You're absolutely correct – unfortunately, living in Buffalo means there's a dearth of local talent and bootstrapping means we really don't have the means.
To be honest I took out more custom UI than ended up making it in because the people we tested with who were new to iOS really took quickly to the standard components and had a harder time with custom stuff. That being said, I'm hardly a real designer, so there's a distinct possibility my custom UI was just, well, not too good. :P
Thanks for your feedback. I'm familiar with your work and you saying this automatically means I'm probably going to dedicate the next week or so combing over my UI and trying to make it better.
I'd definitely suggest not caring about where your UI designer is located. It's hard enough to find decent UI people without forcing them to live in Western NY. Some of the best UI people I know live in Europe, Mexico, New Zealand, etc. If you're down for contracting with someone remotely, I'd take a look at Dribbble to find some styles of work you really like and then give those designers a shout. It could really make a huge difference. Good luck!
To be honest I took out more custom UI than ended up making it in because the people we tested with who were new to iOS really took quickly to the standard components and had a harder time with custom stuff. That being said, I'm hardly a real designer, so there's a distinct possibility my custom UI was just, well, not too good. :P
Thanks for your feedback. I'm familiar with your work and you saying this automatically means I'm probably going to dedicate the next week or so combing over my UI and trying to make it better.