The Operating System for the new generation of Apple TV is the youngest software piece that runs on the device created by the giant from Cupertino. Because it is a fresh thing it may be difficult to create UI which will match all guidelines of the platform. Good design resources will surely help you make your app for tvOS better.

Official Documentation

Human Interface Guidelines for tvOS Official documentation is always the best starting point of your application design. You should specially read guidelines for this platform because it is a completely new approach to smart TV.

UI Kits

Designing for the large screens of TVs may be tricky. We interact with this devices in a much different way than with our laptops or tablets. Good UI templates will let you to kick of your design in a right way.

 

Apple tvOS template by Developer Town (Sketch)
The really comprehensive template that includes all major UI elements of the platform.

 

tvOS GUI Kit by Josh Clement (Sketch)
Other good ui kit with big images that will let you quickly preview your app design.

 

Apple TV Design Kit by Tom Carmony (Sketch)
UI Kit with multiple grid templates for your TV UI design.

App Icons

Icon design for tvOS is very different from design for all other platforms. However, it is not about the visual style, but the behavior. App Icons are a bit 3D, you can move & tilt them a bit and see beautiful effect on a TV screen.

 

Official Icon Design resources (Photoshop)
Use these resources as a starting point of your icon design. There is also one more useful thing Apple published for designers – the small software that let’s you preview icon design behavior with 3D effect.

 

tvOS Icon for Sketch by Kevin Py (Sketch)
Perfect icon template for tvOS created for Sketch users.

Inspiration

 

iOS Up – tvOS
It is hard to find inspiration for TV apps. tvOS is not a very popular platform yet. But you may find some useful mockups here.

Summing up

For now there is only a little number of good graphic resources for tvOS. It is a relatively new platform and it is not as popular as iPhone. However, it is an interesting opportunity to think differently and design useful stuff that will work on the screen of our TVs. The Ubiquity of Technology era is coming. Every UI and UX Designer should know how to create good solution for multiple platforms – Apple tvOS is surely one of them.

To get more the best free UI design materials for other platforms, feel free to discover this collection of useful resources.