Simplicity and mobile-first — a challenge for seemingly complex products

You can find dozens of articles talking about first principle thinking, job-to-be-done framework, and minimalistic design.

All of these are a call for simplicity

• First principle thinking: Simplifying a collection of phenomena and reasons down to a single governing truth, just as Newton summarized the principle behind all motion as simply “an object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.”
• Job-to-be-done framework: Simplifying the purpose of a product for serving basic needs that have not changed overtime. For example, people’s need to stay in touch with friends started with letters doing the job, then telephone, then email, then Facebook/group chat, etc.
• Minimalistic design: Simplifying an element to its bare essentials

However, an abundance of thought leaders sharing similar thinking around the value of simplicity doesn’t mean it rules the majority in practice. Let’s pick a controversial topic: mobile-first or desktop-first design. If you google this topic, you will find dozens (if not 100s) of articles trying to guide you to which design approach is right for your situation.

Mobile-first or Desktop-first design

I would argue this debate is where the rubber meets the road in applying simplistic thinking in the real world.

Let’s first clarify that mobile-first is not equal to mobile-only design. It is a design practice that begins by first designing for a small screen and then progressively enhancing the design for bigger screens. By doing this, it

• puts simplicity front and center in the product
• forces us to align on the most valuable functions of our product

The opposite is true for desktop-first, where you would design first for desktop and then gracefully take away for a mobile environment. Many people preferring desktop-first design make the following arguments:

#1 Bigger screen is easier to design for

Mobile-first is indeed harder since you are starting with the most constrained environment first. But that is what differentiates a great from a good design — ability to have a great experience even when you are forced to simplify.

When you are constrained, you have to brutally prioritize and determine your point of view. Often times, this makes people uncomfortable and they shy away from going through this valuable organization alignment exercise. Nevertheless, it is a hurdle worth overcoming.

By being opinionated in what your users want to achieve most often, you will find it easier to simplify into a mobile design and start to establish a clear brand to attract an audience.

#2 My product is inherently complex

Google is trying to (or has already) become the access point for all the information on the web. That is a mighty complex task. Yet, in their web design fundamental guide, they advocate for mobile-first in the way information is presented.

Design the content to fit on a small screen size first, then expand the screen until a breakpoint becomes necessary.

Let’s take Google Maps for example. This is a very complex problem. Beyond getting directions for how to get from point A to point B, users might want to know what obstacles are on their way, see alternate options, book appointments at destination, etc. However, the team at Google designed the Maps product in an elegant way to simplify the complexity by layering the content thoughtfully to deliver a seamless mobile experience.

Beyond Google, there is also the mortgage industry. It is apparent that this is a complex process today with many loans needing a long time to close. However, it is a trend now for banks to emphasize the simplicity of their process to help the consumer close a loan. If it is indeed simple, shouldn’t consumers be able to do it on their mobile devices? If it is simple, shouldn’t loan officers drink their own kool-aid and be able to help their clients using a mobile-first interface? Many mortgage tech companies and banks are raising to this challenge and I am excited to see the result in the years to come.

I don’t mean to single out Google and mortgage companies in the challenge to bring simplicity to complex problems by applying mobile-first thinking. Many other products also deserve recognition and articles in their own right.

In my opinion, you can think of mobile-first design projects as a way to build your simplistic thinking muscles. It is by exercising these muscles that you will boil down inherently complex products into seamless experiences.

#3 Most of my users are using desktop

In the mobile-dominated world that we live in today, consumers are primed to expect the simplistic design that comes with mobile-first approach. Even if users of one product are still primarily using it on desktop, they are still expecting the simple layout and seamless flow that makes it easy to understand “what do I do next?”

By applying the same rigor of mobile-first design to lay the foundation and then growing it to bigger screens, the product will

• naturally maintain simplicity
• keep focus on the highest value actions
• remove unnecessary elements

In addition, if you consider mobile-first when you are adding new features, you will be forced to consider the real value of adding that feature and control the complexity that inevitably creeps up as a product scales.

Conclusion

Whether you agree with me or not on bringing simplicity to design with mobile-first, I would like to leave you with a quote from Hans Hofmann:

“The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.”

I hope my thoughts have triggered more of your thoughts to spark conversation. Share your thoughts with me. Heart this article. I would really appreciate it!