Category: Technology

Mobile First?

One of the recent catch phrases in web development these days is “Mobile First”. The idea behind it is that since mobile now comprises the majority of web traffic, that’s what should get our most attention.

To many web designers, mobile first means “do a mobile layout first and then worry about the desktop experience later.” As a result, these designers give up the freedom that having a blank canvas affords. In other words, their designs look overly simplistic when viewed on a large device.

Should it take many screens of scrolling to find the information I need?

We fought for this

I started building websites professionally in 1996, when dial-up internet was the norm, and layouts were done using HTML tables. Once a page size exceeded 200KB, it was considered too large. We designed for 640 pixel wide screens at first, and if you happened to have 800 pixels on your CRT monitor you learned to live with condensed layouts.

Imagine my delight when CSS allowed designers to really work with the screen size instead of against it. Soon you could use fancy graphic backgrounds, custom graphic buttons, even rollover effects which didn’t require JavaScript programming.

Along the way bandwidth steadily increased. Nowadays a single homepage can easily exceed 10 MB and nobody complains. In the right hands, this can result in very beautiful experiences on the web.

The better way: User First

Websites are for people, not devices. If you remember that, a lot of the building blocks become easier to craft:

  • User interface isn’t just simple—it should be always organised to take advantage of the space available so the user can get more done, quicker.
  • Use less data if you can provide a comparable user experience. Compress your scripts. Lazy load your images. Choose the right image formats. Use an adaptive image compressor on your server to serve smaller images to mobile users.
  • Make it pretty and then simplify for mobile. People simply like to see graphics and the simple fact is that larger screens allow for more. Make sure it’s appropriate, but let your creative muscle get some exercise.

Web design is a craft, and it is communication. Embrace your end user and you will enjoy your job, and your users will enjoy what you produce.

My concerns about artificial intelligence and virtual reality

Today I wrote the following letter to two members of Canadian Parliament:

Dear Ms Benson and Mr Bains,

I am a graphic designer and internet developer in the constituency of Ms Benson. As such, I tend to keep informed about technological advances. I am writing to you because I am becoming increasingly concerned that recent advances in virtual reality and artificial intelligence will soon become extremely invasive of our privacy unless we proactively create legislation to combat it.

Can you imagine if a company such as Facebook knew your every thought? This sounds alarmist, but hear me out. That company is already a heavy proponent of virtual reality:
https://venturebeat.com/2017/10/11/mark-zuckerberg-we-want-to-get-1-billion-people-in-virtual-reality/

What if they enhance their VR technology with eye tracking software, so that they can collect data on absolutely everything you look at with interest? When they find out that you like green socks better than blue ones, you can bet there will be custom advertising based on what caught your eye. People’s sexual preferences will certainly not be exempt from this data collection either.
https://venturebeat.com/2017/09/06/eye-tracking-is-virtual-realitys-next-frontier/

What if they began to analyze your body language to add to their data—tracking your every response as you watch a video? Facebook now owns a gesture-tracking technology, so they can do that too.
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/oculus-facebook-virtual-reality-firm-buys-gesture-recognition-firm-pebbles-10394205.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4672508/New-AI-read-body-language-real-time.html

Last but not least, technology is now able to create virtual characters who look and sound like real people. Imagine how persuasive a real-time digital character could be if they knew all your interests, responded instantly to your body language, and even modified their own appearance to be more attractive to you?
https://twitter.com/verge/status/912403648356978688

Would not companies pay for such things in order that you would buy their products or submit to their agenda? Would not some politicians leverage such technology in order to sway your vote? These things are coming, and we need legislation to stop the abuse before it starts. Companies like Facebook already take heavy advantage of human psychology in crafting how their mobile applications work—using things such as eye tracking and body language will become just another tool in their toolbox.

I would recommend legislation against collection of eye tracking and body language data outright. This is something that people should not have to think about while using their computer. I would also recommend legislation disallowing advertising which is instantly customised in response to live user reaction. This would be especially inappropriate in politics. Savvy companies might allow virtual characters in games to be manipulated by digital advertisers—this also should be prevented.

Honourable Members, I know you keep busy with many things. I really hope you could also help out with this very important issue.
Thank you for your service to our country.

Sincerely,
Allan Dowdeswell

 

UPDATE:

I received a response from Ms. Benson; not sure yet whether my ideas will proceed further. I also recently found this video about research at Dolby, which validates my concerns: