UX Week 2006: Mobile Experience Design Notes

Anita Wilhem, Caterpillar Mobile

When we normally think of mobile design, we typically think of phones. And the market is huge! But there are other devices. Most of those devices do single things: tell time, listen to music, etc. Mobile phones, however, are now doing many things.

We have these devices everywhere this us. They are very personal. We don't typically share phones. They are intimate.

Hardware interaction modalities: phone, keyboard, stereo, tv, camera...why do we still think of this as a phone?? Manufacturers think of these different modalities very differently.

Single-task objects will never go away, but we're also bringing with us the multi-task phones with us all the time.

mFoundry example
Making a richer presentation of data on the phone
A very iPod kind of experience

Changing metaphors: buttons used to be physical, then it became a soft button on a web interface. But what's the button on an iPod? Arrows become the button.

Designing for mobile devices is not just designing for a smaller screen! We can't just design things smaller. Mobile devices are smaller and change context and stay with people. People have limited attention, constant interruptions, physical and social obstacles. We have to deliver relevant bits of content.

4info example
Changing search for mobile. Don't get all results, just a select amount.

Monetizing: traditional advertising (even ad words) on phone is intrusive. It needs to be extremely relevant for it not to be annoying. Less about accessibility, more about relevance.

Sociality: Intimacy and Co-Presence
Not about a device--it's an extension of our personal and private being. We take keys, wallet, and phone. It's part of our identity. Extension of my connectedness.

As I change context, might encounter other technology and engage with other phones, devices, fixtures, but it is still my private device. No one else really looks at my screen.

Highlight common, essential elements that make interaction possible from many platforms.

Originally posted at Wednesday, August 16, 2006 | Comments (0)