There’s a growing trend across North America and beyond of users moving from desktop, to tablet, to phone throughout the day, depending on where they are and what they’re looking to accomplish. Yes, the multi-device era is here.
With all of these screens in play, and the context of use shifting based on being at work, at home, or on the go, it’s important to understand and design for the user’s intent across multiple screens and devices.
Unfortunately, most multi-device problem solving is relegated to adjusting strictly for screen size, rather than for intended use. It’s this lack of consideration on context based usage that can lead to frustration for your core users, whether it’s a failure to consider how a user may shift from one device to another, or the different ways a user may best interact with your product on their home, mobile, or work devices.
Considering a user’s device ecosystem and its context of use can both lead to new insights on product requirements, as well as improving the day to day experience of using your product, ultimately increasing engagement with your product.
If you’d like to talk more about the multi-device usage of your product, get in touch.
For further reading, check out Michal Levin’s Designing Multi-Device Experiences.