Jen Cotton: “Cross Device: The Future of Design Systems” — Clarity 2021

Jen Cotton Head of Design & Research Modern Health

People are using more devices than ever. The median US household contains at least 5 devices, with similar trends across comparable markets. For a large part this is due to innovation in the devices space over the past 5 years. New hardware categories like smart speakers have been created, while other categories have gained broader adoption due to category leaders, such as AirPods driving wearables growth.

At the same time the capabilities of our devices are more inclusive, opening up new ways for people to interact using voice and gesture for the first time. Better still, the more ambient nature of devices like speakers or displays create the possibility for better digital wellbeing and point towards what a post-mobile future might look like.

Yet most of our design systems only focus on phones and computers.

Let’s explore how cross-device hardware trends and use cases can help drive our design systems towards a truly responsive and inclusive future.

Presented by Jen Cotton at Clarity 2021, on October 28th, 2021. Ends with an interview with Mina Markham.