Understanding the Objective of Consistency Design
Services with consistency design usually have a set of design guidelines spanning all platforms to ensure a degree of consistency. The goal is to make each device feel related to the others, instead of focusing on how they work together as a system.
Consistent Terminology
The first guideline in consistency design is to use consistent terminology. It is important that data and actions are understood the same way across different devices. If there is different terminology across devices, it can lead to confusion and users may not understand what they are supposed to do. It is important that all devices use the same terminology rather than changing one device’s terminology just so it is more clear.
Platform Conventions
The second guideline is to follow platform conventions. What this means is that the user interface must be consistent with the device it is used with. One example used is a temperature control app. This app doesn’t necessarily have to look like a representation of the heating unit it pairs with, nor does the heating unit have to resemble the app, but both should feel like parts of a cohesive service. It is important that the buttons on the app still resemble buttons and that they don’t try to copy the look on the physical device. Specific controls should be optimized for the platform they run on.
Aesthetic Styling
Aesthetic styling is another guideline in consistency design, and it means there should be a consistent visual and aesthetic style across platforms to ensure they all feel like part of a service. An example of this is the Nest thermostat. It uses the same fonts and colors on the device and the app, giving the user a feeling of consistency, yet still optimizes the unique abilities of each device in that the thermostat can easily be twisted while the app utilizes tapping arrows. Additionally, both devices share the same sounds which continues the trend of consistency, supporting the feeling of connectedness with the thermostat and app.
