Designing Multi-Device Experiences

Preface

Multi-Device Design Today

We have entered a multi-device world.

Until recently, design models for online products considered only the computer or mobile phone as a standalone platform. Now, in our increasingly connected world, people own multiple devices—PCs, smartphones, tablets, TVs, and more—and are already using them together, switching between them, in order to accomplish a single goal. These devices relate to one another in a variety of ways, and together can form powerful ensembles that can better assist people in achieving their goals.

Still, most products today offer the same experience across all devices, often using their existing desktop experience as the model and making minor adjustments for device-specific size and form factor. That is an acceptable stopgap measure, but it’s not necessarily best suited to user needs and goals. This kind of design approach, which I call consistent design, provides users with access to all the content from any device at any time, but unfortunately it ignores a key factor in users’ behaviors, needs, and experiences: context.

People don’t necessarily need everything, all the time, on all devices. Different devices are often used in different ways, in different contexts, as part of different activities. Thus, the greater benefit would come from people getting the right thing, at the right time, on the best (available) device.

Adopting such a context-driven perspective means we need to start looking at multiple devices as part of a bigger ...