Below are my scribblings from the Debunking Mobile Myths talk by Josh Clark, author of Tapworthy: Designing Great iPhone Apps. My notes are mostly my interpretation of what was said.. P.S. I just found his deck here.
Understand mobile culture and problem of consumer. But there are myths that we stumble on based on so many different cultures. We oversimplify diversity.
Mobile should be lite – wrong!
EBay sells over 2000 cars on mobile… per month… wow…
Mobile usage is everywhere.
28% of US adults use mostly mobile web… And growing.
2. Mobile equals less
Jakob Nielson is evil. Says feature set for mobile should be smaller. Don’t pack too much info, but don’t cut content entirely. “Companion Version”
Don’t confuse context with intent.
Want full content, all device have primacy!
3. Complexity is a dirty word
Not dumbed down apps, less complicated apps.
Figure out what they want in the simplest way.
Clarity trumps density.
Q&A interaction creates rich content => Responsive Design
Embrace complexity.
4. Extra tap and clicks are evil.
Tap quality more important than tap quantity, with each tap brings something good.
Progressive disclosure. Provide the whole meal but in smaller bites.
Think… Order and prioritize content. How can I do more?! Progressive enhancement of features from desktop to mobile
Don’t silo devices
5. Gotta have a mobile website
Build for the web, not mobile web. There is no mobile web.
Don’t silo content by device. One web.
Responsive web design. See Boston Globe. It adapts to capabilities and device.
But don’t make wildly different experience… Only if technically different.
Design for mobile first – it will filter needless content and experiences, makes desktop even easier to use.
Deliver great content to mass, not individuals. Content runs the show.
Focus for all platforms
6. Mobile is about an app
Again, its all about content. Apps, websites, etc are just containers.
Goal. Common backend to serve multiple interfaces. Agnostic backends.
NFL ad (Anytime, Anywhere). Growing expectation that content will follow you. iCloud. We are all cloud developers now.
Can’t keep up or scale to all these different platforms…
Real goal is what is the holistic experience?
7. CMS and API are for database nerds
Care about content flow, storage, presentation.
Metadata is the new art direction. -Ethan Resnick (hey, i know this guy!)… Have robots build our stuff. See theguardian website and app. Repurpose content not design.
Has business value, creative control, user experience. Just plain strategy.
