Showcase of Designs Optimized for iPhone

Over the last couple of years, mobile devices have managed to gain mainstream popularity. With iPhone, making mobile Web applications finally usable by broad masses, web design can now be applied to mobile applications as well. In this post we are focusing on designs that are specifically optimized for mobile devices, in particular iPhone.
Though iPhone’s Safari browser is able to render any website just like you would see it on a desktop browser, the available screen area is much smaller than in common “classic” displays. This poses a new challenge for designers and developers who now can reach millions of users that use mobile Web. Websites that are specifically optimized for the iPhone utilize the screen to the fullest extent, and use less bandwidth (which is necessary, because the connectivity is not always optimal).
The iPhone browsing experience is quite different than the regular browsing experience. The buttons and hyperlinks have to be bigger because our fingers are not as sharp as the mouse pointer. Optimizing a website for iPhone is not rocket science. It’s the same HTML, CSS and JavaScript that you already know. The only major difference is the screen size.
In the showcase below we present some of the interesting, interactive and beautiful designs that are optimized for the iPhone. You will also learn about some handy tools that will help you optimize your website for the iPhone.
Also consider our previous articles:

1. News / Entertainment
Sevnth SinThe unique navigation makes this site very interactive. Nice concept, nice colors.

Blip.tvPerfectly suits the theme: video entertainment! Clean and clear typography.

NBCThe YouTube-style design makes it very easy to navigate and find shows.

ZinioThat’s a kit of magazines, all one-touch away!

Spin The BottleA simple bottle spinning game. Good use of graphics.

Daily WallpaperSimilar to Zinio, but 2 thumbnails in a row make it more easy to navigate around.

AOL HoroscopesVery well designed for a horoscope site. Matching color scheme throughout.

Yahoo Omg!Fresh look, vibrant colors and lively typography make this design fun to browse and easy to read. The design also matches the celebrity gossip theme.

2. Business / Corporate
DPTODifferent tones of red make this design look very attractive on the iPhone. The 3D menu looks very nice — perfect for a marketing and design agency.

Mind Medium CreativeThe use of gradients make the overall site look very shiny on the iPhone. The menu is very to-the-point. A nice composition and execution.

Redhawk Investment AdvisorsThis design has a very corporate feel to it. Good use of colors.

Nike LabJust what to expect from Nike. Sporty and energetic design.

Procab StudioProcab studio showcases their work portfolio and other information about the agency. Well placed content. The font size is a bit too small, though.

Hotel MonterillaThe design makes you want to go there for a vacation. The design has a very comforting feel to it. A perfect color scheme.

Viget LabsA blue background, appropriate padding and rounded corners make this simple design look vibrant and attractive.

Batali AssociatesThis is one of the good examples of design optimization for the iPhone. It clearly looks like it was really made for the iPhone, not just duplicated.

Ready For iPhoneA company that provides iPhone optimized website solutions. The finger on the “Go” looks intuitive.

Element FusionAnother showcase website that provides design services. Looks like a cut-down version of the actual website.

VolkswagonA showcase gallery for Volkswagon. Easy to navigate around. Clean and clear content.

3. Shopping / E-Commerce
Torn RobesA nice example of a mobile e-Commerce site. Just touch your favourite design, have a look at it and buy it. Looks very vibrant.

CooshA single-product e-Commerce site. Branded very well.

WalmartThis design doesn’t really meet the expectations from WalMart — however, the design is still in beta. The usability is good, though: it is very easy to search for products and stores. You can also create shopping lists.

4. Portfolio / Blog
World Ending Blog (Japanese)Although we did not understand a word there, it is very well designed for the iPhone. Every page is optimized and provides a good browsing experience.

Signal ElementSimple and clean design: just 3 pages, but very well designed.

One Crimson SplashThis is the portfolio of James Finley. The choice of colors and content placement are very good.

5. Education / Content
MITWhat else to expect from MIT? Simple, clean, user-friendly.

101 Cook BooksNot really a fancy design, but it’s the simplicity and clarity of content that makes it appear in this showcase.

Please Fix The iPhoneA good design that provides the desktop browsing experience. It is very easy to find what you are looking for.

1881The Norwegian telephone directory online. The combination of bright blue, orange and white looks really good.

AOL FoodHeaven for those who love to cook. Just keep your iPhone with you in the kitchen, and let this nice design help you make a delicious dinner.

Deviant ArtA nice way to browse art on the iPhone. The color scheme is good, and it makes the artwork look prominent. Very easy to navigate and search. Also, appropriately sized thumbnails.

Last but not least, some words of wisdom…
Screenshot

Tools to design a website for iPhone
There are some libraries and kits available to help you iPhoneize your design.

iPhoneyiPhoney gives you a pixel-accurate web browsing environment—powered by Safari—that you can use when developing web sites for iPhone. It’s a perfect tool to see how your web creations will look on iPhone.
Test iPhoneA web browser based simulator for quickly testing your iPhone web designs.
iWebKit (Demo)iWebKit is a file package designed to help you create your own iPhone and iPod Touch compatible website or webapp. Comes with various ready-to-use themes.
iUIiUI is a framework consisting of a JavaScript library, CSS, and images for developing iPhone web designs. It makes your web designs look and feel like iPhone’s native applications.
Intersquash (Demo)Not really a helpful tool for designing, but you can instantly create an iPhone compatible site from your RSS feed url.
WPtouchFor WordPress users: WPtouch transforms your WordPress blog into an iPhone application-style theme, complete with ajax loading articles and effects, when viewed from an iPhone or iPod touch.
Jaipho Gallery (Demo)If your website features a photo gallery, Jaipho will optimize it for iPhone users.

Further Resources
Don’t stop here. Check out these other great tutorials and guidelines.

iPhone Reference LibraryApple’s official iPhone reference library for developers. It has everything you need to get started: guidelines, code-examples, tutorials, etc.
How to build a website for iPhoneThis step-by-step tutorial includes everything you need to do when building a website for iPhone. Instructions for orientation direction also included.
iPhone Compatible CSS layoutsFree website layouts which work in all the common web browsers including Safari on the iPhone and iPod touch.
iPhone Interface SamplesThis includes samples for iPhone interface elements like buttons, fonts, text, design patterns, hacks 6 more.
iPhoneWebDev ExamplesVery helpful examples for alot of things. Direction change, events, fonts, compression, etc.
iPhone Application UI Design Patterns
cssiphone.comA showcase of designs optimized for iPhone.

About the author
Adeel Raza is a young entrepreneur with over 10 years of experience on the web. He specializes in user interface, user experience and beautiful design. He loves finding gems out of dirt and showcasing them on his gallery Inspire Mix. Follow him on Twitter to say hi!