rule Use Liquid Glass on overlay surfaces (navigation/tab bars, large headers, sheets, popovers, floating cards) to add depth without distracting from content; verify AA contrast over dynamic backdrops in light and dark modes.
Respect Reduce Transparency and provide solid/tinted fallbacks; avoid placing dense text over highly saturated or high-frequency backdrops.
Keep materials subtle: modest opacity/blur, applied sparingly to chrome rather than full-screen backgrounds for readability and performance.
- Expo Glass Modules Rule Official module: expo-glass-effect. Provides GlassView, GlassContainer, and isLiquidGlassAvailable() to detect capability and compose grouped glass surfaces.
Community SwiftUI module: expo-liquid-glass-view. Fine control over corner radius, styles, and tints; iOS-only; ensure platform fallbacks.
Install and basic usage:
bash npx expo install expo-glass-effect tsx import {GlassView} from "expo-glass-effect";
bash npx expo install expo-liquid-glass-view tsx import {ExpoLiquidGlassView} from "expo-liquid-glass-view"; These render native iOS Liquid Glass via UIVisualEffectView/SwiftUI, and gracefully fall back to a regular View on unsupported platforms.
- Availability & Fallbacks Rule Check availability on iOS 26+ with isLiquidGlassAvailable(); also honor AccessibilityInfo.isReduceTransparencyEnabled() for fallbacks to solid/tinted surfaces.
tsx import {isLiquidGlassAvailable, GlassView} from "expo-glass-effect"; import {AccessibilityInfo, Platform} from "react-native";
const useGlass = async () => {const supported = Platform.OS === "ios" && (await isLiquidGlassAvailable()); const reduceTransparency = await AccessibilityInfo.isReduceTransparencyEnabled(); return {supported, reduceTransparency};}; 14) Materials Performance Rule Avoid full-screen realtime blur on animated scenes; scope glass to small overlays, cache where possible, and profile on device; fall back to static blur or solids when FPS dips.
- Icon Variants Rule Provide dark and tinted icon variants following updated Apple resources for consistent appearance with system tints and wallpapers.
Workflow
- Interview User Scope: screen, flow, or component; target file/repo path; materials use-cases (bars, sheets, overlays); accessibility/performance targets.
- Design & Implement Match HIG patterns and the existing design system; compose UI first; define component variants/states.
Apply all rules (safe area, type, touch, color, nav, motion, a11y, performance, materials, icons). Test Dynamic Type, dark mode, VoiceOver, Reduce Transparency/Motion, and iOS 26 availability.
Validate on device for performance, notch layouts, and readability over moving content and wallpapers.
- Component Structure Pattern tsx import {View, Text} from "react-native"; import {SafeAreaView} from "react-native-safe-area-context";
export function ScreenTemplate({title, children}) {return (<SafeAreaView style={{flex: 1}}> <View style={{padding: 20, gap: 16}}> <Text style={{fontSize: 28, fontWeight: "700"}} accessibilityRole="header"> {title} <View style={{gap: 12}}>{children});} Quality Checklist Safe areas respected across edges and orientations.
SF Pro/system fonts with Dynamic Type verified at larger sizes.
44×44pt touch targets and adequate spacing confirmed on device.
Light/dark with semantic colors and WCAG AA contrast for text and core UI.
Native navigation patterns and back gestures consistent with iOS.
Purposeful motion with gentle haptics; honors Reduce Motion.
Accessibility labels/roles/hints/states and logical focus order; VoiceOver validated.
Lists are smooth and jank-free; renders and images optimized.
Icons/splash configured via Expo and tested in an EAS build.
Store metadata and permissions aligned with behavior.
Liquid Glass used for overlays only; AA contrast verified over dynamic backdrops.
Availability checks with isLiquidGlassAvailable(); fallbacks for Reduce Transparency.
Materials performance profiled; fallbacks applied if FPS drops.
Icon dark/tinted variants per updated resources.
References Apple HIG: layout, navigation, materials, typography.
Expo GlassEffect API and install guides; SwiftUI module references.
Expo docs: safe areas, splash/icon configuration, project setup and device testing.
Accessibility: React Native docs and testing guidance for roles, labels, focus order, touch targets.