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Designing for the new experience

by Hayden Raw

Devices like the iPad, iPhone and Nexus are becoming commonplace. They bring with them new technologies that are allowing designers to break away from the traditional point-and-click method of interaction. As interface designers we need to embrace the device capabilities during the design process. So, what does this mean for the process of designing user experiences?

Traditionally we were heavily constrained by the available technology. The click and drag mentality largely influenced the digital design we see today. Every item has a set of actions. Usually it’s either on, off or an arbitrary state somewhere in between like being dragged. With our new grab bag of gestural interactions and integrated technologies, our designs can embrace both the visual outcome and the functionality of the device they will be showcased on.

A question I am asking myself a lot is, how can I marry this technology to the design, to achieve a desired user experience?

Game developers have run wild with the technology available to them on the iPhone. The use of gryos, altimeters, GPS tracking, tilt sensors, light sensors and of course multi-touch screens have opened up a whole raft of game play elements that weren’t available before. Driving and flight simulators use these technologies a lot. F.A.S.T and the Need For Speed games are great examples that use tilt sensors to allow users analogue control in a digital environment.

Even if we’re not working on game interfaces, we can still borrow ideas from game developers around how to make any online experience more fun and engaging. Ideas that are now completely feasible include the likes of using the tilt sensor to change the layout of webpage; using the light sensor to select the colour scheme that is most readable; or even better yet, using the GPS to guide the user from a website to a physical location. All of these ideas are not new, but we now have the capability to implement them. If we apply them in the right manner we can potentially make our designs much more engaging and useful.

How are you making the most of the new technologies available when you’re designing user experiences?