i have gallery using uicollectionview prepared using main.storyboard. have few uiviews , uibutton placed between uicollectionview , uicollectionviewcell. when test app, of uiviews , uibuttons disappear. 
but have catalog scene prepared using same way , there. seems issue?
i wouldn't mess uicollectionview's view hierarchy way. since handles own list of subviews, yours may obstructed. suggest 1 of 2 methods:
set uicollectionview background
[uicolor clearcolor], , put own views behind uicollectionview, in hierarchy similar this:- uiview
- your custom views
- uicollectionview
- uiview
use uicollectionview's
decoration views. can read more them here, in "including decoration views in custom layouts" section.decoration views visual adornments enhance appearance of collection view layouts. unlike cells , supplementary views, decoration views provide visual content , independent of data source. can use them provide custom backgrounds, fill in spaces around cells, or obscure cells if want. decoration views defined , managed solely layout object , not interact collection view’s data source object.
