Android might have the lion’s share of the mobile device market but it is not without its fair share of warts. While Google has released design guidelines to help developers create beautiful apps, Google Play Store is plagued with inconsistent, unusable, and sometimes downright ugly apps. This is a situation that the Holofication Nation aims to rectify.

The two-man team that currently make up this rather interesting campaign describes their work as doing what no big company can do, and that is create apps with a decent user interface. Unsurprisingly, their primary targets are the most popular apps that take up a large chunk of our vision when using Android devices. Their jumping board is Android’s design rules and theme, currently nicknamed as Halo.

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The team has already modded several popular apps, with Instagram being one of the worst offenders. Other include Steam‘s official app, Grooveshark, and the controversial Snapchat. These apps have been modified to follow Halo guidelines, eschewing custom buttons and design for a more standard and refined look. The team hasn’t disclosed what processes they used to modify these apps, which might not sit well with the apps’ official developers. Those who want to try out these Holofied versions need to uninstall the official apps first. Interestingly, Holofication Nation notes that the Facebook app couldn’t be changed since its user interface is actually controlled on the server-side. The developer team was kind enough to provide their thoughts about each app on the Holofication Nation web page, which deserves a quick browse, too.

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Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, as they say, and some might not find the Holo theme pleasing to look at. There might even be some who disagree that there is a need for a unified or uniform look, which admittedly can become boring after some time. Nonetheless, Holofication Nation presents a very interesting experiment in showing how apps can remain unique and functional without going overboard with customization.

VIA: Droid Life

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