The fast progress of mobile devices and the popularity of mobile applications in the market requires complex software to be run on mobile devices without issues. Mobile devices are known as handhelds and they have different characteristics such as size, resolution, battery life and processing power. These are limitations to consider when developing an M-learning application, which can make it difficult to design and develop mobile applications for different mobile devices. Design Patterns, a set of tried and tested solutions for common problems were originally designed for desktop computers, so application of these patterns in M-learning applications might not meet its requirements such as adaptation of the content to the context of the device mobile used by learners. However, mobile design patterns that have been adapted or designed for such an environment can be used to overcome the challenges and limitations of M-learning application development. In this paper we try to propose an approach to engineering design patterns allowing the development of M-learning applications to provide an adapted content taking into account the context of device mobile used by learners. We named these patterns: “Mobile design patterns”.