TREND 5

Unified Design

Say goodbye to mobile versions of websites and huge differences between web and native applications. Unification across all platforms is here.

Unified, Not Uniformity

Unification is not another word for uniformity - it instead is the goal to achieve a consistent user experience across multiple platforms. A great example I can think of is something I struggle with often. I love Gmail - but my experience on desktop and my experience on my Android phone are worlds different. And sometimes, this is frustrating. Most recently, when I was standing in a store trying to return something only to realize I accidentally deleted my digital receipt. On my desktop, I can search within the trash and quickly find what I am looking for. In store, I was stuck trying to go back about 15 days worth of trash emails, and alas, it wouldn’t let me load any past 12 days ago. I was stuck and incredibly saddened because I couldn’t force the desktop experience on my phone - and trust me, I tried! 


Without unification of our designs across platform, we can set user expectations on one platform, then completely destroy them when the user transfers to another platform. Without established patterns for our interactions, we can frustrate and lose our users.

The best interface is the one within reach.

- CAMERON MOLL

The Problem with 'Mobile'

This entire section is based heavily off of hearing Cameron Moll speak in Orlando this fall. This concept of unified design resonated with me greatly. I am married to an app designer, so a discussion that is often had in our household has to do with the differences between web and mobile and why user interactions on one should or should not be different than another. Another thing we discuss is what is mobile? Mobile is not simply just another screen - sometime I get tripped up on when I find people saying the ‘mobile’ viewport because an iPhone 6S Plus is really quite huge versus an iPhone 4 - which my mom still uses!


This is why ‘mobile’ sites are not working anymore. Saying a screen of any size, or worse trying to use a user agent string to find a browser, should get a different website fragments your users’ experience terribly.

Android vs. iOS vs. Web

My company recently moved to a new office, and as a result, changed the way we open our door. On my first day, a coworker and I walked into the office together. He had his iPhone in hand, and I my Pixel. We were both getting ready to unlock the door when I noticed something - his app looked nothing like mine. Not a single thing was similar - not even the action we took to unlock the door. I was confused. Did I download the wrong thing? Does my app even work?


I logged onto the website just to see what design language it followed. The answer? Neither. Maybe slightly more on the android side, but I’m not really sure where it’s coming from.


The problem goes further. iPhones can unlock by touching a device on the exterior of our doors, Androids can not. There are multiple problems with the system that are coming up that get passed around our office slack channel that always end up with someone claiming one OS is the problem. We are fragmented, frustrated, confused, and angry, all over a small app to unlock the door. Consistency across platforms is key to keep your users wanting to use your product no matter if it’s on the web, phone, or something else.

Internet of Things

The introduction of things like Amazon’s Alexa and Apple’s iWatch to the mainstream has changed things. How will your website read if spoken aloud through one of these devices? Will all of your content even be able to be read or searched? Our designs now have to think beyond screens. We are designing for something much more abstract than we were 5 years ago.


Our websites have to unify across more than screens. They need to unify across experiences for the brand or product you are designing for.

View Cameron Moll's talk on Unified Design

If you are interested in this topic, I highly suggest taking the time to listen to Cameron’s talk to learn more for yourself. He speaks to it better than I can simply paraphrasing back to you.

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